Green Machine - seriously green

I thought a thread dedicated to seriously green everyday or utility transport would be appropriate in this forum.

I'll start with Clive Mills of Western Australia who sent me a copy of his MB trike some time ago.
 

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A very interesting bike but I wonder about just how "green" it could be, as it is powered by a Happy Time engine. In the recent thread "Public perception?" http://www.motoredbikes.com/showthread.php?t=24406&highlight=emissions+mile, loquin presented the following information about the emissions of these engines.

Quote:

Sure. The HT engine puts out 80-100 times the emissions per cc of displacement than does the auto engine with emissions controls. This is in part due to the lack of emissions controls, and in part because the bike runs for at least twice as long per mile (at cruise.)

The CARBII/EPA emissions which our small engines must conform to are intended for weedeaters/generators, or other non-highway applications.

CARBII emissions are in units of grams per KW of output per hour. For two stroke engines, the limit is 50 grams (unburnt HC + NOx emissions) per KW Hour. (4-stroke engines are only 8 grams per KW per Hour!) A Happy time engine is about 3.5 HP per Grubee. Assuming a 3.5 HP (2.6KW) engine that just meets CARBII emissions and travels at a constant 30 MPH:

2.6KW * 50 grams equals 130 grams emissions per hour, for this motor.

You spread the 130 grams over 30 miles (1 hour at 30 MPH) and you
end up with 4.33 grams per mile emitted, for Hydrocarbons and nitrous oxides.

Now, 2-cycle Carbon Monoxide emissions are allowed to be about 500 grams per KW per hour. Following the same calculations as above for CO yields 43.3 grams of carbon monoxide per mile.

So, the hypothetical bike meeting CARBII standards emits 6.7 times more HC/CO emissions per mile than the car which just meets the EPA emissions limit. (4.33 / (.25+.4))

In addition, the MB generates 12 times the carbon monoxide emissions per mile.

Even my much lower emission producing TLE43 two-stroke still emits about 3 times the HC/CO emissions as a car.

A 4-stroke motor, on the other hand, is about the same as an auto.
__________________
Lou
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well that tore that one up pretty darn good
even before the evidence was presented
I never thought of the Happy Times as being green anyTHING
and we should not try to lead anyone on to think that a HT is green in any way
because when the stuff hits the fan
as in the truth
it may be held against all motorized bicycles
which just is not right
because -- at least here in my state -- many are TRULY Legal
and do not leave a toxic smelling thing behind

thus think it to be best not to throw all motors into the green spot

to tell you the truth I am not too green on much
but
best
not to deceive the public

ride that thing
 
dont mean to beat the dead horse but 2-stroke engines are the epitome of pollution generating internal combustion engines..
 
^you are correct, but a single happy time engine @30mph does not put out as much pollution as an modern 2.0 Liter internal combustion engine.

But then again I also drive a kawasaki Ninja 250 lol
 
^you are correct, but a single happy time engine @30mph does not put out as much pollution as an modern 2.0 Liter internal combustion engine.

But then again I also drive a kawasaki Ninja 250 lol
Very inteligent... quantified response.

the ford focus commercial says the focus puts out less pollution in 2100+ miles of driving than an hour of use on a 5.4 horsepower lawnmower. In fact you would have to drive one 180 miles to equal the output of grilling a hamburger.

http://www.paramuspost.com/article.php/20060918184017606

Since I can visibly see the smoke coming out my 2-stroke exhaust sometimes I am going to call the HT motor a big fat global warming FAIL... not that I am really into that kinda thing.

The whole trend towards cleaner cars/air is really getting ridiculous... did you know that CARB has a new classification??? It's called the super ultra low emission vehicle category... Im not making that up, is that laughable to anybody else??? Like some congressmen was up late and couldn't think of anything better for the meeting the next day... so they thought

"I got it... we just put super in front of ultra low emission vehicle... yeah that sounds good. They'll love that"

It sounds like something off Seinfeld
 
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