Honda says meeting BS VI emission standards in 110cc motorcycles will take a lot of effort and most importantly consume money and thus they might opt to Fuel Injected engines
Honda motorcycles in India may not be doing great on sales, but the company says it is working hard on it to make things better. However, to get things right it has to meet government norms first and then also be satisfactory for customers in every aspect. Those aspects as we know are fuel efficiency, driveability and reliability along with low cost of ownership. We had a chat with the R&D team and they said that it is quite difficult to meet BS VI and BS IV is also a bit of work. The reason behind this is that the motorcycles should do everything and, critically, be value for money products.
We are talking here about the 110cc and 125cc engines that the company has. The other motorcycles aren’t that hard to squeeze in terms of efficiency and emissions as the Hornet CB 160R has proven. CBR series already uses top of the line equipment internally and with a subtle amount of tweak here and there, it can meet any kind of emissions. Honda said that the catalyzer of both BS IV and BS VI engines go higher in size than today by a good margin. For the BS VI 110cc engines, Honda’s option to go for Fuel Injection is more likely.
Honda said it will be particularly interesting to see how to get a injector of that size fit in a small block, and with a big catalyzer how the driveability of the motorcycle will end up. Catalyzer size decreases emissions and also, as always, every manufacturer has said in the past that it will affect fuel efficiency by a subtle margin too. Honda, like many other manufacturers in the two wheeler segment will have a tough time to get the right balance when it comes to money, emission, efficiency and putting the product out on the road.
It will be interesting to see how other manufacturers will come up with ideas, especially Suzuki, Hero and Yamaha. Let’s not forget safety is also a priority in India now when it comes to two wheels above 125cc and some rules will be slapped on motorcycles below that. The value for money motorcycle will most likely seize to exist at one point of time, but all in interest of a green future and personal safety. As we know it’s surely worth it.
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