[Domandred]

Article on motorcycle emissions with an Idaho focus, but pretty much applies everywhere.

[camle]

laying the groundwork for more regulation, more hassle, (requireing 2-wheelers to undergo emissions testing for ex), and eventually regulating them out of existance, forcing people to use mass transit.

[TheZMan]

Somehow I just knew we wouldn’t even be done with this crap if we all switched to 85mpg scooters.

[damondonion]

Don't know if the problem is still the same as it was 30 years ago, but.... It used to be the case that pollution was viewed as the RATIO of pollution to total exhaust gas emission, and ratios never hurt anybody. That descriminated against smaller higher-revving engines and nearly drove the Germans out of the American market for a number of years. BMW spent those years selling illegal cars, MB stopped selling small cars in America, and VW pretty much left the American market alone for a while, closing down one large and new plant.

It oculd easily be the case that the Hummer might still have a lower RATIO than a modern motorcycle but I have a hard time buying the idea that a late model bike would produce more actual pollution. Particularly if the bike had fuel injection and particularly if it was something like a FI version of something like a 250 - 400 cc on/off road b ike which got 60 mpg or better. The Kawasaki 250KLR's fuel mileage was phenomenal.

[MarineBrat]

I have an old beat up 50cc Honda scooter that I use to get around our property. The battery died years ago, but it has a kick starter that works fine. I have re-upholstered the seat with the finest duct tape. I put some gas in it about six months ago....

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

I think you might have some fun at the eco-kooks by suggesting that their little putt-putt scooters, since they have such high fuel efficiency, should be the very first vehicles adapted to use exclusively ethanol.

Since pure ethanol has only about half the energy of gasoline, it would cut their mileage in half, but in that a Vespa ordinarily gets 50 to 80 miles a gallon, it shouldn't be too much of a burden to reduce that to 25 to 40 miles per gallon.

Longer range modifications to a Vespa can give it a 2.5 or even 3 gallon gas, or ethanol, tank.

[ClearCase_guy]

We need to live in caves and walk to the berry bushes to get our sustenance.

Once the human population is down to about 10 million worldwide, then Mother Gaia can start to heal.

[JimSEA]

Well if you want to rid yourself of gasoline power totally, an old fashioned solution:

[poobear]

They can pull my Straightpipes on my Harley from my cold dead hands.

[popdonnelly]

Great, I’ll buy two. One for me and one for the wife. And we’ll drive up and down in front of Greenpeace headquarters.

[Carbonsteel]

Hmmmmm...interesting.

My Buell meets all WORLDWIDE emissions standards through 2012.

[meyer]

But which is more polluting?

From those of us that don't worship the false god of "GloBull Warming", a collective "who cares!".

[Vince Ferrer]

I can believe this. American autos have all kinds of pollution controls on them. I have seen a few ads claiming that some particular new cars pollute less while running than an older car parked in a driveway, or that they are so good at removing pollutants that they actually leave the air cleaner.

Scooters, however, rely on being small and light. Their design hasn't changed much over time. This is also because one of the main goals is to be cheap, especially for developing countries. Adding pollution controls on a motor scooter will add weight, and at a certain point people will just go buy a small car.

[Domandred]

I didn’t realize when I posted this thread one kinda funny thing.

I pulled it off the Idaho Statesman website, but when I was at the store I glanced at the news stand. This was the front page leading article! Hugh and series news I guess...