Add catalytic converter to a motorcycle?
 

So I'm just getting into motorcycling and have a Honda 919 (CB900F). It's a 2007 model. I'm concerned about emissions and looking for a small project and was wondering how feasible it would be to add some sort of catalytic converter to it. Is it even possible or worth it? I know modern bikes ship with them standard now. But I can't find any sort of universal cat for sale that I can splice into the exhaust system.

Does Vegas have a smog problem?

How about this one?
https://lovestitches.files.wordpress...a9b8.jpg?w=500

Earth has a smog problem

Found this pretty easily...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Motorcycle-C...g/352386503832

That's interesting. How would you judge whether it will be effective? Is there a flow rate standard or something?

OP: good on you giving a damn about emissions. We should.

EDIT: Also, this: https://news3lv.com/news/local/repor...-cite-progress

If all it means is splicing in 3-6 inches of catalytic converter into my exhaust, why shouldn't I do it?

I want a zero motorcycle, but it's not feasible here. I'm in an apartment, no garage, no charging station, and the zeros are still too expensive. And after the 5 year battery warranty there's no clear upgrade/refurbishment program.

I thought about putting a cheap reliable antique 2 way cat onto my 2 cycle Subaru 360 just because dimensionally it would fill the same spot as the rusted out expansion chamber

Sadly the places that market cats don’t seem to have a dropdown of size/type/etc of cats because of the must meet OEM spec BS.

Unfortunate since the 2 ways are only like $15-20 and I would throw them on in place of mufflers on old little cars if I could easily find them in the correct dimensions

You could also find one for a Geo Metro, which has a similar sized engine, and splice it in.

Smog isn't a global pollutant.

That's another good idea, a Geo Metro being just a 1 liter engine.

It’s easier if the pipe diameter is spot on, length can be made up with flex hose

Agreed, also it introduces a restriction on the flow that probably changes the exhause tune more radically than just introducing the honeycomb. If it undermines scavenging, then the CAT would possibly go part way to undermining the environmental and health benefits of emissions control, since the vehicle might become less efficient, no?

To be clear: I think adding the CAT is a good idea, for environment and health, in LV and in general. Less pollution is the better practice.

Make sure you don’t already have one first. The VFR 800 got a cat in 2001(or 2000), SV650s got them somewhere around 2003-2006. It could be built into the stock muffler, the SVs’ are.

And to tell if a cat is working, measure pipe temperature before and after the cat. If the temperature goes up, the cat is working.

The stock Honda exhaust already has a catalytic converter.

It would be more complicated than just bolting on a unit. Check with the dealer tech people about the electronics involved.

I think it would be easier to just strap a cat onto the bike, like this? ... https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/...pg?imwidth=450

Might be better as a horn?

:)

I looked on my exhaust and what I thought was a "resonator" is indeed a cat. Sure doesn't seem like it's doing its job. My backpack and I stink after a ride.

Is the catalyst still inside it? A previous owner might've gutted it.

It doesn't look touched. All bolts seem to be untampered with

What do you stink like? (Fuel, Oil, ???)

Your bike is fuel injected and has a catalyst so you shouldn’t smell. The exhaust will smell a bit after start-up but that should go away once it is warmed up. I’ve never stunk after riding even will older bikes ((my bikes range from 1976 to 2011). Something has to be wrong with the bike.

Do you have any smoke visible from the exhaust? Do the plugs look OK? Is the coolant level OK? Has some installed a power commander and screwed up the fuel mixture?

How long have you owned this bike, how many miles on it?

Do fuel injected bikes have O2 sensors both pre and post cat?

The OP is a mile high, and my understanding was that the bikes have static fuel maps that don't adjust to changing air density.

Another question is what octane fuel is being used? Plenty of people report unburned fuel smell when they use premium fuel in a bike not designed for premium. I run regular in my CBR600, because that's what it was designed for.

As far as reasoning for adding a cat to a motorcycle, smog is a local problem. If the locality does not suffer a smog problem then I see no reason to get poorer fuel economy and higher CO2 emissions to reduce a local and short-lived pollutant that isn't a problem.

My 2002 BMW had O2 sensors and my 2011 does as well. I can't find an O2 sensor for the 2007 Honda CB919 but a quick call to his local dealer could determine that. (I might not be looking in the correct place on the Parts fiche)

I did find an Air Control Valve. I'm not sure if that is for idle air control, or to inject fresh air into the exhaust to reduce NOx. Either way if it isn't working (Or someone removed it) the bike won't run right.

TurnNBurn - Is you bike a California model? If so it should have a EVAP canister. If someone removed it incorrectly that could also cause problems.

Considering that a motorcycle engine usually operates at a higher RPM, maybe the cat of a larger car engine would be more suitable to the higher exhaust flow

You could also get a newer bike. The honda CTX700 has a big cat, visible from the front of the bike. You could algo go electric, can't be cleaner than that.

Adding a cat to a motorcycle(that doesn't already have one) isn't going to save the earth. It may make you think you're helping, but have you seen what just one factory in China puts out in just one hour?

Sure retrofitting a cat into an older vehicle won't "save the world", but it's not so negligible at all.

My 1997 BMW has a cat and an O2 sensor. It's made into the exhaust system right in the middle. The only way to gut it would be to cut the top or bottom open. Remove the material, then weld the section you cut out back in. I think you will spend a lot of time trying to make a cat work efficiently on an older, small displacement motorcycle..