Honda Bike, Scooters To Switch To 4-Stroke

Japans Honda Motor Co said on Wednesday it would begin to switch from two-stroke to cleaner four-stroke engines for most of its motorcycle and scooter models from early 1999.

Almost all Honda motorcycles and scooters sold worldwide would be powered by four-stroke engines by the end of 2002, Honda president Nobuhiko Kawamoto said.

Four-stroke engines consumed 20 percent less fuel than their more basic two-stroke equivalents and also cut hydrocarbon emissions blamed for causing photochemical smog, Kawamoto told a news conference.

He added that Honda would fit catalytic converters to its scooters from February next year, ahead of new Japanese regulations on two-stroke engines that go into effect in October.

 

The catalytic converters would reduce emission levels to one-third those of current models, but all such two-stroke engines would eventually be replaced by four-stroke models, Kawamoto said.

He said that Honda would launch a large sports motorcycle model in Europe in January with toxic gas emissions less than one-tenth the limit to be set by European emission regulations to go into effect in June 1999.

Despite the switch to four-stroke engines, Honda would continue to develop new cleaner engines based on two-stroke technology for limited use, Kawamoto said.

Honda planned to reduce the output of waste and harmful substances at its factories at home and abroad to near-zero levels by the end of 2001.

Honda had already cut production of waste and harmful substances at its factories by 80 percent by 1997 from 1990 levels, another Honda official said.