How euro 4 is killing off air cooled motorcycles

[cheeseman]

This article was linked in another forum.

Though it was interesting so thought I'd repost it here.

https://www.motorcycle.in.th/article.php/The-End-of-Air-Cooled-Engines

While I'm all for reducing pollution, considering how few bikes there are on the roads compared with other polluting vehicles, the whole thing seems pretty pointless here. (maybe in India they would benefit, but that's probably the last place to consider copying the euro 4 requirements).
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XJ600S->Sprint ST 955i * ; Now ST1100 + W650

[sickpup]

That article misses out the other crucial reason why air-cooled engines are being phased out, noise.
The water jacket around an engine will reduce engine noise by 3+ decibels. Couple this with close fitting bodywork with noise deadening foam and you can have an incredibly quiet motorcycle.
If you look at new car tyres they now have a noise index on the sticker, it won't be long till this is used on bike tyres as tyre noise is no considered a bigger nuisance than engine noise on a standard bike.

[Rogerborg]

[stevo as b4]

Air cooled engines have been killed in all other forms of transport, and in terms of high performance bikes air cooled engines were dead by around 1985, as higher power per litre in sports bikes was being chased.

Many small 125cc+ scooters are now liquid cooled and any of the 50's worth having were 15years ago too.

Retro bikes have also been water cooled for a while now, with fake finning to replicate old air cooled big motors.

I don't see it being a big problem to uk bike sales, and the Chinese generic 125's with the cheap and simple CG/GS based engines will grow a water jacket without that much cost if it's required.

It will be a shame to see the end of big old bruisers like the XJR1300 though, but that engine has had over 30years of air play, and I wouldn't say a Honda CB1300S suffers in looks or sales by being water cooled.

They will never be able to take away and legislate old bikes off the road though, only new stuff for which the market is drying up in many classes anyway.

get your old bikes out and have some fun on them instead IMO.

Those that wonder how good the 2017 R1 or BMW S1000RR will be are really barking up the wrong tree, and a bit of legislation won't make them noticeably any different to ride, and if it did people should get nice new bikes now to keep instead of being up traders to the next new/big thing just to have a another new bike on the drive that will get chopped back in in 3000miles or so anyway.

[sickpup]

[chris-red]

[stevo as b4]

Ok, well counting all the SACS Suzuki's as air cooled bikes, then around the late 80's then.

All fast 600's, 750's 900-1000cc's had gone water by then, with the exception of the GSXR750/1100.

There was never a good 600cc sportsbike that was not liquid cooled, as even decent for the time bikes like the GPZ550 and Yamaha FZ6 were way behind the performance of the water cooled stuff.

Ducati seemed to be getting reasonable performance out of it's 750-1100cc air cooled twins until recently, but they were never in competitive class sports bikes where ultimate performance mattered most.

Oh and by the way I have nothing at all against air cooled engines, and hope my post did not come across that way?

All the best sounding strokers were air cooled and always will be!

[sickpup]

[chris-red]

[ScaredyCat]

For the unenlightened, why does it matter if it's air or water cooled? From a user perspective, that is.
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Honda CBF125 ➝ NC700X
Honda CBF125 ↳ Speed Triple

[MCN]

[chris-red]

[0l0dom0l0]

[MCN]

[NJD]

So Euro 4 enforces a much stricter emissions test than the current Euro 3 therefore meaning that all post Euro 4 production bikes will most likely be liquid cooled.

Seems nothing more than a knowledge update to me personally but then I find myself asking what effect this has over the smaller brands such as Lexmoto that only import and re-badge air cooled models. End of such a company or a giant rush in production and pre Euro 4 registration in order to last a while longer until figuring out what to do post Euro 4? (I only ask based on the fact that my current machine is zed brand and would rather get rid of sooner rather than latter if it looks like the cheap and cheerful method is to come to an end)

Does the new Euro 4 rules have any effects on the sale value of currently registered bikes? (air cooled or liquid cooled)

And finally will all the current bikes registered pre Euro 4 encounter a higher rate of tax or insurance? (air cooled or liquid cooled)

^ I only ask that one as I remember reading something a while ago about bikes made before a certain year paying a higher congestion charge due to emissions and my brain wonders and inquires at how they might attempt to enforce higher charges and throw a "Euro 3 bike init m8" excuse about.

Just attempting to wrap my head around what the changes mean, sorry if the questions are basic on the surface to others, first time while i've been riding that I've encountered such a change.

[N cee thirty]

euro 4? we're on euro 6 next month
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'00 Aprilia RS50 > '92 Honda CG > '99 Yamaha Fazer > '91 Yamaha RXS > '79 Suzuki X5 > 01' Honda Cg > 07' Honda Cg > 82' Kawasaki Z200 > suzuki gsxr 400 gk73a > honda vfr 400 NC30 Mod 2 Passed 09/06/2011

Jewlio Iglesias wrote: I actually did vote BNP once

[J.M.]

[ScaredyCat]

[CHR15]

"anti-tamper"


trololol.
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Turbocharged drag thing / project death weapon / GK73A
Ste: I'm not entirely sure how you'd go about verbally abusing someone with a potato but I'm sure it's possible.

[RhynoCZ]

Euro 4 almost seems like a desperate call for turbocharged motorcycles.

I think the exhaust system and the DFi units are as good as it gets. The next stage to keep the emissions of CO2, and others that people even don't know about, is to burn less fuel, in the same displacement engines. The only way how to achieve this, yet keeping the performance, would be a turbocharger/kompressor OR and electric motor fitted to the bike, which seems unthinkable, although it could be done.
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[Ed Case]

What a nest of 'kin vipers that EU monster is !.

[MCN]

[Rogerborg]

[MCN]

[barrkel]