Hey! Fuel Cell Motorcycles Are Coming!

[Tuckerfan]

Yahama started testing one last year.

Yamaha Motor Co said it has started road tests on a motorcycle powered by a methanol fuel cell, and aims to market the vehicle in 2005, according to a Nihon Keizai Shimbun report.

Looks like they didn’t make it, though. Honda, however plans to have them in a couple of years.

By 2009, the company expects to be leasing fuel cell-powered motorcycles, and is looking to boost the overall efficiency of its hybrid systems during that time by combining it with more efficient engines.

A start up company might have them both beat, however.

A British company that unveiled a fuel cell motorcycle earlier this year has announced that it hopes to have the zero-emission vehicles for sale by 2006 at a price of $6,000. Meeting that goal would make Intelligent Energy the first company to have a production-line fuel cell vehicle of any kind on the market.

The news Tuesday came with a decision by Intelligent Energy to relocate to Los Angeles, Calif. The state has become a hub for fuel cell research, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to create a “hydrogen highway” of filling stations for fuel cell vehicles, whose only emissions are a bit of heat and water vapor.

Dubbed ENV, for emissions neutral vehicle, the motorcycle is virtually silent, has a top speed of 50 mph and can travel four hours before requiring more hydrogen.

Technical specs on the bike can be found here.

[Argent_Towers]

Holy fucking shit.

Why does everything with a fuel cell have to look so damn stupid? Why can’t they just make cars and motorcycles that look like regular cars and motorcycles, except with fuel-cells? Why does the presence of a fuel cell neccessitate obnoxious “futuristic” styling?

I’d rather ride a noisy, greasy, dirty, polluting two-stroke than mount that monstrosity of a “motorcycle” pictured in that link.

[Argent_Towers]

Alright, “monstrosity” is too strong. How about just “dumb looking.”

[Madd_Maxx]

It looks like a kids bicycle that is kinda sorta supposed to look like a motorcycle. I wouldn’t buy one. I like the concept though. The best thing would be for a big name company to liscence the technology and apply it to their existing lineup of bikes.