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« Cash for Dino Droppings | Main | Chinese Company Makes ‘UFO’ »
Teen Builds ‘Green’ Motocycle
May 01, 2008 12:45 PM
A Canadian teenager made headlines this week when he showcased a “green” motorcycle resembling a unicycle at a motorcycle show in Toronto.
The all-electric Uno, which looks like a one-wheeled motorcycle, runs on two side-by-side wheels. Riders accelerate by leaning forward and brake by leaning back.
Ben Gulak, 18, told Motorcycle Mojo magazine that a trip to a smoggy China prompted his work on an electric motorcycle.
"The smog was so thick, we never saw the sun," Gulak told the magazine.
Americans don’t have it that bad, but we’ve still got our own problems. See a report of the most air-polluted cities that was released today.
(Thanks to Glenn Roberts from Mojo Magazine for the pic!)
--Ashley Phillips
May 1, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (9)
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So it's a Segway Scooter with bigger wheels, a crotch-rocket body that you sit on rather than stand and a wind shield?
I think this goes on the "I slapped an alarm clock on it, so now it's different" pile of inventions.
Though it does look more marketable than the dorkotron2000, er, Segway is.
Watch out for patent infringement lawsuits on that one.
Posted by: jim | May 1, 2008 1:45:24 PM
This bike looks like the single-wheel bikes I've seen on the 1980's animation series 'Spiral Zone'. Looks sleek and cool. :)
Posted by: GWP | May 1, 2008 2:00:39 PM
Cute device. However, electric vehicles only move the pollution from the vehicle (usually in an urban area) to the electric power plant (usually in the country). The ONLY thing they do is make the owner FEEL better.
Posted by: Ken | May 1, 2008 3:00:03 PM
I want some actual specs. How far does it go on a charge? How fast can it go? How long does it take to charge? What's its acceleration?
As for electric vehicles, they can be better for the environment. This guy's from Canada, 2/3 of their electricity is hydropower, zero emissions. So, 2/3 of the power this thing uses is zero emission. That seems like a pretty good thing to me.
Posted by: senoy | May 1, 2008 4:34:09 PM
Looks cool - nice to see the kid do something fresh like this. He better not let the DMV see it - I'm sure it violates some sort of regulation they got. If they build a clean electric power plant - say hydroelectic, solar, or nuclear, then it would be good for reducing the pollution inside a city.
Posted by: paul | May 1, 2008 5:02:52 PM
Looks cool - nice to see the kid do something fresh like this. He better not let the DMV see it - I'm sure it violates some sort of regulation they got. If they build a clean electric power plant - say hydroelectic, solar, or nuclear, then it would be good for reducing the pollution inside a city.
Posted by: paul | May 1, 2008 5:02:59 PM
Electric Motor is the perferred power plant for any transportation regardless of how the batteries are charged since electric motors are incredibly more efficient then Internal Combustion Engines. It would be preferrable to derive the power (for the batteries) from a non-polluting source (wind, wave, solar, etc.) but if we use highly efficient electric motors - reduces the overall environmental degradation.
Posted by: Texas Engineer | May 1, 2008 5:46:17 PM
I dislike Jim's comments. We should praise Ben's efforts to undertake such a formidable engineering challenge at his age, which is certainly more complicated than "slapping an alarm clock" on anything. Furthermore, his thinking and innovation are towards making a green vehicle, which is a difficult problem.
Posted by: steiner | May 1, 2008 5:47:05 PM
looks sick!
Posted by: lala | May 1, 2008 9:44:09 PM
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