#motorcycle

#motorcycle

Dutch Engineering Student Makes A Methane-Powered MotorcycleThis is the Sloot Motor (sloot meaning "ditch" in Dutch). It is a modified motorcycle which starts with gasoline but uses methane to keep running. Please, however, don’t get too excited and attempt to immediately modify your own vehicle into a methane-powered one. This fete of engineering is not meant to be a serious alternative motor. This motorcycle only runs at about 20 km (12 miles) with a top speed of about 43 km/h (27 mph). Moreover, in order to fill the fuel tank with methane, you’ll have to harvest the methane yourself from roadside bogs and swamps. It is estimated that the harvesting could take you upwards of 8 hours. In short, this vehicle only runs for a short distance, at a not-so-decent speed, and takes a lot of time to refuel, and manually at that. Why would someone create such an inefficient vehicle?Gijs Schalkx, the student who created this modified vehicle for his graduation project, says that he created this in hopes that we reconsider our relationship with technologies.“If this world we live in is the cause for global breakdown, over-extraction of resources and inequality all over the world, why do we keep holding on to this idea of progress by growth? [It is] a goal that we are blindly following without thinking about the consequences and counting on technology to save us.”Schalkx still takes pride in his invention. Even if one has to spend 8 hours refueling the Sloot Motor, Schalkx describes the ride on the vehicle as “the best 20 kilometers of [one’s] life”, and a “priceless” experience.(Image Credit: Gijs Schalkx/ Uitsloot)#AlternativeResource #SlootMotor #Methane #Invention #Motorcycle

Motorcycle Chariot RacingThe film Ben Hur came out in 1925 (no, not that one, this one) and inspired a surge of interest in a new type of daredevil sport: motorcycle chariot racing!The sport, developed in Australia in the 1920s, quickly spread to Europe and the United States. At first, the motorcycles actually had riders and the charioteers were basically just for show. But in later versions of the sport, the charioteer actually steered the motorcycle with reins attached to the throttles.Interest in motorcycle chariot racing died out in the 1930s, long before the rise of post-apocalyptic movies like Mad Max could fuel its popular appeal.#motorcycle #chariot #racing #BenHur

The Black Pearl, a Steam-Powered MotorcycleBehold the Black Pearl, a steam-powered (yes, it has a steam engine) motorcycle built by Dutch custom motorcycle shop Revatu Customs.The badass steampunk bike certainly looks worthy of being piloted by Captain Jack Sparrow, but unlike its namesake, the motorcycle is a tad bit slower: it has a top speed of just 5 miles per hour (8 kph).From Throttle Extreme:[Owner Rene van Tuil] was inspired “Train Wreck”, a 2012 fictional design by Colby Higgins, and spent eight months working on an actual real-life version of the steampunk motorcycle ...Designed to resemble an old locomotive train engine, this retro rider is actually powered by a real steam engine in much the same way steam locomotives turn their massive wheels. The rear wheel of the Revatu Black Pearl is turned by an exposed crankshaft rotated by an eccentric pivot. A bell and real steam horn have been added to keep this bizarre bikes Iron Horse credentials squarely on track.Photo: Marc Quinlivan#motorcycle #steampunk #RevatuCustoms #locomotive