A cooperation between Cambustion and The Jekill and Hyde Company

There is growing awareness about a cleaner environment, which is increasingly being implemented within legislation regarding emission - and rightfully so. The standards have become stricter and The Jekill and Hyde Company as a manufacturer is expected to comply with these regulations. We do this without hesitation; we care a lot about the environment, so do everything we can to achieve the highest air quality standards. Therefore all our current exhaust systems are set to the EURO 4 standard and have passed all emission tests flawlessly.

This does not mean that we sit and wait to see what the new standards will be; our R&D department is already preparing for new standards and is practically ready for EURO 5. But we would not be The Jekill and Hyde Company if we did not go beyond that. Recently a test has taken place where emissions are measured in a really unique way.

A bridge too far?

"Are you Luka from Jekill and Hyde? I really don’t know what you mean with mounting our equipment on a motorcycle? It is designed for in-car use - not for a motorcycle! Maybe a bridge too far?” It’s May 2018. Luka Meijers, Concept Engineer at The Jekill and Hyde Company, is visiting the Testing Expo in Stuttgart (Germany) with the company’s R&D team, where he runs into Mark Peckham, Director at Cambustion. Cambustion provides testing services and emissions analyzers to the automotive industry from their Cambridge, UK facility. Luka and Mark already had contact via email before this encounter, where they shared ideas about on-board motorcycle fast transient emissions tests that are carried out on a moving motorcycle in a real life situation. Something that has never been done before. After a short acquaintance, they agreed to meet up for an exploratory test: a stationary measurement next to a test bench.

1.000 measurements per second

Good ideas move fast; a couple of weeks later the fastest emission meter in the world was prepped and ready on a Harley-Davidson Sport Glide at The Jekill and Hyde Company headquarters in Belfeld, The Netherlands. The NOx measurement went as smoothly as possible and the results were very extensive. So extensive that the fastest computer of the R&D department was completely stuck, not crazy with 1,000 measurements per second... At that moment Luka realized: “These guys have more than just a quick meter. This is interesting. I think we’re ready for the next step.” Without hesitation the next date was planned. Everyone can do it in a lab, but on the street, that's where the future lies… Off to Cambridge, UK!

Real Driving Emissions test on a Harley-Davidson

There we were. Preparing for one of the most difficult tests in the world: is the assessment of emissions transients during real world driving possible on a motorcycle? Can we mount this research tool on a Harley-Davidson? Is it drivable? Luka himself took the difficult task to find out the answers: “The most exciting part was driving on the left side off the road. But all kidding aside, it went pretty well. Given the fact it's a very sensitive emission meter and a brand new Harley-Davidson.”

The result

Luka and the Cambustion team spent the whole day driving, measuring and logging lots of emissions, dashcam recordings, GPS and engine data... until they finally completed the test. And guess what, it worked! The team managed to successfully test emission in a live situation! A giant leap in the world of driving emission, which is extremely helpful in meeting the highest air quality standards possible, one of The Jekill and Hyde Company’s most important core values. And next to that, a very unique accomplishment. The market has always called for it to be impossible to carry out such a test, due to the large size and complexity of the necessary measuring devices. Well… Luka and the Cambustion team have proved them wrong.

We want to thank the team of Cambustion for doing this project with us and support our mission! Keep following our latest updates to keep track of this unique project or visit the Cambustion website.

Photo credits: Cambustion