Green Options

Tony Parker Has Built An Electric Bike Made From Junk. He Also Made A Solar And Wind-Powered Charging Station For The Bike.

Tony Parker has built an electric motorbike completely from found junk.

Why? The laid-off worker found himself with a lot of time and just began tinkering around the house.

A Ford Motor Company engineer has built a 3-wheel motorbike capable of getting 125 mpg. 

The fuel economy expert crafted the vehicle at his home shop in Belleville, MI. It’s a street legal, two-passenger, 3-wheel motorbike that is made from aircraft materials. Oh, and it is capable of a top speed of over 100 mph.

Motorcycles are probably the softest challenge for anyone considering electric propulsion. Most bikers don’t stray too far from home, bikes are by nature lightweight, and unless you’re talking about a pumped-up crotch rocket, they don’t need to go stupid fast. The real challenge lies in marketing a bike with limited range and top speed with a high price tag, as battery technology still has a way to go in terms of affordability. But to that end Brammo, who soon plans to release the Enertia electric motorcycle to the market, has been beefing up their brand-building and marketing team by adding veteran players to their company.

Their new Director of Marketing is John Farris, who was GM’s Brand Marketing Director for the Chevy Silverado pickup truck and founder of Hardcard Holdings, a marketing consultancy who has worked with Toyota, Harley Davidson, and Red Bull among others.

Despite the latest advancements in automotive hybrid and flex-fuel technologies, motorcycles and scooters remain one of the most efficient ways for energy-conscious commuters to get around town.  Unfortunately, there haven’t been any real “alt fuel” options open to motorcyclists.  As such, despite the incredible efficiency of some 2-wheelers (my own Honda Ruckus gets over 100 mpg), motorcycles remain petroleum-dependent gas addicts.  They may be sippers - rather than guzzlers - but still.

Enter Europe’s EVA, manufacturers of the Track T800CDI diesel motorcycle - a bike so full of exotic features and new technology that I’m almost at a loss for words … almost.

Specs and pictures of this amazing machine available after the jump.

Mission Motors, an electric vehicle start-up from San Francisco, has chosen TED 2009 “The Great Unveiling,” as the venue to introduce itself, and it’s first production vehicle, to the world.

The all-electric Mission One sportbike promises a top speed of 150 mph and a 150 mile range — rivaling the stats of gasoline powered sportbikes. Additionally, the bike features a recharge time of less than 2 hours using a 240v outlet. It’s currently scheduled for delivery in 2010.

Aimed at the high-end/luxury market, the company states it is the “first production electric sportbike that features uncompromised performance and an iconic new design.” With a design by the legendary Yves Béhar of fuseproject, indeed, the Mission One is a gorgeous beast.

More images after the break…

Lots of college students complete a thesis or final project, but few can claim to have finished something as impressive as the hydrogen fuel cell motorcycle built by Swarthmore College seniors Alex Bell and Andres Pacheco. The enterprising duo built the motorcycle in an attempt to evaluate the viability of a hydrogen economy by studying real-world data— specifically, by testing the efficacy of hydrogen fuel cells, internal combustion, and battery propulsion.

Not everyone attending the motorcycle show this weekend is looking for a Harley or a fast sport bike. They’re not all looking for powerful bikes with lots of flash. Some of them are commuters looking for ways to save money and maybe even lessen the environmental impact of their driving.

And they’re in luck.

At this year’s Cycle World International Motorcycle Show in Long Beach, scooters get their own section, the Scooter Pavilion.

One electric vehicle company, Vectrix, is debuting their 2009 model of the Vx-1 this weekend, a highway-capable scooter with tons of style. The Vx-1 has a top speed of 62 mph, and a 35 to 55 mile range.

While this week’s news of an upcoming self-balancing electric unicycle was certainly exciting (and strange), KTM’s announcement today about its electric off-road motorcycle may be even better. The company claims that it has produced a quiet motorcycle prototype with up to 35 horsepower and the ability to run for 40 minutes on a lithium ion battery without recharging.

Earlier this week, a team of scientists at Loughborough University demonstrated the ENV, the world’s first ever hydrogen-powered motorbike (video).

Instead of a standard fuel tank, the ENV (short for Emissions Neutral Vehicle) contains an onboard fuel cell that can be filled with hydrogen in just three minutes. The cell then converts the hydrogen to electricity, enabling speeds of over 50 mph, and a range of 100 miles, with no emissions except warm air and water.

This past weekend, Prometheus Solar founder Jim Corning demonstrated his proof-of-concept electric motorcycle at the Santa Monica AltCar Expo. The motorcycle is a reconstructed Ninja 250 that uses four solar panels which provide 800 watts of power.

Well, it could be a car, or a motorcycle, but its designers have decided to call it a Road Streamliner.

The vehicle, tagged the Acabion GTBO has the power-to-weight ratio of a Formula One car, and can reach 300mph in 30 seconds. The Swiss maker says it could be in production and on the road in three years.

I wonder whose roads he’s talking about.

There’ll also be an electric version of this bomb, [...]