By: unknown
Environmental impact
In 2007 and 2008, motorcycles and scooters, due to good fuel efficiency, attracted interest in the United States from environmentalists and those affected by increased fuel prices.[34][35] Piaggio Group Americas supported this interest with the launch of a "Vespanomics" website and platform, citing lower per-mile carbon emissions (40 lb/mile less than the average car) and better fuel economy.[36]
Other sources, however, point out that while motorcycles may be better in terms of greenhouse gases, a motorcycle releases 10–20 times more total pollution per mile than a new car.[34][37] This pollution comes in large part from nitrogen oxide, a byproduct of combustion that is a major component of smog and is largely because of their less efficient catalytic converters.[34]
United States Environmental Protection Agency 2007 certification result reports for all vehicles versus on highway motorcycles (which also includes scooters),[38] the average certified emissions level for 12,327 vehicles tested was 0.734. The average "Nox+Co End-Of-Useful-Life-Emissions" for 3,863 motorcycles tested was 0.8531, for a difference of about 16%, not the claimed 10X factor. Likewise, if one looks at how many of the 2007 motorcycles tested were also catalytic equipped, 54% of them, 2,092, were equipped with a catalytic converter.
European emission standards for motorcycles are similar to those for cars. Motorcycles must meet Euro III standards,[39] while cars must meet Euro IV standards. Therefore, the difference in total pollution between motorcycles and cars that pass European emission standards would be small, certainly much smaller than the 10X factor claimed by the referenced LA Times article.
