 |
FReeper Motorcycle Hooligan  |
| Visit the FMH Swag Store & support FR! | |
| Send FReepmail if you want on/off FMH list | |
| The List of Ping Lists | |
"The ENV -- Now With Real Motorcycle Sound!"
Posted on 03/17/2005 1:53:38 AM PST by MadIvan
LONDON - Environmentally minded British motorcycle engineers have produced a zero-emission bike that ticks all the right boxes except one - it's too quiet.
So quiet in fact that its designers are looking to introduce artificial vroom to keep potential customers happy.
Powered by a high pressure hydrogen fuel cell, the Emissions Neutral Vehicle (ENV) produces the equivalent noise of a personal computer fan belt.
Not only is that distinctly wimpish in the eyes of many bikers, it could also be dangerous.
Makers Intelligent Energy are looking at ways to produce an artificial engine noise that will alert people to its presence, making sure the machine is not silent and deadly.
"We will consider that," said Nick Talbot, the project leader at Seymourpowell, who were hired by Intelligent Energy to design a bike to their brief.
The British designed and built bike, which has no gears, can reach speeds of 50 miles per hour.
Motorcycle enthusiasts have welcomed the green innovation but say some bikers like the roar of an engine and the thrill of going fast.
"It fits the definition of a motorcycle, but not as we know it," said Jeff Stone, a spokesman for the British Motorcycle Federation.
"The motorcycle is a primitive thing and it appeals to the inner person. The excitement and exhilaration of a bike is why people ride them."
Stone, however, believes that the "soft and cuddly" green bike could be useful in city traffic.
The bike's briefcase-sized fuel cell needs to be topped up every 100 miles and so far there is only one station in Britain that supplies the type of hydrogen required.
But its makers believe that will change.
"The whole point of the project is to say the technology is here, it works, so now put the infrastructure up," said Talbot.
|
FReeper Motorcycle Hooligan |
| Visit the FMH Swag Store & support FR! | |
| Send FReepmail if you want on/off FMH list | |
| The List of Ping Lists | |
"The ENV -- Now With Real Motorcycle Sound!"
"Baseball cards in the spokes"
Bingo. It looks like a bicycle.
Ya think?
That would be coal. Use coal to make coke and to heat up the coke and the steam and bypass oil. We have tons of coal. Tons and tons of coal. Tons and tons and tons of coal...
I guess the old standby, a playing card clacking in the spokes, wouldn't be a viable option.
Just WHAT kind of PC's do Y'all use over there on the other side of the pond anyway?
Lucas electrics? NOOOOOOOO!
4,500 British Pound = 8,671.50 US Dollar
For a moped?
I actually don't care about greenhouse gases so much as oil dependance.
Steam reforming converts methane (and other hydrocarbons in natural gas) into hydrogen and carbon monoxide by reaction with steam over a nickel catalyst.
Electrolysis uses electrical current to split water into hydrogen at the cathode (+) and oxygen at the anode (-) Steam electrolysis (a variation on conventional electrolysis) uses heat, instead of electricity, to provide some of the energy needed to split water, making the process more energy efficient.
Thermochemical water splitting uses chemicals and heat in multiple steps to split water into its component parts
All the common methods need a power source that requires electricity or heat source. There are experimental methods using bacteria, green plants or photovoltic cells – but commercial development is far in the future.
rotf....
A clothesline clip with a playing card makes a cool noise. Maybe they could make that standard.
Fitting one of the engine/motor power packs to both the front and rear wheels would seem to be a reasonable starting place....
Looks like they swiped a few of the styling cues for the thing, though. And not from the state-of-the-art.
This: 
is a motorcycle.
Right concept but if they were really onto something they would not be worrying about noise.
It is too slow.
It is too distance limited.
A motorcycle should have the POTENTIAL of 100mph and the POTENTIAL of being owner modified for performance.
I think whoever designed it was think off road not on road. That is easily corrected.
Harley Davidsons have the potential of going 100mph... if they are in the bed of a pickup truck. :)
Sounds perfect for spec ops
Don't ride much do you.
About 14,000 miles in 2004. How about you?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.