Suck it, OPEC !!

[wladziu]

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

[wladziu]

http://www.evalbum.com/type/MTCY

[wladziu]

And, the piece de la resistance:


http://www.evalbum.com/1337

[Bluehaze]

While certainly we can say suck it OPEC..   you realize that much of Materials we require in order to build lots and lots of Lithium battery are concentrated in countries that are not too friendly with us>  i. e china...

This can seriously hinder our future in Lithium powered energy.

[tulebox]

And, the piece de la resistance:


http://www.evalbum.com/1337

And a 30 mile range isn't an option for me, I'd run out of battery before I got to work....

[fred]

Yeah, top speed of 50 and range of 30 miles? Probably takes 8 hours to charge too.... Where's the fun in that?

[wladziu]

My mistake...
I thought people here appreciated modifications. 
Personally, I don't plan on going over 50 on my little 3 mile treks to class, and I'd love to charge it with a drop-cord from my lab.  Sounds like alot more fun to me, considering lack of gears, better power band, and no engine heat.  All that's missing are the oil changes, fill-ups, rusting exhaust, and the sound of the exhaust.  If you're missing the sound, just go "Brrrrrrrr" really loud, yourself.
If you're living outside the range of a battery-powered vehicle, it's not exactly the fault of the technology.  Kinda silly. 

I was really hoping someone wouldn't complain about the overseas lithium source, on here.  I've heard it so many times, it's like hearing my little sister b!tch about her husband all the time.  It's just old.  If you don't like the idea and just want to complain, then just kindly leave.  This thread is in appreciation of people who try something on their own, just like everyone preoccupied by putting on a huge donut rear tire. 
The argument makes as much sense as your underestimation of my knowledge in the subject matter.  I'm not upset at you, just disappointed that you believed such a thing without clearly thinking it through yourself.  I'll help you:  flip your keyboard (the one you used to type the post) and read the bottom, right hand corner of the little sticker on the back.  I'm pretty sure it doesn't say "Made in Hobucken".

China has proven itself to have very powerful mining abilities, considering the resources it dub up for the 3-gorges dam as a tiny example.  The quality of their exported goods only get better as it's demanded from the consumers, which is pretty low right now in the lithium-battery arena. 
I haven't been shot at by a Chinese guy lately.  But, I went to war twice with an oil exporter. 
They're a communist country with crappy human rights.  But, the last I checked it was still THEIR country. 

A better argument would have been something like "batteries are not friendly to the planet" or "recharging them uses energy, too".  Something like that.  Or, "clean coal is still dirty", "solar cells production is dirty, and they're inefficient", or blah blah blah.  They're still pretty dumb arguments, but better than your current position. 

Anything else?
I can go all day on this.  Which oil company do you wanna talk about?  Which method of extraction?  Wanna talk about biodiesel?  I've got a research fellowship coming up next semester of extraction from solid subcutaneous animal fat (pork, to be exact) using a new chemical solvent, and then further breaking down the glycerine into ethanol.  (They just figured out how to do that in Japan, and I wanna try it.)  I was a paid researcher with Peidmont Biofuels, and I've worked on developing a shippable conversion kit.  I've got engineering experience with Cummins Diesel, developed my own patent after working with them for 2 weeks (you're welcome, Cummins).  I helped redesign their engine block around a new water pump design, and it's on the road right now.  I've worked with the aerospace engineers in my university to develop better wing designs on wind turbines, and I was working on wave generators before I switched majors to become a pre-med. 
I've talked down Shell recruiters in 1000-student symposiums, I've had BP folks at losses for words, so many times.  (I especially love Shell, though.  They're so easy, once you bring up their history in Africa.  Look that up, sometime.) 

Let's have a party!

[tulebox]

Wow, hit a nerve with you I guess?  Maybe it's just we don't share your passion for the technology, kinda like icecubes to Eskimos for us.  To each their own. 

[yamahonkawazuki]

yeah wouldnt mind the lithium battery idea,  what would be the cats meow, is somehow rigging somehting like this up BUT wiht somehow being able to recharge the batteries, while one rides., while not possible atm, err it is possible, but not practical. lol. but there was no need for hostlity. lord knows the world has an abundant supply as it is. 

[jdanna]

all that aside, they are all so *ugly*
ill take the fins of an air cooled motor anyday

[wladziu]

Well, there is regenerative braking capability, but that's about it right now as far as mobile recharging.  I know exactly what you mean, though, it would be so nice to retain something for touring.  It would sound worse than a wet fart, but a small two stroke simply for turning an alternator would be awesome.  No way it would all fit, though. 
I'm retaining the factory motor until I break it (which might take a while), then I'm going to lithium packs.  I refuse to live further than 1/2 hour away from school/work, including traffic lights, so they'll do well for me.  My dad commuted 1-1.5 hours one way, and I'm never living my life like that.  Right now, everything I need is inside a 10-mile radius of my house, and school is only an 8 to 12 minute drive (depending on a certain damn stop-light) in my Scion. 
With med school coming up, with the infamous 80-hr weeks, I'll have plenty of time for recharging.  Granted I can find an outlet! 


By the way, every YKK zipper in the world is made in a single factory in a small town in China.  They don't seem to have problems to me.  The lithium batteries being produced over there right now only suffer from quality control and price, both of which can be solved with higher demand. 

[jdanna]

With med school coming up, with the infamous 80-hr weeks, I'll have plenty of time for recharging.  Granted I can find an outlet! 

just wait til we hear on the news - "Patient dies when medial equipment unplugged to charge motorcycle"