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Exotic Motorized Skateboard from Down Under
Somnus writes "On the British motorcycle news site MCN, they have a story on this weird device called a Wheelman -- it's a two-wheeled motorized skateboard where you stick your feet inside the rims of the hubless wheels! The top model, Bushpig, puts out 2.5hp and weighs only 44lbs. This would be a fun way to get around campus, if only I could find a suitable U-lock ..."
Man, from the sound of it, this thing is two-wheel-drive. So imagine this...you're riding along, smiling smuggly at all the people gawking at your dope new ride, when suddenly you hit a large stick.
The front wheel stops, the motion continues to pull the board forward (and upward), and you do a nice little faceplant.
Sounds like fun!
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Let me give you the lowdown
I'd suggest that anyone blocking 0-level comments read the ones below. they basically say that this poster is full of shit.
Yeah, I didn't notice that (I submitted the story). While I don't know for this specific case, two-stroke motors usually have more punch (torque) at lower RPMs than four-strokers, esp. at smaller displacements. This is why most off-road bikes use two-stroke enginees, while most on-road bikes use four-stroke engines for smoother power delivery, quieter operations and greater fuel economy.
If I get a Wheelman, I'll get the Stealthman model so I can fill up convenienty at my friendly neighborhood gas station.
*** Proven iconoclast, aspiring epicurean ***
Compare this with the modern US city: cars, on average, getting bigger all the time; traffic jams getting worse. Christ, there's a whole industry in traffic jams, with news helicopters and on-board computers. Meanwhile, cities continue to get denser and populations continue to rise. There's a clear end to this: cars have to go as the primary means of inner-city transportation.
Some cities are taking steps already: Portland OR has expanded it's bike lanes over the last 15 years and they're now pretty pervasive. Other OR cities, like Salem and Eugene (college towns) have even more aggressive bike lane programs and laws. bike lanes are clear policy and popular support for smaller, more economical short-distance transportation.
What's to replace cars? Scooters, perhaps (cf. Ginger), or something similar. What are the major objections to scooters?
- Safety. First, the system has to separate cars and small vehicles - they can't interact. Also, there has to be a licensing program, like for cars - we do NOT need thousands of untrained scooter riders - one fuck-up would take out a crowd. Finally, remember the dire predictions about cars? Thousands of deaths? Environmental destruction? (Well, ok, most of those seem to have come true, but why let that stop us?)
- Social engineering. No, most people won't trade their V-16 Ford Luxohemoth in for a battery-powered skateboard anytime soon, but that can certainly change (look how well the US government managed people in WWII). People don't think they're as susceptible to propaganda anymore, but they're wrong. We just call it advertising now, and it works really well. I don't think this will be a real problem.
- Climate. Here's the stake through the heart of this little idea. In Portland we get 36" of rain a year, and it's spread out very thinly - 5 or 6 days a week in winter are overcast and somewhat "moist." No way are people going to tool around in the open in a climate like that. So what do we need? Climate control.
Climate control. How can we get climate-controlled cities? Only in a closed, or at least roofed, environment. And the only real way to do this is with nanotechnology.Thus, as I submit in the title, these types of transportation won't become widely used until we have pretty well-established nanotechnology. Unless, of course, the world eceonomy collapses or gets spread veeeeery evenly, in which case I guess even US citizens will be happy to ride bikes to work in the rain.
Just a thought...
question: is control controlled by its need to control?
answer: yes
This isn't as much "normalization" as it is "don't take so many drugs when you're designing tables."
One of the Health and Safety Executive's criteria for allowing the sale of items is whether or not the items will place an "undue strain on the National Health Service". In case you don't know, all healthcare in the UK is funded by taxpayers and the standard of healthcare is extremely low. An item such as this, which possesses no brakes, lights, mirrors or seatbelts is almost certain to be outlawed by the government due to the high risk of accidents. Since the government will have to pay for the cost of treatment of the injured, they prefer to make things illegal rather than have to foot the bill.
It is a shame that because of the inadequacies of our healthcare system, the British are deprived of many fun things. For example, bungie jumping, recreational shooting and parachuting are illegal in the UK. Quad motorcycles, a close relative to these motorised skateboards, are also illegal. Even smoking is outlawed in many regions of the UK (the city of Manchester being the most famous example), simply because of the strain it puts on the health service.
Sometimes I'm proud to be British, but at other times, the "nanny state" which prevails over here really makes me angry. Does anyone know how I can get a visa to live in the USA? :-)
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Donald "Don Juan" Kerr
Pant legs? Geez, just wear a bikini. Couldn't you tell from the photo on the page?
Speaking as a person who spent most of last winter peddling through ice storms and snowdrifts to commute to work, I really don't think the elements are a big impediment. Get some decent winter gear and a pair of ski goggles.
The reason I haven't been riding much THIS year is because of the two-three foot high piles of iced snow on the roadsides. No place to go when one of those celphone-using, makeup applying 'drivers' dosen't bother to notice you.
And yes, I live in the Northren Midwest. We get lots of snow.
Yes thats what the _article_ said. Not what www.wheelman.com.au says.
He could be left-handed..... :-)
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I hereby inform you that I have NOT been required to provide any decryption keys.
gas powered with a two stroke engine? Seems like it would be annoyingly loud (notwithstanding the earlier comment about wastefulness).
I'd want one that runs whisper-quiet and doesn't put out fumes.
Vidi, Vici, Veni
I was just getting in the bath to do some ironing, and I almost forgot to take off my clothes.
All your dangifiknow are belong to us.
skateboards are dangerous? since when? Ben must be some old fogey workin for the pig dept. And skateboarding is not a bad influence. Those dam lil scooters have caused a good many broken bones already and they haven't been around long.
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Tres_Status
stephen
Of course if you don't want the economy they do the Megabusa, which has a Suzuki Hayabusa 1300cc motorbike engine, they claim 0-60 in 3.1 secs......
No, I've never driven one, I don't fit.
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I hereby inform you that I have NOT been required to provide any decryption keys.
There are no one-stroke engines.
He said one stroke when he really meant two (up - intake/exhaust and compress, down - combustion), and he said two stroke when he really meant four (down1 - intake, up1 - compression, down2 - combustion, up2 - exhaust).
The big problem with two-stroke engines is that the intake and exhaust phases occur simultaneously and there is a big mixture of exhaust and intake so it's extremely inefficiant (plus it burns oil with it's fuel so it's worse than just fuel).
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Soma: because a gramme is better than a damn.
heh, if you think Austin drivers are bad (I live in the riverside area), i invite you to take an hour drive soouth on 35 and visit the city of san antonio. I lived there from when i was 5 till i moved up to austin for UT, and they make austin drivers look real good.
If you want an especially good time, visit san antonio in rain or the once a year "Big Freeze 'XX" (as the local media is so fond of making everything into a really big deal). Its a good show when you either have a 110 car pilup on I-10, or the entire highway system closed.
/me dislikes san antonio drivers
/me dislikes san antonio media even more
Thats just what America needs..more fodder to build an "extreme" sport around. As if we haven't already embarassed ourselves through politics, we have to further denigrate our prestige by creating a society which prides itself on how quickly one can break his ankle after receiving his new board..
----- nikBONADDIO | www.lockjaw.net
$12,000?
Exactly how many times did you get stopped before you realised the cops didn't like them?
'sapientia potestas est'
Strangely enough, i'm from Philadelphia - I've at least _seen_ UDel's campus (or parts of it, anyway). Yeah, but in my last Little Catastrophe, as I came to (in the middle of the road), I was met by two gorgeous women who had come to my rescue. They walked me home (despite my embarassed suggestions not to).
The aftermath: My bike is a little messed up, my shoulder hurts, my glasses put a nice gash in my eyebrow, and my helmet is cracked. But I remember everything!
(I had been leaning too far forward while my front tire plunged into a pothole).
Look out honey, 'cause I'm using technology; Ain't got time to make no apology
This thing looks majorly cool...but..how does it go? from the pics i saw, it looks like you put yer food right were the axle would be on a "normal" wheel.
also, at 20 mph, you could hurt yourself on one of these things..hell..you could hurt yourself at 2 mph on one of these. Plus, the sticker shock was enough to scare me off...I can kill myself on a wheeled device for far cheaper then >$1K.
The opinions in this post are ficticious. Any similarity to actual opinions, real or imagined, is purely coincidental.
Instead, maybe IT is what powers Yet Another Motorized Scooter. Maybe the power source is some sort of improved highly efficient heat engine (Kamden has already built improved Stirling engines and propane powered mopeds, as shown on a recent episode of 60 Minutes II.) A scooter would be an ideal affordable way to introduce a revolutionary new propulsion technology, especially during the current motorized scooter craze, instead of the new technology not catching on because only the super rich can afford a full sized car powered by IT.
The fact that IT is being called "Ginger" and the fact that Kamden is a heat engine junkie (did you see that huge steam engine in his living room on 60'II??) suddenly made this connection: Dave Gingery (http://www.lindsaybks.com/dgjp/djgbk/index.html) published a bunch of how-to books for building your own heat engines. Coincidence?
Danka muchly for clearing up that for me, as I put in my post I had no idea whether what he was talking about is true...
But on that note, if I remember correctly the Stealthman (gotta love their naming technique) is a 4 stroke engine, so wouldn't that be a better one... and make his statement null and void.
As another point, in that case, is there/would there be a more environmentally friendly engine that could be used for this kind of vehicle? Would some of the electric engines ideas going around work, give the size and weight constraints?
It's in that place where I put that thing that time
Well there IS another type of internal combustion engine that is more efficiant than a piston engine, and that is the Wankel engine.
It's a purely rotary engine so there's no vibration and far fewer moving parts that require less lubricant and less maintinance.
It's far superior to the piston engine, but I don't know why it's not used as much.
Electric engines would be extremely light and efficiant, but would require a heavy battery array, which sort of cancels out it's benefits.
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Soma: because a gramme is better than a damn.
This is the best method I've ever seen to get someone to read the Terms and Conditions. On the right you have a bunch of legal mumbo-jumbo: "If you kill yourself with the Wheelman it's not our fault" and on the left you have a HOT CHICK in a wet t-shirt complete with nipples poking out and a sexy smile. For once, I'm glad I read the legal bullshit!
Well, I checked out the website and the wheelman seems more powerful than my bigfoot GoPed (www.goped.com), but it is more than twice the price! Also, I doubt if these things are street legal in the US, and as for being able to ride around campus, well you can pretty much forget about that. The cops'll take anything away that uses a motor on my campus at UC Davis. The only way I can get around on my goped is if I don't use the engine on campus.
There are tons of human-powered means of transportation, like shoes, bikes, skateboards, and scooters. But few of these are of sufficient technological interest to warrant a mention on Slashdot. This is about news for nerds, not news for powerless transportation consumers.
Motoboard??? Check out the F$%*ing MotoSK8!! A 22.5cc 2-stroke engine bolted to the back end of a roller blade, producing a top speed of 25+mph.. Damn!
The local cop pulls me over and asks me for a motocycle license. The would pull you over just because it is so weird.
and I do not know about wiping out on this. I can see where the road kill potential is a bit higher than I would want.
Worryingly, there are no brakes and it seems the only way to perform an emergency stop is to fall off. But then, it's designed to be used on beaches and has a top speed of just 22mph, so you're unlikely to hurt yourself too much.
On the other hand, people do alot of things that I would not do.
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
2 stroke geek haven. The Linux Pimp
--It's Pimptastic!--
From the article:
That does sound dangerous. 22 mph is a pretty fast clip. You could really get hurt. Try jumping out of your buddy's car at 22mph this weekend and see if you make it to work monday.
That being said, I think I have to get one. My goped has lost its charm.
All your dangifiknow are belong to us.
I notice you didn't say safe. :-)
Also, since there's no cargo space, virtually no safety features, and it's virtually unuseable in rain, snow, or on ice, I think I'll keep my "silly attachment" to my car, thanks. :-)
9 out of 10 for coolness, though.
// TODO: fix sig
So what? Due to the wonders of global capitalism, energy is a pure commodity. Therefore, people who are willing to pay more for gas can enjoy the fruits of their labor with this fun device.
The two-stroke Bushpig model may not be that environmentally friendly, but the four-stroke Stealthman can't be that bad. Besides, how efficient is it, really, to burn food and take 30min. to get to work on a bicycle, when you can get there in half the time with one of these? To do a given amount of work in a given context, animal power is not always more enviro-friendly than machine power. If you want to bitch and moan, counter that having entertaining devices like the Wheelman disincentives forcibly packing ourselves into subway cars.
*** Proven iconoclast, aspiring epicurean ***
Silly attachment to vehicles.... appartently you live in a nice hot city that doesn't get rain... I live in Canada and I would suggest that in the part where I live there is a NEED for vehicles that can climb icy hills and protect from elements. Even if you're not worried about ice and snow I can think that the average person is unwilling to deal with the elements.
--------------------------------- Born Again Bourne Again Believer: New Life, GNU/Linux Be Free!
I hope the job you land in the states immediately starts paying out benefits because hospitals don't give coupons or price breaks regarding how much safety enginering was put into the thing you just crashed. Not to mention the standard of care your HMO is going to give you might surprise your average cynical european.
Once you've spent some time in the one of the 44 million without insurance you'll be back in heathrow in a heartbeat.
So, where did you get a computer that consumes no electricity while it processes information for your work and entertainment?
Yeah as long as you don't go over the rather low weight limit, flip over and die. Many small cars have higher wight limits, and when they roll over the occupants are less likely to be killed. If you do have an attachment to your kids be careful with the suv. It is not the case that for all x, more x inplies more safe.
Oh, back to the topic. The Wheelman's lack of brakes is exerting major inhibitory influence on my urge to buy one.
"The good Earth--we could have saved it, but we were too damn cheap and lazy."K. Vonnegut
(C) Kaki Sain, 2011. By reading this, you have illegally copied my property to your brain.
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I occasionally see people on gas-powered skateboards (probably some MIT nerds, since I'm in that vicinity). Let me tell you, it is close to the loudest thing I've heard on the road. It's higher-pitched than a motorcycle or scooter, which may affect my perception some. It makes this annoying "braaaaaaaap" noise as it passes. And since it makes only 15-20 MPH, it stays in earshot for quite a while.
I'd assume this aussie thing, like the gas powered skateboard, keeps weight down by cutting out the bells and whistles... like any sort of muffler. Not exactly what I'd like to hear when I head down to the beach or off into the wilds.
Motorized vehicles are banned from almost all bike paths, so that's out. Most beaches prohibit motorized vehicles. With no suspension, your knees and ankles would be shot in about 15 minutes of off-road trail use (plus the tires are too small to clear big roots, holes, etc.) What about on the street? Well, it has too much power to be classified as a moped. It doesn't have the DOT-approved lights, turn signals, brakes, etc. needed for a street motorcycle. It certainly could not pass any of the safety requirements for a car. It looks like it could be fun, but I can't imagine where one would ride it in the U.S.
I wasn't a hypocrite.
:))
:)
I do make attempts to conserve, though they are limited unless I choose to move away from culture completely.
My apt. has no TV, a minifridge style fridge, an electric stove, a microwave i use rarely, a coffeemaker, 3 small lamps, a clock radio (on most of the time), and a computer.
I use a Palm device instead of a laptop for my work because it uses less electricity, and is suitable for my needs.
But I have to use heat and water, trash, recycling, and public transportation, which use more energy. I don't use a car. I do use the streetlights, and all the infrastructure, and of course the Internet, so I am vastly benefitted by a lot of very dirty energy.
I want more people to be able to choose to cheaply and safely get off the grid, and generate their own electricity as much as possible. I have worked for political candidates in the southwestern US that aim to get as many people as possible on Solar power, which is mostly feasible in that sunny area. Espcially since the energy distribution crisis in California could affect the southwest and northwest if enough megawatts are pulled from the grid.
By the way, your sig is great.
Goat sex free since 2001
Instead of having it imprisoned in your browser, right click on the wheelman movie link in this page: Wheelman Movie Link
Maybe the state's highest function is to grind out insoluble problems. (Zelazny, Hall of Mirrors)
Can't we have a story about Australia that doesn't include the words, "Down Under"? GAR GAR GAR!
I saw them at "Big Boys Toys" too...in Melbourne 1998. They are not exactly new, but good to see them still around. For those asking how to stear, they are hinged in the middle. Can't remember about breakes though. They were riding them around the convention centre. Very cool.
Zilch.
In California, my go-ped is street legal and I can drive it in the bike lanes where available. No fines, just good riding.
hehe That reminds me of Tommy, the 1975 rock opera thingy by The Who. When his evil cousin was playing with him he ironed his clothes while he was wearing them.
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I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
I think you got that backwards. (: 4 strokes have more torque, 2 strokes have more horsepower. -= Rhyas =-
I personally think sticking your feet inside a wheel running at 22mph is pretty dangerous. As a skater, I feel that powered skate must give us a good way to get off it in an instant.
Here is the Exkate Powerboard that has been out for a long time. It uses remote control and you can jump off it quickly. It's been around forever.
That's the one, sorry, I sometimes get my terminology confuzzled...
Now on the other hand, there IS a damnned nifty motor from a company making jetboards (surfboards with built in propulsion), is about 3x6x8 inches in size, and can manage around 10-15 HP... When you're talking that size, you can snap 'em onto rollerblades (whoops, already been done)...
Just because you can mod me down, doesn't mean you're right. Shoes for industry!
Requisite cute girl model notwithstanding, this thing looks a bit tricky to manuever. From what I saw of college kids' ability to pilot a simple bicycle down a street, this thing looks like a road-rash in the making. How would you keep your pants legs from getting caught in the wheels? And sure, it has a throttle, but where are the brakes??
Guess I'm not seeing how this is an improvement over those gas-powered scooters....
Hey, anything new and wierd is good with me :)
Seeka
Any product that can simultaneously satisfy my desire to avoice walking and has an attractive bikini-clad woman demonstrating it's use is a must-buy product in my eyes.
I'd still rather have the motorized skateboard from Motoboard.com. Theose gas powered rollerblades scare the bejesus out of me though.
TheGeek
TheGeek
http://www.geekrights.org
Kill the monkey
It's not *only* a question of how much energy you use, but also how much emissions you produce. CO2 is relevant in a global perspective, but other fumes are damaging in the close environment. CO2 is *not* what's causing bad air in many cities, infact CO2 is perfectly harmless in the conentrations we typically have. (It leads to global warming if it's from non-renewable sources, but otherwise it's harmless)
Take that Dean Kamen and Jeff Bezos!!
because I am going to give blood until I can buy one of these.
/.? Highest bidder gets my least favorite kidney. Bidding starts at $1,495.
Ok, so we've seen you can't put organs up for sale on e-Bay. Why not
Oh, and another $179 for the stainless steel.
Yeah, it's funny, but this is horribly offtopic and should be marked as such. By not doing so you basically give credence to all sorts of discussion spammers.
TheGeek
TheGeek
http://www.geekrights.org
Kill the monkey
Or does this thing look like a Harley Davidson Fat-Boy minus the seat and Handlebars?
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Besides, how efficient is it, really, to burn food and take 30min. to get to work on a bicycle, when you can get there in half the time with one of these? To do a given amount of work in a given context, animal power is not always more enviro-friendly than machine power. If you want to bitch and moan, counter that having entertaining devices like the Wheelman disincentives forcibly packing ourselves into subway cars.
Animal power is 100% renewable, since animals consume foods that are 100% renewable. With respect to CO2/O2 balance, these work on a SHORT timescale compared to fossil fuels.
Animal power is also dramatically more efficient compared to fossil fuels, since our little cellular engines are quite efficient.
However, clean energy is generally a mask for electric engines that require fossil fuel burning at a power plant instead of on the road. They help places where loads of cars congregate, but they don't help the global picture.
If a substantial portion of people use SMALLER gas powered transportation, we save a LOT of total gas and energy usage, of the sort whose CO2/O2 cycle is thousands of years long. And perhaps it would be more popular (result in more savings) than trying to get people to use their own power.
If this is a joke then ha, ha, very funny. On a more serious note if you want to see how to lean into sharp turns then learn to snowboard. All you need to do is ensure that you keep your weight over the wheels. (Bend in the middle). As for scooters, they rock, but this looks sooooo fun.
Naa, although I don't think the US has an energy problem, I still second that post.
This gadget looks cool upon first glance, but looses my respect when looking closer:
All in all, I prefer my bike and my inline skates any time over that gadget.
(Damn, it's time for some blading again, why the hell is it so cold outside?!)
Free Manning, jail Obama.
Given the Wheelman's tiny mass, it likely gets far better fuel economy than a car, scooter, or motorcycle, and requires fewer resources to manufacture. So inasmuch is it it subsitutes for those vehicles, it reduces net resource consumption.
I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous...
This electric scooter is the way to go http://www.turboscooter.com/Turbo-Z.htm
I'mma trap you in my sys fscking chroot you
Still laughing over this line....
In addition to what everyone else has said, you're forgetting about people who CAN'T use these for reasons of physical disabilities and the like, way to be judgemental of other countries and cultures though, geez, you're almost as bad as an American...oh..uh, nevermind ;)
Not quite the same as the one in BTF but here you go anyway, airboard
It might not seem like it while you're coasting through a school zone, but 22 mph feels pretty damn fast when you're scraping across the concrete. As a test for the damage 22 mph can do, get in your car, find a handy brick wall somewhere, and drive into it at 22 mph. Oh... and you can't use the brakes.
-Restil
Play with my webcams and lights here
They had one at the expo and were riding around there and on the beach.
I've talked with one of the inventors. I personaly think they are crazy considering the video they had at the big boys toys expo in Melbourne. These people come from the bush and their video show guys going through a tropical jungle like area at 25 mph (about 45kmh). The are the kind of guys who are man enough to not need breaks.
They pull apart weed wackers to get the engines since that the cheapest way to get engines. The thing won't pass California small engine emissions and may be worse than many small cars. It is also quite loud.
When I first saw this thing 2 years ago, I started looking into exporting them to the US but decided that I had better ways of making money that didn't invovle so many law suits.
t.
I'd buy this thing anyday if it had SmartWheels.
Kid on a riceburner: "Wanna race?
Man on a Harley: "Sure. Here to the coast. Let's go."
Yes the Gold Wing and Valkyrie qualify as vehicles, and I know someone with a quarter million miles on a flat-twin BMW, but those pretend Grand Prix racers you praise are toys, not transportation.
"Gross weight limit" would seem to mean that it can carry that much minus the weight of the vehicle itself, not that it could carry that much in addition to itself. Is that interpretation right? If so the question becomes how much does your suv weigh (with average tank of gas)? Another question is how are the odds of rollover affected by straping my car on top of your suv?
I think I qualified my original post in such a way that your reply doesn't contradict it. I said be carefull with the suv's. Some are surely safer than some cars, but the "some"'s make that sentence pretty vacuous. My statement of caution is motivated by the statistics which show passengers of some suvs are more likely to die in certain types of accidents than passengers of some other smaller vehicles in the same type of accident. All I'm fighting against is the generalization "bigger = safer".
"The good Earth--we could have saved it, but we were too damn cheap and lazy."K. Vonnegut
(C) Kaki Sain, 2011. By reading this, you have illegally copied my property to your brain.
..that the "stealthman", the 4 stroke model, has both more power and _less_ displacement than the 2 stroke model "bushpig"?
And here I was, thinking that 2 stroke engines were generally made more power than 4 stroke ones at the same displacement.
Most of the "44 million" are people who are briefly without insurance while changing jobs or policies, and that's not much of a problem unless they have some horrible health issue right then before the next job kicks in. Which most don't. The mere fact that one is without insurance for a while is not in itself a tragedy.
I was one of those tragic "uninsured" people; I chose to self-insure for about a year once. It was no big deal; it just meant that when I went to the doctor I paid out-of-pocket. My dentist gave me about a 40% discount when he found out I'd be paying it myself. Since I had no major health problems during the time I was uninsured, I saved a lot of money. Had I had a major problem it would have been expensive, but at the time I thought the benefits outweighed the risks.
What I'd really like is an insurance plan with a really high deductible, like $10,000. Insurance shouldn't be used to pay ordinary predictable day-to-day expenses. The whole point of insurance is to spread the risk of unpredictable one-in-a-million costs, not routine ones. Insuring routine stuff is a great way to increase health care costs AND insurance costs.
I play Nerd-Folk!
25 miles down the road with trail of oil and engine debris:
Man standing beside Harley at the side of the road: "Damn, better strip the engine."
Suzuki/Honda/Kawasaki/Triumph bike owner: "Cool beer by the seaside, what a life".
Harleys are an overweight under powered pile of crap, useless for anything but posing. Constantly rusting, pathetic tank range, senile electrics. God help you if it should rain.
Give me a Bandit, Speed Triple or CBR any day.
Government of the people, by corporate executives, for corporate profits.
I bet riders could get some pretty get vert on one of those. Assuming they didn't kill themselves in the process.
Falling off at 22 mph will hurt like a b@st@rd if you're dressed like the guy pictured with the article. You can expect to receive a fairly serious case of road rash which is deeply unpleasant - I know, I have intimate personal knowledge of the subject.
However the article was posted on the Motorcycle News web site so you could expect readers to have access to the appropriate protective clothing - Kneepads, spine and kidney protection vest, leathers (with armour) crash helmet etc.
However anyone wearing all this and riding this scooter thingy would look a total prat.
My euro0.02 worth
Ian
...is that you? Would you like us to ban it, due simply to an online article? Why not ban anything that may be even remotely dangerous before it hits the market... Pens, pencils, belts, rubber bands, plastic bags, to name a few things that should be banned. "I for one thing we should stick to scooters, like my razor" Yeah, NOBODY was ever injured on one of those.
My boss said he wanted to see more of me. So I gained 12 pounds. This post may or may not be sarcastic.
That might be true in terms of chemical caloric content in the foodstuffs we ingest, but not when you also count agricultural, marketing and distribution energy costs. Our omnivorous diet doesn't help either. Also, is it more efficient strap 100 horses to a car, or just have a finely-tuned four-cylinder 2.0 liter motor?
Fossil fuel power plants win hands-down in both cost efficiency and enviro-friendliness due to the powers of scale. If you divide the energy produced by a large coal-fired plant in a day by the amount of harmful emissions over the same time frame, the dearth of emissions is actually quite remarkable.
Now that makes sense! However, if you've ever been accelerated from 0-to-60 in 5.0s in a 400hp car, you'll understand how difficult it is to convince people that the environmental savings are worth it; you wouldn't be able to convince me. Perhaps, a suitable alternative is a 150hp motorcycle that can take you from 0-to-60 in under 2.0s ...
*** Proven iconoclast, aspiring epicurean ***
"...the four-stroke, two-wheeled, er, vehicle weighs just 20kg (44lb) and produces 2.5bhp."
If it had a vanilla 2-stroke I'd have double the power, weigh and cost half as much, and sound like a science minded racing machine.
But I still want one: to hack!!!!
(The NSH Opinion of the 1983-5 USA WERA 80cc roadracing champion.)
Joe Torre - X - HardwareEngineer @ Amiga Inc & ZapMedia Amiga, AmigaDE, BeOS, Linuxz, QNX, Rebol, Windoze, ZME: So
If it can't get me past 60mph in under 4 seconds I'm not interested.
You're better of with a real motorcycle from Suzuki, Honda or Kawasaki. Triumph make some nice bikes too.
Note to Harley owners, you are not riding a real motorcycle but a mobile over-chromed junk yard.
HAND.
Government of the people, by corporate executives, for corporate profits.
Let me repeat ... there is *NO* global energy (shortage) crisis. What we have is various energy conversion systems (coal/gas/nuclear) with varying costs-ratios. The real problem is regulatory which impacts on two areas outside technical control - distribution and financing. Because of the combination of EPA and certain elements of the environmental movement, it's proven very hard to get energy sources near population centres (combination of NIMBY and powerlines debate) which means fewer high volume / low cost energy sources. Given that the total transmission loss factor can be up to 50% for ~1000km (could an energy expert here give more precise figures?) it simply becomes uneconomic past a certain point. The other consideration is that energy infrastructure has a very long time-scale. When you're thinking of chucking in >$3B for a gas train (those thingys for liquifying natural gas) then you need stable financial environment to do long-term infrastructure investments. Now it may be a matter of perspective but the decadal fluctuations of the dollar-yen-euro (look up Plaza Accord and related history) and sustained deflation (check price of gold which uses roughly similar tech) has driven the cost of oil down to ~$10 which meant zero invementment in exploration and related capital investment which has now caught up to everyone. The Wall Street currency derivatives guys can play silly buggers as far as I am concerned (after all they're only betting against clueless tax-payer funded (central) banks around the world) but for a rational energy company, having someone change the accounting yardstick like a yo-yo on steroids is not conductive to determining the real demand signals the market is trying to give. Despite wishful thinking, wind/wave/solar do not deliveryed the concentrated Watt/hours at an economic price (baring government subsidies) that the average consumer desires unless you are concerned with isolation and reliability issues (e.g. remote telephones).
As for the wheelman or other scooter type derivatices, technology can improve the beast if the free market is left to work and it establishes a niche somewhere. From the shown characteristics (apart from the cute chick factor), it might be useful in natural semi-built areas where trailbikes or cycles would be too bulky or environmentally disruptive. The only challenge is achieving the right power-weight/volume ratio (remember portable). I see some interesting advances that might help - mechtronics (combo of electronics imbedded into the mechanics) will help eliminate dead weight of tramission systems, orbital/radial motors to reduce bulk, distributed intelligence which allows smarts to be in the hand control and the physical parts to drive towards bulk commodities. If I was an investor, it would be a viable proposition depending on the target market segment. Just because California screwed up the deregulation doesn't mean the rest of the world is short or a clue (although given the average idiocy observed in governments I'll reserve judgement).
LL
Here's a link to model I got: http://viza.com/vm2.html
Anyway, this thing was totally awesome - it cost $1 in gas a week to drive to work, and I got there in half the time.
The problem, however, is that the cops HATE THEM. I ended up receiving a total of $12,000 in fines for driving a motor vehicle with insurance, etc...
Basically, these things are OFF ROAD ONLY. Don't make the same mistake I did.
...you could make a sport of it, like Rollerball, and even sell tickets...
"Biped! Good cranial development. Evidently considerable human ancestry."
Anybody know if this thing is what Ginger will be all about?
There is no need to use a SlashDot sig for SEO...
I have absolutely no idea if this statement is true in the sense that the only true solution is to use two stroke engines....
2 Stroke 52ccBut I thought I'd point out that on the wheelman site (BushPig) there is this:
Does this mean that this solution even though it would not be practical to have two stroke engines, it has such an engine??
Sorry about that bit of sarcasm, just thought I'd point out a flaw (I'm picky so shoot me)
It's in that place where I put that thing that time
Didn't you know that the GM Suburban is the 'Texas Caddilac' and unoffical state car? They are status-mobiles and saying that about 95% have never left the pavement would probably be a good guess. They are for people who have more money than common sense.
the good ground has been paved over by suicidal maniacs
I just don't get it. Two hubless wheels and a lawnmower engine. 1500 bucks ? Go fsck yourself! I could get one of those giant mail-order-brides for less than that and she'd just carry my fat ass all over the place.
No thanks.
-Billco, Fnarg.com
Cars that are the size of motorcycles would be a compromise here, eh?
But, the masses don't think beyond the need to look like they have the longest penis.
-G
--Fac Iustum Nec Time-- --Veritas Prevalibit--
"It's certain, however that nothing that works like a wheel has ever been discovered in nature. Man made it up completely, out of his head."
God must've copied man's wheel in order to make round rocks, snowballs, the solar system, countless galaxies which are thought to revolve around axes, and, oh, atoms.
Yep. That's it. God copied Man's wheel in order to implement revolution and orbits of all kind. Too bad Man didn't patent it.
I had a go at Big Boys Toys, which is a cool gadget show they run in sydney each year.
There pretty slow though, they seem to be geared for torque rather than speed.
Official GOD FAQ.
ive ridden wheelmans since 1990 and have owned one for a few years every one has trouble at first with the wheelman concept and they havent rdden one but over the years i have taught 100s of people young or old male and female to ride a wm and after explaning a few thing they get the hang of it grass is the best to learn on like a football field now no one has balance untill you have momentem like a push bike hop in the wm slowly build up the revs lift the frount foot first than the rear by pushing down on your heel and by squeezing the pnematic hand throttle your away steady as you go i have seen so many people learn in 20seconds to 15 min is the longest no one has failed yet in all the years ive ridden i have not hurt myself at all braking is done by decompression of the motor it will pull you from top speed to dead stop in about 5 meters when you get a bit of experiance you can do tail slides to stop.its a kick ass all terran bike last you a life time cheap as ever to run and you dont need much brains to pull it apart and service the inventor grunter taylor has made it fool proof
Call me a crank, but the last thing I want is Joe Idiot cruising through the park on one of these things. Bicycles, roller blades, etc. are fine because they're relatively quiet. A 2.5Hp engine is not quiet (not without a bit of work)..
With that said.. I've always wanted to put together a hubless recumbent touring bike.. So, while I really don't like the idea of another humming nuisance, I do like the overall design of this thing..
Looks like the Aussies beat the US to Kamen's IT idea. Oh well, I guess I should cancel that pre-buy order on the book at Amazon!
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We have an attachment to our kids too. There isn't a whole lot of hauling capacity on those things. What would you do with little ones, strap them to your back?
I'm no fan of the SUV, but devices that can lug people (emphasis on the plural) and stuff, like groceries, luggage, and pets, are indispensible, and the BushPig just isn't going to cut the mustard in that department.
we are not suffering an energy crisis. Please quit spreading fear, uncertainty, and doubt.
All your dangifiknow are belong to us.