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.
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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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