Bike to the future. Insuring the next generations.
Bikesite.co.uk, the cheap insurance site for bikers is always welcome to environmental initiatives and the use of alternate power and therefore read with interest.
In a country where men are men, and a lot of women are too, you might think it a little ill-advised to market something a little, well, effeminate lets say, at a predominantly masculine audience. Not so a British firm who've relocated to the US to introduce on an unsuspecting people the ENV, or the Emissions Neutral Vehicle to give it its full title. Whereas it's going to win no awards for its name, it will for its innovation and vision. This is Terminator styling, brave, bold and downright impressive. Cast your minds back to the scene in T2 where the bikers in the bar misguidedly mock Arnie, only to be severely punished for their intolerance of a naked man asking for the keys to their beloved bikes; and therefore having one of their mundane rides nabbed by the cyborg of few words. Well, in an alternative version of the blockbuster, the ENV would be the bike he came from the future riding in on in the first place. So, ruling out the need for such a felony at all.
Described as being so quiet it's like riding a horse, wouldn't necessarily be a great selling point in Texas . But this new kid on the motorbike block is aimed more at the city slicker in silicon valley, the urbane commuter, than the grizzled, tobacco chewing outlaw found in them there hills. Which is just as well given its radical and challenging appearance. Dynamic, sleek lines attract the roving eye, and seeing as it's manufactured from aircraft-grade aluminium, results in it weighing in at only 176lbs. Intelligent Energy is the firm behind the revolutionary hydrogen powered motorbike, which it hopes to be putting into full production and selling later this year. From its Los Angeles base anyway. Whilst much concentration and emphasis has been placed by leading car manufacturers on developing pollution-free hydrogen powered cars, the two-wheeled variants have been mostly overlooked until now.
Its power is based on fuel cell technology. Which to you and I means something that takes on the outward appearance of a small suitcase, yet houses within a generating device, called the Core. This processes 1kw hydrogen that in turn promotes forward motion in the two-wheeler. Or power for want of a better description .The equivalent of 8 horsepower isn't going to set the world alight exactly, but that's not what this, the worlds first fuel cell motorbike is about. The power needed, good for speeds of upto 50mph is available on demand, and is twinned to a battery pack for a hybrid combo that charges the performance up to 6kw. The Core is even detachable, and watersports enthusiasts out there will be excited to learn that this same pack can be used to power up motorboats. Even small homes can run off the sustained energy initially generated according to boffins at Intelligent Energy.
Project Director, Andy Eggleston says; "The cycle has a range of 100 miles on a tank of fuel. Currently a hydrogen tank fill up would cost about $3". £2 to us on this side of the Atlantic , which is competitively-priced travel in anyone's language. Whatsmore, fully filled up it can whiz along effortlessly for roughly 4 hours, before needing to be re-booted. Which makes it ideal for commuting most average times and distances.
Needless to say benefits far outweigh minor image drawbacks some of you either side of the pond may have, when you consider zero emissions, a ride so quiet the only noise heard is the sound of its tyres spinning over the roads surface and moreover, the nominal running costs incurred. And when it comes to operation, simplicity is the key word again. Seeing as there are no gears, it's a case of hitting the throttle and away you go.
Price is earmarked to be in the region of $6000 stateside, so roughly half that by the time it comes to these shores, the only minor blip on the horizon, in the UK specifically, is the lack of hydrogen filling stations as yet; although as I write, many garage forecourts are considering the possibilities due to the increased interest from motorists in general thanks to recent developments on the manufacturing fronts.
So bizarrely, back to my rather tedious link in the intro about Arnold Schwarzenegger; and the these-days full-time Governor of California/ part-time actor, has pledged his support to the proposed construction of a 'hydrogen highway', and has plans in place for 40 hydrogen fuelling sites along it, and targets 100 by the year 2010; that's according to the states Environmental Protection Agency.
Bikesite.co.uk cannot offer insurance on the ENV just yet for obvious reasons, but for any other type of bike out there, we are the people you need to speak to, and our staff are here to find the cheapest insurance cover out there.
Date - 24/10/2006