BY CYNTHIA SEWELLEdition Date: 08/08/08
IdahoStatesman.com
Two-wheeled gas sippers, including motorcycles, put out more emissions per mile than an SUV, says the EPA.
Which gets better gas mileage, a Hummer or a scooter?
No contest.
But which is more polluting?
It may not be what you think.
"It's true. The cleanest scooter is still dirtier than a car," said John Swanton, air pollution specialist with the California Air Resources Board.
Motorcycles and scooters may be fuel-efficient, but they are big polluters - and none of them are tested in the
Some motorcycles emit as much hydrocarbon in 10 miles as a car driven 850 miles, according to Environmental Protection Agency studies.
Car engines use much more fuel and create more pollution than motorcycle engines, but sophisticated emission-control devices prevent much of a car's emissions from getting into the air, said Wayne Elson, environmental protection specialist with the EPA's
When it comes to reducing fuel consumption and improving global climate conditions, a motorcycle or scooter is still the better choice, Swanton said.
But when it comes to reducing smog and improving local air quality, "the Hummer is better than a small scooter because it has more sophisticated emission controls," he said. "Its emissions are pretty low relative to a motorcycle."
EPA'S MOTORCYCLE STANDARDS MORE LENIENT
Motorcycles and scooters that meet EPA emission standards are still more polluting than cars because the federal emission standards are more lenient for motorcycles.
The maximum emission standard for motorcycle hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide is 2.25 grams per mile, compared with .098 for cars, meaning a motorcycle can emit 23 times more ozone-forming pollutants as a car does and still meet EPA standards. The carbon monoxide standard for motorcycles is about six times higher than a car's standard.
The EPA has several reasons for the difference.
Emission-control devices can be too big and too heavy to fit on a motorcycle, Elson said. Also, motorcycles comprise about 1 percent of all vehicles on the road nationwide, so collectively, their impact on air quality is small, Elson said. But it is growing.
Some countries, like
"We are entering new territory with fuel prices," Swanton said. "The whole game is changing. We are going to see a lot of innovative approaches; some of them may not be environmentally friendly."
Meanwhile, many off-road motorcycles are made "street legal" by adding street tires and head-, tail- and brake lights. According to the EPA, many of these off-road vehicles on public streets and highways are not EPA emission-compliant, but it can be difficult to get the polluters fixed or off the road.
Vehicle emission testing is mandatory in 34 states, but to Elson's knowledge, no states require motorcycle emission testing since special equipment is needed to test motorcycle emissions.
"It's the cost versus the benefits," he said.
SCOOTER SALES SOAR, BUT YOU CAN CHOOSE WISELY
Two-wheeled commuter vehicles are getting more popular here, too.
For the second year in a row, new motorcycle sales, including scooters, have outpaced new passenger car sales in
"So far this year we are up 40 percent," said Kathy Naven, co-owner of Scooters of Boise, which had been selling out orders about as fast as they came in last month.
Rising fuel costs and decreasing motorcycle and scooter prices are driving people to trade in their four-wheeled rides for two-wheeled ones, Swanton said. But many people do not realize how polluting motorcycles and scooters can be, Swanton said.
"Cleaner is not going to be cheaper," he said.
Consumers need to read the labels, Swanton said. The question is more complex than opting for a four-stroke engine rather than a two-stroke, which usually are more polluting, Swanton said. Some two-strokes can be cleaner than some four-strokes, depending on what emission-control devices the manufacturer installs - but each new measure means added cost.
For example, Stella makes a two-stroke engine scooter with a catalytic converter, so it will burn cleaner than some four-stroke engines, Naven said.
Compounding the problem is a rise in substandard Asian imports, Swanton said. These cheap and dirty scooters and motorcycles do not comply with EPA standards. In 2005, the EPA issued an enforcement alert warning importers and the public about non-EPA compliant motorcycles and scooters entering the
"Tales of retailers and consumers stuck with substandard products, useless warranties and uncertified scooters are becoming too common," the EPA said.
The onus is on the consumer. The EPA and U.S. Customs cannot stop all shipments at the border, and Internet sales are difficult to monitor.
"Read the label, look for the EPA sticker, make sure it has a warranty," Naven said.
California Department of Motor Vehicles will not register scooters and motorcycles that do not comply with
"Theoretically, these products are being addressed through federal importing requirements, but some importers are getting around those issues and some of them do get in," said ITD spokesperson Mollie McCarty.
Scooters are at the other extreme of engine size of a Hummer (or most other “vehicles”) and typically have 50cc to 150cc engines. Admittedly some of these engines do have more lenient EPA emissions standards. However, while they may pollute more per displacement size, they are far smaller in engine displacement and will emit a smaller total amount of alleged pollutants into the atmosphere than larger motorcycles or automobiles.
Most modern scooters have a catalytic converter. If this article was written 10 years ago, the writer might have more of a point. But the fact is that these days most reputable manufacturers offer modern emissions-controlled, CARB and Euro III certified scooters.
Scooters are also cheaper energywise to build and maintain, which is a factor the writer forgot to mention. Half of the emissions created during a vehicles life are in the manufacture and cars and trucks lose that game in a huge way.
Cars emit CO2 in direct relation to how much petrol they burn, so using a lot less fuel should keep the environmentalists happy!
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