Reforming the little rascal

Emissions from two-wheelers is a problem typical to countries like India and Taiwan, where their population is very large. In Taiwan 8212; which has the strictest emission norms in the world at present 8212; one in every six persons has a two-wheeler. InIndia, one is every 47 persons has a two-wheeler. Even in the economic slowdown, it was the two-wheeler, not so much scooters but motorcycles that continued to do well, even as commercial vehicles and passenger cars saw a slump in demand.

For years, manufacturers in developing countries took consumers for a ride. Trading on general ignorance, manufacturers 8212; including those in India 8212; didn8217;t bother to go in for cleaner technologies. But the pressure to reform finally caught up with them and today Indian manufacturers have been forced to actually evolve cleaner two-wheelers on their own, rather than simply picking better technologies from the West, as was the case with cars.

At present, in India, the norms for two-wheelers are 8.1 grams per kilometres for emissions of hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen and carbon monoxide put together. By next year, these will be reduced to 4 gm per km.

It is only when you compare this with the pre-1989 norms of 30 gm per km that the contrast shows. Mostmanufacturers plan to meet the India 2000 norms by fitting their two-wheelers with catalytic convertors. The other alternative is to switch to four-stroke engines. Since more than 75 per cent of the two-wheeler manufacturers still produce two-stroke engines, they can8217;t be changed overnight. Catalytic convertors then are the more more feasible and cheaper alternative. A catalytic convertor costs around Rs 1,000 which manufacturers plan to largely absorb.

A catalytic convertor works for around 30,000 km or four years, whichever comes earlier. Once it becomes ineffective, a motorist can simply change the inner core of the convertor, which costs around Rs 600 today. However, there is a major drawback with catalytic convertors. The motorist doesn8217;t know when the convertor stops working. It can get spoilt once adulterated fuel reaches the petrol tank and no manufacturer can give a guarantee on a convertor. Which is why four-stroke engines with secondary air-injection and hot tube are seen as a betteralternative. But in scooters, especially, the four-stroke technology is rather unpopular for several reasons. Not only are these models more expensive and tend to heat up, acceleration levels too compare poorly with the other models. Another disadvantage, according to experts, is that four-stroke engines emit far greater quantities of carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen, even as they are far more fuel-efficient.

It is these factors that make the future of the modified two-stroke engine appear bright.

The future holds a lot more in store for the two-wheeler user. Manufacturers in Japan are already working on hybrid scooters. 8220;Even Indian manufacturers have the expertise to develop hybrid scooters,8221; feels Srinivasan. Hybrid vehicles run on both electricity and on a conventional fuel 8212; petrol or diesel. But they are viable only when the battery in the vehicle gets charged on its own. In case of a battery failure, the scooter can run on petrol. The scooter is started on petrol, but once it gains speed,the engine starts running on the battery. The battery gets charged by the alternator.

There are other technologies 8212; like two-stroke two-wheelers fitted with fuel injectors and electronic engine management system 8212; that manufacturers can bring in. But these would increase the price of two-wheelers by anything like Rs 10,000. According to Jean Cayot, member, Federation des Industries des Equipments des Vehicles FIEV, which is a French body of component manufacturers, in future, manufacturers will have to pay heed to carbon dioxide emission since it is causing global warming. Even Europe is waking up to the issue of two-wheeler emission, even though they are not very popular there.

Says Cayot,8220;Our two-wheelers are more polluting than yours. But we plan to have a legislation very soon. Because a small number can undo the good done by the stringent norms for four-wheelers.8221; Incidentally, Italy has quite a few of two-wheelers and, as Cayot put it,8220;and you can smell that in the air.8221; Two-wheelermanufacturers in India still don8217;t have a road map for emission norms. They are unsure on which technologies to work on after the India 2000 norms come into force. This is where citizens groups and decision-makers come in. They must help evolve norms for the next five year at the very least so that the Supreme Court doesn8217;t have to draw the line once again.

Market watch

BOTH Bajaj Auto and TVS-Suzuki have launched their four-stroke scooters 8212; Bajaj has launched Legend, TVS-Suzuki has introduced Spectra 8212; but these haven8217;t caught the fancy of the buyers. For instance, TVS-Suzuki is only managing to sell around 2,000 units of Spectra each month, as compared to its target of 6,000. Not only are these more expensive, but there is also a considerable drop in acceleration. And then a four-stroke engine generates far more heat than a two-stroke one.

After receiving several complaints, TVS-Suzuki is increasing the power of Spectra from 9 horse power HP to 10 HP next month. Simultaneously, the companywill also reduce the weight of the scooter by 10 kg to improve the power-weight ratio and thereby the acceleration. This will probably make this model more popular.

TVS-Suzuki Limited is also working on a scooter that would run on LPG. The first prototype of this scooter will be ready by September. The company plans to launch the LPG scooter by around September 2000. But before that, the Motor Vehicles Act will have to be amended in order to permit the use of LPG as an automotive fuel.

The company is fitting such a scooter with a 1.6 kg LPG cylinder. The LPG cylinder fits snugly under the seat. The running cost of such a scooter, according to Venu Srinivasan, chairman and managing director of TVS-Suzuki Limited, will be 60 per cent lower than that of the regular scooter running on petrol. A switch to LPG is rather inexpensive. The ex-factory price of a two-wheeler, according to Srinivasan, will go up by only around Rs 1,000. And this cost can be recovered in around five months.

Mahindra and Mahindra islaunching Bijlee 8212; a 10-seater three-wheeler that would run on electric batteries. Bijlee would be launched in Delhi on August 15. It would be later introduced in Lucknow and Jaipur. Its battery needs to be charged every 90 km.