They've 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. 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.
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. They do this without hesitation; they care a lot about the environment, so do everything they can to achieve the highest air quality standards. Therefore all of their current exhaust systems are set to the EURO 4 standard and have passed all emission tests flawlessly.
This does not mean that they sit and wait to see what the new standards will be; their R&D department is already preparing for new standards and is practically ready for EURO 5. But they would not be The Jekill and Hyde Company if they did not go beyond that. Recently a test has taken place where emissions are measured in a really unique way.
"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.
There they 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 they 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.”
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!
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.
Developing an exhaust system is an extensive process which takes time, countless tests, measurements and fact finding. Using a specialized X-Ray machine speeds up this process and is another step of giving you as a customer a smooth ride with Dr. Jekill & Mr. Hyde.
As good as an exhaust may look from the outside, usually it is the inside that matters. Of course a Dr. Jekill & Mr. Hyde exhaust systems looks good, but what can be found on the inside, is the reason why riders love their system. When their engineers develop an exhaust system, extensive testing is one of the key elements before taking any further steps or going into production. It takes computer simulations, prototypes and much more to create the perfect exhaust.
When subduing an exhaust to several tests, their engineers want to know what happens inside. But how can you do that? Well, one would expect to take some tools and cutting it open. However considering that that during this point in the process every prototype is a hand crafted system, you can imagine that cutting it open, would immediately require the building of a new exhaust for any further testing.
What if you could look inside without destroying or even touching the exhaust? Their research & development department keeps on finding new ways to speed up the process and actually do extensive work on an exhaust without harming the prototype. They do this by ‘looking’ inside without the use of a milling machine.
We all have been to the doctor or the dentist for an X-Ray taken to see what is fine and what is broken inside. That’s when one of their engineers thought: “when you can make an X-ray of a limb, why not from an exhaust?” No sooner said than done. They packed up a few of their exhausts and brought them to a specialized x-ray facility - a concrete bunker. This X-ray method is categorized as nuclear fuel. Needless to say, staying in the room while the X-Ray is made, could seriously decrease your life expectancy. It goes without saying that all X-rays are taken under the highest safety precautions and the results give their engineers a unique, non-destructive, look inside an exhaust. With this extra information they can see what kind of effects heat and other factors have on the valve, the catalyst and the other elements of The Exhaust.
