"Weight is the enemy when it comes to alternative energies, so bikes may make good sense for these applications. That may make motorcycles even more attractive, especially in cities where electric or hybrid technology would be more practical," Oliver says. Meanwhile, more fuel-efficient and quieter bikes might make the AMA's job easier.
"One area of concern for the future of biking is the alarming growth of sound ordinances popping up around the country. These laws have come down hard on us," Oliver says. "Ever-more-quiet motorcycles and less legal leeway to modify them appear to be on the horizon."
Among the motorcycle industry heavies leading alternative moto-tech is Honda. The factory has built a few prototypes, including a fuel-cell scooter. Adapted from Honda's automotive technology, the FC Stack has been miniaturized and redesigned. This concept vehicle was based on a 125cc scooter, which gives it some commuter appeal in urban areas.
The factory has built other commuter fare, such as an electric moped and a hybrid scooter. The Moped-EV is driven by a nickel hydrogen battery located inside an aluminum frame and is powerful enough to climb a 12-degree incline, according to a spokesman.
The 50cc hybrid-scooter prototype uses an alternating current generator with an idle-stop function, fuel injection, an electronically controlled belt converter and a parallel hybrid powertrain with a direct rear-wheel-drive electric motor. That's a lot of technology for a little bike. But perhaps it serves as a model, as with the fuel cell and electric bikes, for something that could be much bigger with broader application.
Even more radical, however, is Honda's back-to-the-future effort to harness steam power. The Rankine cycle-cogeneration unit is designed to use engine heat to produce energy for hybrid applications. According to Honda, a Rankine unit generates three times as much electricity using engine heat as the regenerative braking system alone. A Rankine unit basically transforms the motor into a sustainable steam engine. The engine heats compressed water, producing steam that turns a generator. Cool, eh? No word from the factory as to whether the prototypes will make it to market.
Meanwhile, Suzuki will release a concept bike it calls the Crosscage, built in a partnership with a British company called Intelligent Energy. The machine burns hydrogen but reportedly emits just water as exhaust. No comment from the factory regarding consideration of this bike for production.
Grassroots Greenery
While megafactories armed with vast resources roll inexorably toward tomorrow's tech and a global market thirsty for powertrains that sip fuel, it doesn't prevent mom-and-pop shops, tinkerers, mad scientists and garage geeks from taking their own imaginative shots at building a better mousetrap.
Case in point: the Gray Eagles, a ragtag band of retired engineers from Harley-Davidson and Outboard Marine who have built a fuel-injected, turbo-charged biodiesel prototype they claim gets 80 mpg on the highway and can top 100 mph. The bike is converted from a gas-burning '88 H-D FXRS and is being shopped to potential customers such as Harley and the Pentagon, according to the Grays.
In a novel approach, researchers at Georgia Tech are working on a system to capture, store and recycle carbon monoxide from vehicles to prevent the pollutant from finding its way into our good air. The eggheads are trying to build a zero-emissions car that doesn't burn fossil fuels. The process would trap carbon emission in the vehicle for later processing at a fueling station. The carbon would then be shuttled back to a plant where it could be transformed into liquid fuel. Pretty space-age stuff, but if successful it'd nip energy-reserve problems right in their pesky buds.