What's More Environmentally Friendly? | MythBusters | Season 8 Episode 12 | Full Episode

[@mareklewandowski829]

- Were you ever a kid? - No. I love Jamie 😆

[@vogelvrouw]

Its so fun to see Jamie actually get excited at something

[@fishboi7425]

You can tell he’s exited because he says he is

[@blandrooker6541]

However, since this episode was created, most road bike manufacturers have had to come into compliance with European standards for motorcycle emissions and now have catalytic converters, like my GSXS1000GT. Let's not forget that Season 8 was 14 years ago.

[@Cocoanutty0]

The bike tested in this had a catalytic converter, apparently.

[@dunstonlion1342]

Oh heck I feel old now 😅

[@MegaLokopo]

Electric motors and electric bikes are also much more of a thing now.

[@connorbanks654]

also the catted bike was presumably cold, leaving the cat cold and therefore probably not doing a whole lot as the whole point is for it to get hot af

[@oregonsdank]

You're in denial. Cars are superior they can carry more people which cut emissions by up to 600% if 6 people

[@zerken77]

14:58 funny that whenever people talk about CO2 emissions, they always show a nuclear power plant, even though the “smoke” from them isn’t smoke, it is purely steam

[@littleblackfox1]

This show inspired a young me to become a mechanic and to learn welding/fabrication! Until I saw this show I'd never seen another girl do stuff like that (and get taken seriously) so thank you Karey Byron for showing me it was possible! ❤

[@ScottFunk-us6ro]

Illogical. Most men don't care about gender, they care only about performance when doing a job. What you wrote seems quite sexist.

[@ginomctony6773]

something tory didnt really elaborate on but i think is interesting to note, the reason the RPG round is made like that is so the copper will go through tank armour.

[@brycelynch2138]

7:44 - Impressive set of pipes, Adam.

[@QUARTERMASTEREMI6]

Yeah, I know! That's some serious breath! 😳

[@alika.dudu.tshela]

Jamie was born with a moustache and M5 was his nursery😊

[@The-Zer0th-Law]

Mythbusters was my only reason to watch Discovery Channel.

[@NolieRavioli]

bro the fact that mythbusters was a tv show was and still is unbelievable to me

[@canada_rye]

wtf does that even mean?

[@littelcreatchure506]

​@@canada_rye theyre basically saying they cant believe this was a real tv show

[@BaldHeadedManc]

​@@canada_ryeIs English not your first language? Must be one of those dirty canadian hookers

[@sunny-sq6ci]

God bless murica!😂 no but really, I think the only reason they were allowed to do all the shenanigans is that they were still providing meaningful educational material

[@ThrasherGnar]

@@canada_ryethey have like a 3rd grade level of grammar but they are trying to say: “The fact that Mythbusters was a TV show was, and still is, unbelievable to me. Using the word “was” twice is confusing and was a poor choice.

[@anthonywilliams7052]

Hey, the 49 minute international version. Why do we only get 38 to 42 minutes in the USA when we are PAYING for cable? It shouldn't have commercials.

[@ynotw57]

Good ol’ capitalism at its finest.

[@EmpPeng2k7]

RPG 7 does have thermobaric and anti personnel frag warheads as well, sadly won't ever be able to put that to the team

[@hughjanus6975]

Shut up furry pony brony

[@Tigerlady248]

When it comes to the bikes, I think they likely lack some of the purifiers cars have because of their size, but fixing that issue would be a bit too complex for a Mythbusters episode.

[@Lazi3b0y]

I'm also surprised they didn't test the difference in emissions when filling a car with 5 people vs summing the total emissions of 5 motorcycles

[@majortellandrus2552]

​@@Lazi3b0yI don't think they really needed to, not most people aren't riding around with much more than one or maybe two passengers. Also, how would you propose they were even supposed to test that? Because once you start comparing the ratio of each one on the road it gets WAY less definitive and matters less to the individual making the decision. Obviously 7 motorcycles with one rider each output more emissions than a single car with 5 passengers, but 7 cars with any number of passengers will be outputting more emissions than a single motorcycle. Sure comparatively the cars are more "worth" it because they're transporting more people, but chances are those cars will just have a single driver or you could also just be taking public transportation at that rate because if we're going by "how many people can you transport on (x) emissions" then public transportation wins literally every single time, so the result of "car vs bike" doesn't even matter and at that rate what's the point of ANY of the testing. In short that just wasn't the point of the test and to try and test it would go way outside the scope of the question.

[@johnmadara1252]

i thought they would have attached a cat to it

[@NinetyTres]

@@johnmadara1252 That model Yamaha WR250, has a cat in the header pipe

[@icemanespoo2977]

Mythbusters could have used drones on so many episodes had they been more available in their time. Aeriel point of view on many experiments and explosions could have given amazing footage.

[@rinoz47]

This was waaaay before feasible cinematic drones.

[@arrowghost]

The motorbike improvement is only on the aerodynamics, the real culprit is the engine itself, Adam & Jamie should have done something about this.

[@Keys_9914]

I agree, but it would have probably taken a lot of production time...

[@precisionleadthrowing4628]

This was clearly scam episode prepaid by the doomsday cult of climate change. Since they had to go infront of scumbama in white house the show went downhill.

[@AkiSan0]

the cat is most likely the cause for the reduction in emissions. if they would put a mini cat onto the bikes, it would change drastically.

[@helljester8097]

Just a cat on its own doesn’t help much. I’m pretty sure the 2000’s bike had a catalytic converter but they’re always a generation or two behind compared to cars. On top of that most bikes have engines tuned for performance. Typically with short stroke high lift cams and richer fuel mapping. There have been super efficient motorcycle engines one being from Honda which was basically a 1,3 litre 4 cylinder Honda jazz cut in half making a very low power but smooth and torquey twin with excellent mileage and emissions compared to similar models. They could have chosen a certain model of bike and changed cam timings gearing mapping etc but then it kind of leaves the scope of mythbusters.

[@ShellingAdventures]

But remember: they’re special effects specialists, not engineers; I think that might be a bit outside of the scope of their knowledge and skill sets.

[@3gsFreak]

I miss this. Please bring back mythbusters.

[@tonycook2347]

100% given all the new tech since then, there are heaps more myths to take on. Even if they just did a couple of seasons.

[@MGower4465]

Wouldn't be the same with Grant gone. And Jamie and Adam have both said no way

[@splatninja9447]

.... Adam coming in with the ol safety squint 😂

[@SS2LP]

I remember watching this episode years ago and I have the same issue with it that I do now. They say the bike engine was just as bad but was it? Yes it did emit more but 3000% more of .2 grams is 6 grams. Comparatively the CO2 emissions were over 100 grams. You also have to consider how much of an effect the specific emission has but the data wasn’t presented to scale relative to each other. The other issue is the aerodynamics of the bike we’re only ever going to proportionally reduce the emissions, you’d need to fundamentally change the engine to make a difference.

[@deezkhajiit184]

Those gases may be more potent in smaller amounts.

[@TheBrothergreen]

@@deezkhajiit184 "more potent" First of all, the original myth was about global warming, but they shifted the narrative half way through to "worse to breathe," which fine, that's important to know, but that's not the myth they were testing, and there's no standardized definition of "worse for the environment" to test against. Saying X is worse than Y without an objective testable metric or any way to compare. Nobody is switching from cars to bikes to prevent deer getting CO poisoning. Second, on those charts were CO which is literally CO2 with 1 fewer oxygen molecule. Guess what happens to CO when combined with O2, like when exposed to AIR? Also on those charts was "hydrocarbons" which could either mean methane, which I would agree is more potent, or unburnt fuel, which likely won't even stay aerosolized, or any number of other hydrocarbons like propane, ethane, hexane, benzene, pentane, acetylene, etc. All of these gases are known and could be compared scientifically to CO2, but they were not. They just said it's "worse" without any qualification. So 2 of the three charts were meaningless. That just leaves NO2 which isn't a greenhouse gas at all.

[@a.w.1820]

arguably a little better, but especially worse in the context of hauling passengers and cargo.

[@crazyycm3d]

Yeah carbon monoxide is only really concerning inside areas with poor ventilation, like a garage. Carbon monoxide released into the atmosphere usually oxidizes with oxygen to make normal CO2 within a year, so its not really 'harmful' to the environment anymore so than CO2 is. Also yeah the other hydrocarbons mentioned were concerning but I honestly think that is purely because motorcycles don't use the same filters cars use nor are even usually smog certified. There too little motorcycles on the road I think for anybody to really care about pushing for motorcycles to be held to the same standards as cars, even if they do release substantially less CO2. Why can't we just take engines used in bikes and repurpose them for 3 wheeled or 4 wheeled lightweight cars?

[@tiagobelo4965]

​@crazyycm3d you're thinking of quadrocycles, in european law terms. not necessarily motorcycle engines, but commonly small, often single cylinder, engines in power and weight limited cars, which allow people to drive from 14-16 and up (depends on the country), they're somewhat slow and unsafe, but usually pretty economical though rarely as much as a 4-stroke scooter/moped.

[@EthanTheWerewolf]

Im super glad i found this channel since ive been watching to rewatch Mythbusters for a while now without having to sail the seven seas if you know what i mean. Younger me would be foaming at her mouth at being able to watch so many episodes, current me is still foamin at the mouth but now im a guy lmao

[@BoeBinsky]

32:05 how does this add up?? The bullet travelled 40 ft in 22 ms but then for 80 ft it magically got there in 42 Ms, cutting off 2 ms. How does that add up lol

[@МихаилПоздняков-п4й]

I believe they were not super accurate with RPG ammunition choice. It's no use firing at a human with HEAT warhead, as it clearly does not produce very much pressure and shrapnel, there are anti-personnel warheads with just high explosive charge for that purpose. Both of them would probably be dead in that case. Nevertheless, what a spectacular episode it was. I miss mythbusters so much.

[@MrMarinus18]

Not likely. Anti-personal weapons are usually designed to have as small a damage area as possible. A hand grenade is designed to have very low penetration power so that you can throw it into a room and a simple wall will protect you.

[@МихаилПоздняков-п4й]

Well, you can't directly compare anti-personnel ammunition designed for indoor and for field usage. RPG ammo is definitely the latter, and it certainly has greater blast radius. After all shooter must stay at least 60 ft away from his target, if he wants the rocket to become armed as we learned from the episode. But never mind, I have checked myself again, and found that frag rocket has a very distinctive shape, it's just a tube with no conical liner. So "they" in my first comment should probably go to the Hollywood rather than mythbusters. How (un)surprising.

[@richtravis9562]

Im thinking that a pistol round hitting the warhead pre-target impact, before it was armed, would ruin the shaped charges explosive focus; it would make a basic fireball at point of impact the gasses of which would tend to travel towards the pistol a bit.

[@МихаилПоздняков-п4й]

@@richtravis9562 I'm not sure about that. The warhead has much greater momentum and structural integrity than pistol bullet, so the latter would be obliterated by impact force. Maybe the molten copper stream wouldn't be so focused, but it will retain most of its destructive capability, especially against human target.

[@richtravis9562]

@@МихаилПоздняков-п4й I'm not sure, either..but there is a cone of pure copper then the shaped charge cone. the bullet would easily spread the copper and I THiNK shatter the shaped charge before hitting the sustainer charge, I think when the sustainer kicks in the broken sustainer envelope would cause the whole thing to go boom? it's been 20+ years since I examined one carefully, so...maybe not.

[@sebastianahrens2385]

At 46:20, there's a single frame where the shape charge spans from the acrylic to outside the frame. Goes to show how stupidly fast these are.

[@LadywatchingByrd]

6:31 so Adam by himself is in full unmasked mode 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@quinnmclaughlin7537]

even back when this aired, I'm surprised they didn't bring up 2-stroke vs 4-stroke

[@michaelmayhem350]

First RPG I don't remember roll playing games on mythbusters

[@matthewlo7868]

It’s the other kind of RPG… The one that fires rockets!

[@michaelmayhem350]

@@matthewlo7868 nothing gets past captain obvious

[@Games_and_Music]

16:42

[@InexplicableInside]

Be careful not to confuse them at home or you'll need a new play group in less than a second.

[@RunicSigils]

​@@InexplicableInsideTechnically, if someone is using it literally at home, they most likely don't have to worry about that because they're probably going to join the old friend group.

[@benjaminclehmann]

Worth noting, now that a lot of motorbikes are 4 strokes (just like cars) you would expect the emission profile to be the same if you bought a 4 stroke bike. Which means the motorbikes should be massively better on all metrics because they burn so little fuel. However I think there's still a fair number of 2 strokes on the market, plus most secondhand bikes will be 2 strokes. 2 stroke engines are delightfully simple (and light, helpful for motorbikes) machines, there's a reason that they were used for everything except cars (from outboard engines to chainsaws). But they overlap what would be the intake and exhaust strokes of a 4 stroke engine by design. Which means there's much more unburnt fuel going out the exhaust. Add to this the subpar compression and you get a lot of nitrous oxides, carbon monoxides, and hydrocarbons coming out the tailpipe, which are all a product of incomplete combustion. The unburnt fuel in particular is sometimes an issue in parks, where motorbikes (alongside ATVs and similar vehicles) are starting to face some restrictions on where they can ride, as it could be a wildfire risk.

[@PileOfEmptyTapes]

I don't think they would have been silly enough to pick 2-stroke bikes for this exercise... it would have been completely hopeless with one of those little stinkers from the get-go, with unburnt hydrocarbons being off the charts. You can trust your nose on that one! I can't help but think that bikes seem to be substantially hampered by low systems complexity brought about by space and weight constraints. The "new bike" seems to have been rather worse at cleaning up its exhaust than the "00s bike" with more emissions despite much lower fuel consumption.

[@f3rny_66]

do you realize this episode was aired in 2010, 14 years ago?

[@helljester8097]

Err it’s worth noting that all the bikes in the video were 4 stroke. And unless you’re in a country where it’s almost exclusively 50 or 125cc bikes the majority of used bikes are 4 stroke. For decades the only new 2 strokes were like single cylinder off road bikes or 50cc mopeds. Most of the 2 stroke motorcycles died off in the 70’s!!!

[@williamdouglas8040]

Almost all road bikes have been 4 strokes for the past 50 years. But with regards to air pollution, they will be worse then cars. This is due to their optimization for small size, low weight, and high performance. Automobile engines have more headroom to implement features that reduce pollution - and it is mandated by law. Just look at the size of the catalytic converters on bikes vs cars. Cars now have multiple catalytic converts, multiple oxygen sensors, and a pile of other tech that results in cleaner operations. But while cars might be cleaner bikes will consume less fuel so, from a CO2 perspective, bikes are less harmful.

[@MrMarinus18]

I feel that is somewhere where government regulations need to step in. Maybe banning or at least restricting the use of 2 stroke engines.

[@Jayjay-qe6um]

Presently, in some countries the enviromentally friendly vehicle are complying or surpassing the more stringent European emission standards (such as Euro6), or California's zero-emissions vehicle standards (such as ZEV, ULEV, SULEV, PZEV), or the low-carbon fuel standards enacted in several countries.

[@Shawn_the_Protogen]

I think they might have gotten one thing wrong with the RPG myth, RPGs typically have impact fuses which are armed by removing the safety cap. It's not a fancy rocket like the US has that is armed by firing, if you remove the safety cap and drop it on the nose, it'll explode.

[@MGower4465]

Why would you drop an DPG on your nose?

[@man_in_space]

@@MGower4465_Its_ nose (the tip of the munition).

[@Philly_Gamer]

lol! ​@@MGower4465

[@Philly_Gamer]

Whoosh ​@@man_in_space

[@witeshade]

I think that's not how it's supposed to actually work though. You can make them be a hair trigger to the point where it'll blow up on you if you drop it, but I think that's not their intended usage because that'd be too dangerous even for their own standards.

[@YuriHabadakas]

Okay, so the data indicates that the bikes are indeed more fuel efficient than the cars. So, in order to make them pollute less than the cars, the objective is to.... ...make them even more fuel efficient? Why? Why do they emit more of the other pollutants *while already being more fuel efficient*? Wouldn't it make more sense to tackle the problem from that angle (or, at least, explain why it isn't viable) rather than trying to make it yet more fuel efficient?

[@terweeme]

i agree but had no idea on why, until i read a comment above how most bikes at the time were two stroke which meant that more of the fuel went unburnt as exhaust leading to those pollutants....not sure on what the standards are these days.

[@gavbarker8689]

@@terweeme all the bikes used were 4 stroke, you can see at a glance, and the sound is very obvious, most road bikes are 4 stroke and have been for many years, even single cylinder motocross bikes have been mainly 4 stroke for over 20 years now.

[@MichaelDavis-zu2ko]

An engine can be more fuel efficient, but still emit more pollutants. That's typically the case with small engines which, while they get more *miles per gallon*, they technically are less efficient in terms of the mechanical energy extracted per gram of fuel used. That's because the small engine design and higher rpm leads to less complete combustion. A lot of unburnt stuff comes out of an engine like that. Also, even on motorcycles that have catalytic converters, they're often smaller and not as effective. That's on top of the fact that cars have more complete combustion. The reason they wanted to make the motorcycle use less fuel is because if less fuel is consumed then that would mean less pollutants will be released, which is what they found. (Less fuel to be burned incompletely) I think your misunderstanding is in the idea that, because the small engine is more fuel efficient, and also more polluting, that means that it's a general relationship: that more fuel efficiency means more polluting, which is obviously not the case. The fact that the motorcycle pollutes more is not due to its higher fuel efficiency, but because of the fact that its simply designed differently than a car engine. Without changing the engine, you can make it pollute less by using it more efficiently. That's why they tried this experiment.

[@jasonritter5236]

Cars have catalytic converters.

[@IDuBStepSZ]

To reduce the other pollutants would take more engineering that they probably would not want to do, it also would be a lot more boring to do. Then again all they needed to do is put a better or more modern catalytic converter and get a new ecu/computer and program an engine tune that's makes it more eco.

[@dookieshoes3585]

They should also add number of passengers. It’s not like every single car is only driving a single person

[@FacialVomitTurtleFights]

meh... even a couple passengers aint gon due jack... coming from a hypermiler.... I've added 100lbs to my car before and actually got better mpg in that run.... throw 5 people in with some flat tires.... roll down the windows... run the ac compressor... ya know.. like most cagers do :) and you might see some results.

[@Rathdrgnknight]

I miss Mythbusters so much. The one thing I wouldn't mind having a reboot of tbh.

[@stephendrake8145]

They had very aerodynamic race bikes back in the 1950’s colloquially called dustbin fairings…

[@joshuadougherty8077]

Grant made a slip up amd let his true engineer out. "Then weill fwinawy find ouwt" rip king 🙏

[@sunny-sq6ci]

its interesting how their fuel efficiency/ emissions test could still be applicable today. though the biggest difference is that since this episode, overall efficiency of both gas powered/ diesel vehicles and motorcycles, have gotten better.

[@seth1371]

It’s less fun when rpg’s are being shot at you.

[@nessamillikan6247]

This episode was produced in 2011, just a few years shy of when the first EVs were being produced, so it's awesome to see the different ideas people like Jamie and Adam were coming up for the CO2 emissions problem. I know there's no direct comparison, but I would love to see how emissions from both types of engines could stack up against the pollution from power plant energy production needed to produce the same KWhs per mile EVs and EMs consume.

[@scbtripwire]

I still think of the naughties as being 1900-1909. 😢

[@misterspiff7288]

This show is one of the coolest things America ever made.

[@yaysimonsays151]

this is just a testament to how effective cat converters are if anything

[@Queequeg61]

You also need to consider the amount of materials and energy it takes to build a bike compared to a car or truck. Bike wins hands down there.

[@anthonyluc5981]

One thing they didn't factor in with car vs motorcycle is pollution per person. A motorcycle is straight up mostly all that pollution per 1 person. If a second person is on the bike, you can divide it by 2, but it would also go through a lot more gas. With cars, you can have upwards of 8 people per car. If the car is fully loaded with people, it would go through more gas, but not as much percentage wise per person as a motorcycle. A car could have a second person and probably not have much of a noticeable difference. This would divide the results by 2, making it beat a motorcycle in every measurement. If the vehicle was loaded with 8 people, motorcycles would not be close.

[@M4TT4TT4CK]

This is why I’m a proud New Mexico Tech alumni lol

[@CasperUK31]

Potentially, car emissions could be even better as they can carry five people, meaning the per-person level is a fifth of the car as a whole.

[@FacialVomitTurtleFights]

Certainly, but alternatively... the number of diesel trucks I see in grocery store parking lots... I look like im from thailand on my bike whilst the guy next to me needs a smoke stack to get a bigmac... All kinds of people exist, but the I can not remember the last time I saw a full car of people 0_o it's not a very common happening

[@nicholasdoan7306]

What about the emissions you're breathing in inside the bubble ?

[@FacialVomitTurtleFights]

xD passes out at a stoplight

[@richewilson6394]

They had something similar back in the 1930s of a teardrop shaped car but it's controversial whether it was because of the design or that the driver had wiped out once and made it pretty much Sully the name of the car that they totally abandoned. It was supposed to be very energy efficient as well as aerodynamic. And it was like three wheels.

[@DarthBil1]

Where does the exhaust go in the bubble bike? It's not filling up the compartment that Jamie's in, is it?

[@BKKfreak]

Pollution is also dictated by how long each vehicle is on the road. If lane splitting is legal, motorbiike engines are running for much less time.

[@sl3102]

Surely the biggest reason for bikes polluting more has to be the total lack of emission control and not aerodynamics?

[@MartKencuda]

39:14 Why did Killing in the Name by Rage Against the Machine start playing randomly?

[@jayeff7900]

For the motorbike vs car test, a catalytic converter works best when it's really hot. I wonder if MacGyvering an insulated heat shield (metal shield and ceramic fiber insulation) on the motorcycle's exhaust from the engine past the catalytic converter would have given them better emissions results?

[@Hachiro]

I assumed motorcycles still didn't have catalytic converters. Doing a little bit of research, not all of them do yet, but emissions laws are slowly getting stricter. According to one site I found, (simplymotorcycle), it was estimated by the EPA that in 2010, around 50% of motorcycles had cats. So it's likely that the bikes used in the episode didn't have any, or had some pretty inefficient ones.

[@IDuBStepSZ]

They could have just bought some better catalytic converters for the bikes. Another thing they could have done is to get a better ecu/computer and tune it to be eco.

[@user-wu6qb2xl1c]

replacing the bullet with plastic entirely ruins it in my opinion, a bullet moving fast js certain to ruin the shaped charges liner before it takes its shaped forward

[@man_in_space]

12:28 The _fins_ leave a gash! HAHA!

[@MegaKracka]

I just want more, what makes the engine that much cleaner? Is it just the aerodynamics or is it all the extra stuff you have room to strap onto an engine that adds filters that you don't have room for on a bike? Could those be make for a bike? Wouldn't the bullet change the affects of the shape charge? The mass might be low the velocity is high.

[@FalconFetus8]

That rpg myth should have been called "plausible, but unlikely". Yes, the dude only survived by luck, but luck happens all the time in movies.

[@c911darkwolf]

So the final RPG test has me scratching my head. The RPG hit a plate that caused it to go off, but in the movie the bullet would of collided witth RPG with a lot of forward momentum giving a different outcome right?

[@stephendrake8145]

The motorcycle has more pollution per unit than 4 wheelers but fewer units of total exhaust per vehicle…

[@ThePatente]

Hey! Lol! It's clearly my Bike. A Yamaha WR250R. No! It's not fast. Yes!It's Fun lol

[@Psykomancer]

Damn, Adam has some pipes on him

[@user-us7tx1jp9n]

That Honda Accords pretty sweet lol

[@lord_rainbowman]

4:07 no i do not know what its like to get my car smogged 😂

[@EthanTheWerewolf]

I wonder how cars and bikes from the 2010s will compaire to the tests done here. Im really intrested how they'd compare

[@steverolfeca]

This has been done far better before. Turn a small bike into a recumbent to reduce frontal area, THEN add a tiny fairing.

[@bronislavbechnik4887]

Have you ever seen Velorex? (hybrid of bike and car, the "bubble" reminded mi that)

[@flipsidezw]

I love the fact that the RPG launcher has wood furniture.

[@renacuajo4916]

I'm surprised they didn't use aluminum for the bike frame. I'd be more fuel efficient

[@SoundsOfTheSeasons446]

Does the added weight on the bike delete any benefit that might have came from the new frame.

[@playedtoomuch5259]

why did they put the by far less interesting myth in the episode as the title of this one

[@MediumWolf227]

14:57 ah yes all that environment destroying steam lol

[@koopametalpack]

Nice mythbusting guys ❤️❤️❤️

[@Why-D]

And as soon as you want to carry a second Person and luggage, one bike is not enough.

[@FacialVomitTurtleFights]

0_o is that a challenge? mfs in thailand ll do that plus carry the car at the same time haha But nah that sounds like a truck person trying to justify the daily use of it because of the one time a year it serves a purpose that could be better fulfilled by a minivan..

[@PileOfEmptyTapes]

The car vs. motorbike data is giving some mixed signals. Here's my take on some of the phenomena seen: 1. The 2000s car (obviously a Ford of some description) seems to have a very efficient catalytic converter setup (possibly integrated into the exhaust manifold as common these days) while being run fairly rich, which brings down HC emissions and generates barely any NOx though obviously at the expense of mediocre fuel mileage. 2. The 80s car may have been using one of these "lean burn" affairs which were all the rage back then. Hence decent fuel efficiency but NOxtastic as burning lean increases temperatures and NOx generation. 3. The '90s Accord suffers a bit from being biased more towards fuel efficiency (so more NOx than the newer model) as well as an old-style catalytic converter setup that places it relatively far from the engine still. 4. Seeing the most unburnt HC among cars in the 80s model is not surprising, it would tend to have the most piston and piston ring wear, and who knows what condition the valve stem seals would have been in. 5. I reckon the '80s bike was a bit of an oil burner (possible reasons see above). It's about the only explanation for the combination of high HC and NOx and decent fuel mileage I can think of. It might also have been suffering from poor fuel atomization in the carb though. No cat, obviously. 6. The '90s bike seems to have been running fairly rich, reducing NOx in favor of more CO and unburnt HC. 7. The '00s bike probably ran even richer (hence lower mileage and lower NOx) but had a cat to keep CO and HC at bay. 8. The modern bike's cat doesn't seem to have been terribly effective. My impression is that bikes tend to be space and weight constrained and favoring older, mature technology and lower complexity. They don't sell in the same numbers either. In sum this gives car manufacturers a lot more leverage in fueling and exhaust cleanup facilities, engine control and ECU programming. A good kick in the rear end by applicable emissions standards also provides the necessary motivation (well... or at least the motivation to cheat, as exemplified by Dieselgate).

[@helljester8097]

Hey great analysis 👍 yeah the 2000’s sports bike has probably the most precise but rich fuel map for peak power but has the longest exhaust out of all the models with probably the biggest and cleanest cat which most resembles one that can be found on a car ( can’t remember if this model even had separate muffler and cat) But yeah the new single cylinder bike probably has its catalytic converter placed wherever the engineer found any space and is as small as possible whilst still passing the norm for its class when new….

[@zg2964]

Ford has low nOX because of the egr, cat is not part of the exhaust manifold but does bolt up to it. If its a California emission that year will have three cats.

[@flipsidezw]

If you want a bike to have the same or less emmissions as a car, put a catalytic converter on it.

[@3gsFreak]

Grant 💜

[@brianward7550]

My belief is that the motorcycle add so much higher emissions in those certain gases it's because it is air-cooled. Also it is true the fuel injection in the catalytic converter would help a lot. But, if it's are cool that's going to be putting out more nitrous oxide because there are hot spots in the combustion chamber

[@notYisan]

most environmentally friendly? train + bike combo, nothing will beat that except big oil.

[@franciscol3510]

Hell yeah brother!!! Public transit is the best!!!!!

[@DivineBearFalcon]

Indeed, also a boon to the wallet. Retired before 50 riding a bicycle. I learned at UT/Austin in Micro economics the average household spends far more on their transport than their home mortgage. I could quickly pay off my home mortgage (my only loan in life/tax deductible) increase my pension quickly , save for kids Uni and retire early. I also got a job in the Netherlands so my bike was paid by work, and every km ridden I received same tax free money as car drivers received. Good for the wallet, environment and mind/body.

[@MrMarinus18]

@@DivineBearFalcon Usually in the Netherlands you don't get a bike from work cause they assume you have your own.

[@harvey854]

@@DivineBearFalcon The Netherlands is a fantastic country for your health. I bet just climbing all the stairs in their tall houses is probably a big benefit to your physical health, not to mention how easy it is to get around on a bicycle.

[@chdreturns]

Except motorcycle and bikes are both unsafe as they only have two wheels and therefore are always fighting gravity to not fall over sideways. You wouldn't catch me dead on neither, both need an additional wheel to be safe. Expensive trip to the hospital from broken bones no thank you especially in this country.

[@Moakmeister]

If they made a lighter cage it would have helped a lot more. Why they chose a heavy metal like steel is beyond me.

[@TheBrothergreen]

Whatever they use needs to be able to stand up to 80mph winds (50mph plus a cross wind). They probably could have made it out of wood, though. Probably something to do with insurance/stunt work saftey regs

[@BobSmith-xe8we]

By adding the weight of anything you would streamline it with would make the difference obsolete when all you really have to do is have the rider tuck himself like bike racers do

[@Kimeters]

so there was nothing in the bubble design to prevent jamie from poisoning himself? lol

[@sky_2the_ler280]

I imagine this is how Adam drives to work everyday

[@edwardhawley9645]

Even in the eighties, cars had catalytic converters and bikes don't. Mystery solved!

[@NinetyTres]

Bike did and do have cats, I think it started in the early 2ks

[@alexwhatley6762]

Shame no consideration was given to single drivers sitting in stationary cars in traffic jams, while bikes keep moving...

[@MasterGeekMX]

I swear, Adam Savage is my spirit animal.

[@jarredcarlson2479]

Enchiladas

[@quinnmclaughlin7537]

revolver vs right, they calculated if they fired at the same time, what if the firing timing happened such that they met in the middle, giving the rpg time to arm

[@Lucky15416]

Your exhaust on the bike with the water drop design is inside the bubble, isnt this kinda dangerous considering the gas cant really escape and you are sitting inside?

[@jimthesalad]

Adam is the undiagnosed ADHD kid who grew up 😂😂

[@birdseyebestgoose5072]

Sure, motorcycles release more gas. However, the amount of them on the road compared to cars, as a whole, makes them more efficient. Motorcycles hurt the wallet less. That’s what matters to most.

[@TheBrothergreen]

By that logic, apache helecopters are even more fuel efficient. There are almost none of them on the road(metaphorically and otherwise.)

[@BahWeepGranahWeepNiniBong]

My 2022 Drz has a carby & no pollution stuff from factory. It's environmentally friendly, it told me so...

[@OpenCarryUSMC]

Car or bike better for the environment? You left out all the environmental impacts of getting the additional fuel to the vehicle as well as the additional impacts of producing the much larger cars and shipping them to market. The cars will lose

[@FacialVomitTurtleFights]

Bikes use less coolant/oil/brakes pads.... tires roughly even out.... however in general you will get less miles out of a motorcycle than a car...soooo "additional impacts of producing the much larger cars and shipping them to market" probably about even out give or take... 50k out of a lil 250 thumper.... x say 5? so 5 bikes per 1 car... PLUS Helmet/gloves/jacket/pants/boots/earplugs or whatever else... It's all a wash... it's all more efficient than a private jet.

[@OpenCarryUSMC]

@@FacialVomitTurtleFights when calculating the environmental impact of a bike you should remember to factor in the impacts from all the people attending the higher number of funerals as well as the additional impact of all the fire, police, coroner, etc. that have increased work (thus impacts) in responding and investigating. And the impact of trips for medical services including rehab for those who crash and survive. It’s not just about fuel and manufacturing. On the other hand, even a 15 mpg F350 that can seat six can get as much as 90 passenger miles per gallon, in safety, compared to maybe 40/80 on a solo/doubled up bike.

[@EthanTheWerewolf]

GEE I WONDER WHY I LOVE EXPLOSIONS, THIS SHOW MAY OR MAY NOT BE WHY

[@Slidaulth]

Or, and hear me out, just put the emission controls on the bike...it is a freaking catalytic converter and isn't why the car gets worse mileage...

[@ouch1011]

I wonder if the new bike's engine was small enough that it was subject to much less stringent emissions regulations than the much bigger 00's bike. Manufacturers have shown over and over that they will only do the bare minimum of what is required of them, especially if it benefits their profits. So, environmental responsibility (or safety) is not a priority. They will only do what the government requires them to do. It could be that there is a reduction in emissions regulations at 250cc, so the manufacturer would build the engine at 249cc and use the less stringent emissions requirements. Cars have been subjected to much more stringent emissions requirements for the past 40+ years, so the manufacturers are forced to build them in a more responsible way.

[@maximilianschug6271]

Should also have looked at the emissions and fuel consumption per passenger. Because all of the tested cars look like they could seat 4 people. where as fitting two people n the motorcycles tested might already be pushing it for some of them. So if you can fill your car with friends, family or coworkers, they'd be better than bikes even in fuel consumption and CO2 per person moved from a to b.

[@precisionleadthrowing4628]

The real myth is the scam the doomsday cult of climate change is pushing. CO2 is not pollution, it's as important as oxygen and water. No CO2 = no food = no life

[@FacialVomitTurtleFights]

divide by 4....

[@StonerDeer]

Not to mention.. car trips? Family trips. Lol. 1 motorcycle per person. Or 1 per two people.. Considering you can fit like 6 people in a 3 row van.. 😂

[@FacialVomitTurtleFights]

Yet... somehow every van I see is completely freaking empty... weird...

[@justanoman6497]

I mean the bike emission on the other stuff are 10 to 20 fold that of cars. There is no way improving fuel economy would be able to over turn that, as it would require a corresponding 10 to 20 fold improvement and that'd be physics defying. It is obviously a matter of emission control, probably have to do with space available. Without knowing any of the specifics, I suspect the best emission might come from a heavy bike. Granted, in the current age, electric would be the way to go. The emission, if any, would be at the generation plant and that is the same ratio of energy vs emission across the board. Electric bike is very green.

[@andgate2000]

All i know is that my 650 bike used more fuel than my hybrid....not to mention carrying 1 person.

[@suicidalbanananana]

Agreed 👍 The second bit should've at least been mentioned in the episode imo. Even if (when you try hard enough) you can make the argument that its at least less polluting in _SOME_ ways, you lose 3 seats and some storage space, while filling those will make the car pollute a bit more because its moving more weight, it wouldn't be nearly as bad as 4-5 motorcycles.

[@michaelcombs2508]

Should have put a car muffler on a bike to see if it's numbers improve

[@JoeFletch1911]

Why would motorcycles put out more of the other gasses? Seems like an engine issue not aerodynamics.

[@patrickwright8552]

My guess is cars filter more of the other fumes out after the engine. I'm not sure if it's unreasonable/prohibitive to fix on a bike, industry just doesn't want to do it, or if it would kill the noise pollution and the riders don't want that.

[@magmabot1016]

can you upgrade a catalitic converter for motorcycle?

[@FacialVomitTurtleFights]

just break out the welder... more effective, cheaper, easier, and could be taken on an actual road.... but nah.. that aint good for tv...

[@patrikhjorth3291]

In the movie "Until the End of the World" bu Wim Wenders, there is a scene with a couple of police motorcycles which look a lot like the modified bike in this episode. Not an exact match, but fairly close.

[@precisionleadthrowing4628]

Because it's all paid by wef and the doomsday cult of climate change to push their scam

[@johnthefactfddict3281]

ahh the small engine without emissions control vsa modern car, the graphs and data don't lie, a modern car is best for air quality, as designed but when speaking of raw fuel consumption we see that an old motorcycle is probably best as it has the least harm compared to the car of the same vintage or a solar charged ebike if you actually care a lot and only need a few dozen miles each trip like me