Its a start in the right direction at least... the only other contender I've seen is the Scooter <shudders>
I read something on this the other day, apparently the chinese government is psuhing this as well due to the ammount of their population getting on the road. They like the idea of putting in an infrastructure to support it now before they invest too heavily in Fossil Fuels.
Toyuzu wrote:I wonder if anyone has considered building a hybrid motorcycle? That would be a 100 MPG machine!
I dont get to boast about a lot on the CeeGee but I do get about 100mpg...
Hybrid cars started off like this little tinker toy. They looked strange and didn't have much to offer in the way of every day applications but look at them now. You have hybrid cars that look just like every other car out there (The hybrid Corollo for example). Manufacturers are rolling out hybrid SUV's and trucks within the next few years. It all starts some where.
I think within the next decade you probably will see some hybrid bikes rolling out and while they will never compete with the gasoholics there will be some reasonable applications for these bikes (such as commuters). Given enough time and demand you will find yourself on an efficient machine that can perform up to our demands of pant ripping acceleration. As gas prices get higher eventually the cost of driving will be prohibitive enough to get people to invest in something they can afford.
I heard that the Lexus Hybrid SUV will be sold more on it's performance points than it's fuel savings. Honda has also talked about making a new NSX that would be a Hybrid just for perfomance. I don't know all the details but the electric motors kick in almost instanly and deliver all their torque right away. Gas engines, especially those with smaller displacment take some time to get upto their peak torque. I could easily see a nice hybrid bike that performed just as well as it's non hybrid counterpart and get better gas mileage at the same time. With the hybrid, you woudn't completly loose the sound or the vibration and you wouldn't be looking for stations that serve hydrogen to fill up.
New Hotness: 2005 Yamaha FJR1300
Old & Busted: 2003 BMW F650CS
yeah man, go the dino-burners! i say that when the day comes where we all have to buy something that uses alternative fuel, its also the day we start converting our rides to take ethanol, and producing some ourselves. not too hard, and certainly not too out there. but yeah, that bike does look schmick, even if it is in an around-town/college-boy sort of way. only thing is it'd be expensive, hard to find fuel for, and doesnt meet current performance standards at all. i say i'll see where it goes.
Go fast on something not meant for it. Then you'll understand the true meaning of speed.
Guess I will have to buy me some land and grow my own plants for alcohol - to burn .....not to drink. Too bad it takes twice as much of it as gosoline, but it would still be better than the other choices at this point. I saw an electric drag bike once......it was very fast and the only thing you could here was the tires and wind............weird. I will stick with dinofuel until it's over $10 for my bikes, but my cars would have to go - esp the supercharged ones.
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Last edited by 05max on Fri Feb 20, 2009 7:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
If they have sound systems, you could change the cd for a Harley this week, a CBR next week, and even a Detroit Diesel going up a big hill if that suits you.
John
"83 XJ900RK
IT'S ABOUT OIL, MONEY, AND POWER, ALL OF THE TIME.
