Lithium SuperBike

[groff22]

A litre bike powered off of lithium batteries, cooool!

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/06/lightning_lithi.php

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

saw that on engadget yesterday. Neat concept, if not practical, yet.

[vsboxerboy]

Probably a common thought with many other but wouln't a silent motorcycle hard to notice and thus be really bad in terms of people not killing you and such.

[vsboxerboy]

nm just watched the vid.  not silent but it sounds like an overgrown electric screwdriver.

[groff22]

Yeah, does sounds a lot like my electric drill lol... 100 MPH isn't too bad, but i'd hate to know how much energy is required to recharge those batteries. I'm thinking large scale deployment will never see light of day, think of every household in north america charging their vehicle at night... I smell brownouts similar to NY a couple years ago becoming more frequent.

I heard a few months back of a sugar-fuelled battery gaining grounds, capable of outliving lithium 5 fold and runs off of virually any source of sugar (Coke, Maple Syrup, koolaid, etc) ... and fully biodegratable. Reminds me of Back to the Future II, when the doc is dumping garbage into his Delorian 

Cheers,
J

[manofthefield]

This prototype bike looks pretty rough, but someday it might improve enough to be practical

but i'd hate to know how much energy is required to recharge those batteries. I'm thinking large scale deployment will never see light of day, think of every household in north america charging their vehicle at night... I smell brownouts similar to NY a couple years ago becoming more frequent.

IMO Electric vehicles are the future, but maybe I've been drinking too much of the Tesla koolaid   Electric demand is generally a lot lower at night when these vehicles might charge, so there shouldn't be brownout problems.  Yes there will be higher electricity demands, but it's better than relying on petroleum forever. 

[jdanna]

think that rear sprocket will fit a gs?

[scottpA_GS]

Probably a common thought with many other but wouln't a silent motorcycle hard to notice and thus be really bad in terms of people not killing you and such.

Contrary to popular belief.. its been proven that "Loud Pipes" Do NOT save lives 

[jdanna]

Contrary to popular belief.. its been proven that "Loud Pipes" Do NOT save lives 

they so do
since i put on my VH straights i have noticed a HUGE decrease in people trying to drive into me.
same thing with my lightbar, when the fuse blew i noticed a good bit more people trying to run into me

[Wrecent_Wryder]

[7

[RVertigo]

My HOLY shaZam! LOUD pipes on my Meany DO make more people notice me...  But, I would never say that they "Save Lives."

[jdanna]

My HOLY shaZam! LOUD pipes on my Meany DO make more people notice me...  But, I would never say that they "Save Lives."

what pipes do you have on it?

ive got VH straightshots on my C50, and people tell me they can hear me LONG before and after the can see me

which is what i want

[yamahonkawazuki]

i did as well on my sportie, with teh same results. a lady raised hell about the volume of them, i was like "sure theyre loud, BUT... you saw me didnt ya! ma'am"

[jdanna]

i did as well on my sportie, with teh same results. a lady raised hell about the volume of them, i was like "sure theyre loud, BUT... you saw me didnt ya! ma'am"

im an @$$hole with mine too
if i see sombody on a cell phone at a light ill pull up next to them and just rev the shaZam! out of it
same thing if sombody gets too close to me while im cruisin, blip the throttle a bit and they back off

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

Yes there will be higher electricity demands, but it's better than relying on petroleum forever. 

Hey.. uhh.. where do you think the electricity we're charging the cars with comes from? We still use coal fired power plants to create that electricity. While coal isn't petroleum, it's what a good number of power plants are run on. Solar and hydroelectric are good alternatives.. but roughly 86% of power plants are steam power plants, which require combustion to create the steam. (That 86% is from wikipedia, so I'd take that with a grain of salt).

Electric power is not the wave of the future, unless we can perfect cold fusion.

[makenzie71]

i once nearly beat a man to death with a vance and hines straight shot from a sportster...if used properly, loud pipes can take lives.

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

bahahahaha... that's Mak for ya!

[manofthefield]

Yes there will be higher electricity demands, but it's better than relying on petroleum forever. 

Hey.. uhh.. where do you think the electricity we're charging the cars with comes from? We still use coal fired power plants to create that electricity. While coal isn't petroleum, it's what a good number of power plants are run on. Solar and hydroelectric are good alternatives.. but roughly 86% of power plants are steam power plants, which require combustion to create the steam. (That 86% is from wikipedia, so I'd take that with a grain of salt).

Electric power is not the wave of the future, unless we can perfect cold fusion.

Steam power also comes from nuclear, natural gas, geothermal, biomass, waste heat or ....  None of these is perfect either, and as you said they require combustion as well (except for nuclear which is good IMO, but not perfect either).


From eia.doe.gov newsletter

I say that relying on electricity is better for two reasons: 1. there are much larger domestic sources for electric power, and 2. An electric vehicle is more efficient than a gasoline car.

Electricity isn't perfect, but with the current and forcasted high demand hopefully it will spur cleaner more efficient ways of producing electricity and a better transmission system.  Electricity isn't perfect right now, but it has room for improvement, and is definitely better than fossil fueled personal transportation.  And yes, we really need a plan for minimizing that demand too.

Don't get me wrong, I love the sounds and power of a fossil fueled engine: four stroke, 2 stroke, diesel, wankel, whatever.  But they're dirty and their days are numbered, at least as everyday personal transportation.

[bettingpython]

Yeah electric and hybrid are so enviromentally friendly

Read this before you go praising battery powered crap too much. Even if we converted to clean nuclear energy for electricity the damage and resource depletion involved in the manufacture of hybrid vehicles is outrageous.

http://clubs.ccsu.edu/Recorder/editorial/editorial_item.asp?NewsID=188

[GeeP]

Everybody and their brother has been toting that article around like the Holy Grail lately.  I find it telling that the only vehicle brand he mentions is GM.  It just so happens that Toyota is seen by GM as it's prime competition:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/AUTOS/05/25/gm_vs_camry/index.html

I wonder how much Chris Demorro got from GM under the table?

His article has no supporting evidence.  It is designed to play solely on the reader's emotions.  I don't see any links, interviews, hard data, or supporting evidence.  As far as I'm concerned it's all bullshit.  As I mentioned previously:

I don't know where they get the 100,000 mile figure from, but it is BS.  A forklift battery is good for around 20,000 hours of operation, the traction motors at least that long.  20,000 hrs at 50MPH is a million miles more or less.  The chassis will last half a million miles without question.  I have a VW Rabbit, a VW Fox, and a Dodge Dakota well past half a million miles and they're still on the road.

So where does the 100,000 mile vehicle lifespan figure come from, or did Chris Demorro pull that out of thin air as well?