Crystal Balls...GET 'EM OUT!!!

[BobA]

OK, I like to come up with slightly obscure posts occasionally, so here's a question for you all.

If there was such a thing as a "Magic Crystal Ball", how do you see our love for motorcycle's, and the Africa Twin in the years to come?

Obviously, the world is changing too fast, things are becoming expensive, the oil is running out, the planet becoming too warm and polluted; and perhaps motorcycling, and owning what may become an appreciating classic will end up being a rich mans pastime, or thing of the past.

So come on, what do you think? Is it a promising or bleak future for us and our AT's??


Mystic Bob

[chronyx]

Dunno but I want a supercharger I can turn on and off on my AT.

[Hagrid]

Mystic Bob

LOL...

Think it will end up the way the Italians have gone... Noise and pollution legislation issues...

[Larry Biskit]

So perhaps if it is all going the way of electric engines, thats fine but no thumping engine, just a sewing machine sound powering you along. How crap would that be... literally fizzing along, Id feel inadequate.

[Simon]

I think probably diesel then electric bikes. As long as the electric ones have spokes then you can fit one of those clicky thinks to make it sound like a motor bike.

[Zenarchy]

So perhaps if it is all going the way of electric engines, thats fine but no thumping engine, just a sewing machine sound powering you along. How crap would that be... literally fizzing along, Id feel inadequate.

Have you seen these:




You're right though...they do sound a bit like sewing machines. Fast sewing machines though

I'm pinning my hopes on hydrogen, either that it'll become cheaper and more widely used, or the conspiracy theorists ideas about the technology for making it on demand already being available and being surpressed are right and that it eventually gets released (bit of a long shot perhaps but when you start digging into it, it appears that there are a few people who have managed it and demonstrated it - including one guy who got a patent for a process but then ended up dead). Bit of a long shot, but we can all dream.

I read not so long back about a guy who had made a bike engine that injected water into the engine and used the steam generated to power another cycle of the pistons, using the heat the engine generated so it used half the fuel and acted as an engine coolant at the same time. That might be interesting as well if it makes it into production. He had patents and had a working model according to the article.

[Zenarchy]

http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=467 - that was the article I was thinking of. I was mistaken though and it's a car engine by the looks of things. Might be promising for bike engines though as it might also result in weight savings (no radiators etc needed) that might help with fuel efficiency as well.

[chronyx]

I love stuff like this, thanks for the link

[Zenarchy]

I love stuff like this, thanks for the link

Me too. I've bookmarked tons of stuff like this. I like to think that bikes will be the way forward when the oil starts running out in a bigger way (seems like a no brainer to me that it should be easier to pull a much smaller weight using less fuel than a great big lump of a car). I wonder if the only thing that's holiding it back is lack of research and funding in that direction for bikes compared to cars.

I know some of those diesel bikes are said to get 200mpg, so if they could just make them perform a bit better they'd be a good alternative as well. I get the impression that they haven't done as much research or development on that as they have on cars though and that might be part of the problem. I read that the US army were involved with a company producing deisel bikes though so with their budgets hopefully there'll be more of a move in that direction in the future.

I think most people would be happier with 200mpg and resonable performance, than something that drinks fuel and gives super sport performance, so there's probably a market there for bikes like that imho, particularly when fuel becomes even more expensive.

[Dilbert]

I don't care I'll be dead before the oil actually runs out, but yes it's gonna get expensive.

Diesel looks very promising as long as they turn the torque down enough that you don't rip your rear tyre off at every set of lights

Anyway Star Trek promised us Di-Lithium Crystals by now, is that what your balls are made from Bob