this post was submitted on 02 Jun 2026
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Unfortunately, and I learned this relatively recently, motorcycles are worse for GHG emissions than cars because of catalytic converters (and probably just better combustion in general).
Agreed on electric, though.
Euro 3 went into effect in 2007, nearly all bikes made in the last 20 years have cats.
As far as combustion goes, there's way more variability between a nc750 revving to 6500, a Ducati reving to 16500, and a Honda Wave with 110ccs displacement. You can probably get a lot of answers.
Even the worst, most pollution inducing motorcycle on the planet doesn't hold a candle to my 90s truck.
Hell, even most modern trucks are better despite being massive, considering the improvements to fuel efficiency and such...
Arguing a motorcycle is worse because one specific area of its carbon footprint is slightly higher than cars depending on model of both is weird to me.
And I don't remember the last time I saw a motorcycle without the obvious cat hugging the engine before it winds to the muffler. Note: usually the motorcycles I get to see close are people who are more environment conscious than your average redneck. I'm sure the shop down the road specializes in removing them. I KNOW they offer "diesel tuning services" to let people "roll coal" so it wouldn't surprise me...
Do you have any links to any recent info? This link makes it seem like its still not great, bit it like to see actual hard data.
https://gearjunkie.com/motors/motorcycle-vs-vehicle-emissions