My new scoot!

[cryin'wolf]

I can't wait to get my hands on one of these no more $3.19 a gal for me. (http://www.fuelcellsworks.com/Supppage2251.html)

[RustyJake]

Yeah, we had a discussion on the other board before it crashed with a pic of that bike. I think the consensus was that it would be like riding a praying mantus. (sp?). Not sure what the highway speeds would be, but definitely an option for commuting around town.

[cryin'wolf]

na more like ridding a motocross. here's another electric scoot. (http://www.vectrixusa.com/LeadingTheRevolution.html)

[AirportFF]

mantus. (sp?).



mantis...........I got your back man. :wink_2:

[Menace]

that thing would be fun to ride until your friends see you on it. :no:

[mrmakAUCTIONEER]

like we say in the auction world ITS NOT WHERE IT STARTS, its where it ends.
a few prototypes, a lil cash injection, and soon someone will expieriment with a golf cart motor on a cruser. add the right gear ratio and walla plug it in and away we go. course we could be the group within a group, to gather all the known knowladge and go straIGHT TO THE CRUSER. waddiya think any interest. even if we didnt get it marketed right away, i would bet by the time we came up with 10 improved versions of electric crusers, some enthusiest $$$ dude would finance our "shadowRIDERS-LECTRICride."

shadowRIDERS-LECTRICride
ELECTRICT MOTOR CYCLES DESINED, TESTED AND MARKETED BY shadowRIDERS.net

[RustyJake]

Gee, I guess an amperage leak or something might be in order for a Harley trade mark for the future. There are a few out there that are working on the electrics. But it will be a while before it's ready for prime time
http://www.ecotrekker.com/technology.htm
I know there was a firm that had an electic Harley at a show up here in Vancouver a year ago. Definitely missing the tell tale Harley sound. They'll need something to set them apart from the rest.

[cryin'wolf]

There is also a electric motorcycle drag race association, I've alway liked the idea of alternate fuel vehicles, I guess just because I like working on shit, but the problem I have with electrics is that most of the worlds electricity still come from fossil fuels. Until this is changed, the hydrogen powered vehicles make more sense, but for many more years to come you will only see Hybrids because global concensus is that you can't disrupt the economies, by making fossil fuels obsolete. Funny thing is that electric vehicles are hardly a new concept. There were many manufactures of them from 1890's to 1910's, but the same thing that drove them out of business then is happening all over again. The auto industry has to again establish a standard fuel source, in the teens, gasoline became the standard, because it was cheap and plentiful. Imagine where we'd be today had they gone with electricity.

[cryin'wolf]

The problem with electricity being the standard motor fuel is that as I stated before most of the worlds electrical energy is mechanically converted from the stored energy of petroleum based fossil fuels. When this takes place there is an inherent loss of energy, not that the energy is lost literally, as energy and matter can neither be made or destroyed, but it can only change forms, and in accordance with the 2nd law of thermal dynamics, it will always be to its next least usable form. Taking this into account, there is a loss of usable energy when fossil fuels are converted to electricity, and then there are parasitic loss factors in the conversion of electrical energy into linear vehicle motion. If a liter of gasoline has an energy value of A and 1 amp hour @ 110v had an equal energy value of A, and both could be converted into equal HP, linear work of equal distance and duration of time, then the demand on fossil fuels would not recede and most probably increase because of the losses during conversion to electricity even accounting for the other sources of electrical energy, like hydro-electrical plants, wind farms, and solar farms; however, if the electrical vehicle could utilize an energy value of A and convert it into greater HP, linear vehicle motion of greater distance during an equal duration of time, then the demand on fossil fuels would in fact recede.

Personally I believe that industry has been looking in the wrong direction for our new energy source. The greatest volumes of potential energy on our planet are nitrogen, an inert gas, which by current technology is useless as a fuel, photon light energy, and low temperature geothermal energy. When we learn how to use these resources, to manifest electrical current then we will have abundant, cheap energy. The hydrogen fuel cell technology has not eliminated the need for petroleum based fossil fuels as the hydrogen is derived from hydro-carbons, the principle elements of fossil fuels. In fact most of the new hydrogen technology is rehash of the German discoveries in the 30’s and 40’s, when they produced hydrogen to inflate their rigid air ships because the U.S.A. would not sell them helium. Hydrogen is assumed to be among the most abundant fuel resources also because of the abundance of water on the planet, but it requires near equal energy to separate from oxygen as it would provide as a fuel.

I have a great interest in the organized / group building an alternate fuel vehicle, electric or other power. I believe that if groups could design and build a vehicle, to perform a designed task, using resources unique to their areas then that would force local governments to explore those resources. Florida had an abundance of methane gas created from our above ground landfills which have eternal torches to burn it off, for safety purposes wasting this resource. This gas could easily be contained and be used as a fuel. Alcohol and Natural gas are other sources available. People in windy areas could utilize windmill generators, or those in non overcast areas could use solar panels. My goal for a project like this would be to shift from petroleum based fossil fuels at the root as much as at the end user. If we Shadowriders were to start a project like this, I’d like to see several taking place, broken down by geographical region, using an alternate base fuel most economically feasible, per application.

Also, without becoming too lawyer-esque, if something like this were to take place what is the general consensus on the proprietary status of the information, technology and vehicle development, would it be to keep it as corporate property of Shadowriders.net or public domain where it could freely be used to develop existing ideas and technology, or possibly be used and developed for someone’s profit.

As far as using a golf cart motor for a moto-class vehicle, it would no be my first choice because they are DC motors, AC motors are more efficient, but would require at least a low output DC motor to establish rotation direction, before the AC motor could take over. Batteries are the weak link in electric vehicles to date. Range is hindered by the internal resistance of the batteries.