Gaseous Emissions from Euro 3 Motorcycles and Euro 5 Passenger Cars Measured Over Different Driving Cycles

Regulated gaseous emissions from two Euro 3 motorcycles and three Euro 5 passenger cars were measured over different driving cycles. The purpose of this study was to get data on typical emission levels and patterns of motorcycles and passenger cars currently circulating on the road in Europe. In respect to this, three driving cycles were selected: the current type approval driving cycles used to certify the test vehicles for emissions (NEDC for passenger cars and the EDC for motorcycles) and the world-wide harmonized driving cycle for motorcycles (WMTC). The gaseous emissions (NO_x, HC, CO and CO₂) were measured using the typical type approval test procedure for light duty vehicles. Since all the vehicles tested had been certified using the relevant current legislative cycle (i.e. NEDC or EDC), these vehicles were presumably not optimized for the WMTC cycle. This means that the emissions measured over the WMTC may be considered closer to real world driving emissions allowing a more realistic comparison between the tested passenger cars and motorcycles. In addition to the emission bag-values, the second-by-second emission concentration values measured at the tailpipe outlet were recorded, allowing the analysis of the emission patterns and in particular of the importance of the cold start in respect to the distance specific emissions. In general, HC and CO emissions from the tested motorcycles resulted to be higher than the respective emission levels of the passenger car, while NO_x emissions resulted to be dependent on the engine technology.