Thanks to the Willamette Week Online for helping to dispell the old “Scooters are more environmentally frendly” myth. They were basically saying an old 2-stroke kills more bunnies than a Hummer… Ok, not exactly… But they WERE saying that Patrick’s ’68 GT 180 is responsible for global warming and will melt 60% of the polar icecaps by the next High Roller’s rally. Check out a snippet:
With temperatures rising like gas prices, scooters may seem the perfect mode of transportation.
You get up to 100 miles per gallon, on top of the hipster factor and the feel of the wind in your hair. But there’s one imperfection to these sassy little two-wheeled machines: A March 2005 study by the Environmental Protection Agency shows most scooters on the road pollute more than SUVs.
That sounded so counterintuitive that WW decided to test a few scooters, with help from the crew at Esquire Motors in Goose Hollow, which donated its time and emissions-testing equipment.
Then came the hard part.
Telephone calls and emails seeking scooters to test from scooter shops and groups went unanswered; other scooter owners proved willing to talk—until the story’s angle was revealed. Finally, however, we persuaded three scooter lovers to volunteer their vehicles.
Patrick Fitzgibbons, co-owner and founder of P-Town Scooters, let us test his vintage scooter, which established just how bad older models are. Although he knew his pride and joy wasn’t the cleanest of motorized vehicles, Fitzgibbons was still surprised by the results.
Click on the title link to see the results. One comment from “Ferdinand” says:
“Even better: bicycles. No unburned hydrocarbons, but I do emit carbon dioxide as I ride.” Not to mention the loads of Methane! (hehe, I kid, I kid) It’s only a matter of time before humans make this rock look like Mars. I wonder how much pollution a rocket outta here would generate.
9. August 2006 at 7:04 pm
Yup, interesting slant on this one. She ended-up giving kudos to the Motofino line for their 125cc 4strokes (aptly dubbed the “hockey mask” bike at the 2006 Indy Dealers Show).
I had originally heard the article was to be about the local Portland Scooter Scene. They even staged a photo shoot to try and get as many scooters out as possible, but the day they picked was Father’s Day so only a few showed-up. Then we heard “The photos for WW’s Finder magazine will be in a “positive, alternative transportation” article focusing on scooters, buses and bicycles.
As for clean burning bikes, our cleanest burning for sale at the shop would have to be the Sachs MadAss 49cc 4-stroke. You can barely hear the engine running in stock format. I can’t say the author approached us about having it tested along with Patrick’s vintgae Vespa, but I’m sure the numbers would be pretty low.
Also a motorcycle mechanic made comment in regards to the volume of hydrocarbons produced by SUV’s vs. those produced by scooters not to mention the overall fuel consumption differences. I’d be interested in a more detailed analysis of products within the scooter marketplace for both 2 & 4-stroke models. Steve???
9. August 2006 at 9:39 pm
Yes, There is absolutely no comparison in the VOLUME of hydrocarbons emitted when comparing a scooter to an SUV. I’m sure with most scooters the percent of hydrocarbons in the exhaust is higher than say a new computer-controlled engine management system in an SUV, But there is no way anyone can say that a scooter polutes more than an average SUV. Anyone trying to say otherwise is just trying to justify a bad habbit.
9. August 2006 at 9:44 pm
Another thing, When riding a bicycle, you are more than likely inhaling some unburned vehicle hydrocarbons and metabolizing them. hehe, just a thought.
9. August 2006 at 10:13 pm
and regarding riding a bike, don’t forget that chronic bike riders are bad for the environment.
9. August 2006 at 10:32 pm
The global-warming hypothesis, however, is no longer tenable. Scientists have been able to test it carefully, and it does not hold up. During the past 50 years, as atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have risen, scientists have made precise measurements of atmospheric temperature. These measurements have definitively shown that major atmospheric greenhouse warming of the atmosphere is not occurring and is unlikely ever to occur.
The temperature of the atmosphere fluctuates over a wide range, the result of solar activity and other influences. During the past 3,000 years, there have been five extended periods when it was distinctly warmer than today. One of the two coldest periods, known as the Little Ice Age, occurred 300 years ago. Atmospheric temperatures have been rising from that low for the past 300 years, but remain below the 3,000-year average.
10. August 2006 at 12:00 am
Actually I’ve read that drivers of other vehicles end up breathing/metabolizing more pollution than bicycle riders.
11. August 2006 at 3:48 am
Tee-hee! That’s a funny crappy article. I’ve been reading the posts from scooter riders on that page and that poor author probably feels (and rightly so) like a dolt.
17. June 2009 at 5:50 am
I like pizza