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This impressive motorcycle is the work of Tom Sepe, who converted a 1967 Tote-Gote, one of the first off road motorcycles, into an electric steampunk work of art.
The motorcyle was fitted with a 15 hp motor, the kind used in electric motorcycle racing, and a steam boiler made from a fire extinguisher tank. The boiler isn’t connected to the wheels however, and it’s only used for visual steam effects. Says Sepe: “But on the other hand, if I crank it up really high, then you get flames shooting out the back of the bike. Which is cool.”
After the jump, a movie of the motorcycle in action. For more details and photos, check out this interview with Tom Sepe.
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These ingenious toy cars and motorcycles come from several parts of Africa, and they are only made from scrap metal, tins, wire and pieces of leather. Nothing much to say, so we’ll leave you with some photos.
The wheels are made from spray cans. Made in Ghana.
Wire motorcycle from Kenya.
Tin cars from Ghana.
You can see more on the AfriGadget blog or in the AfriGadget Flickr pool.
An enterprising person called Leah Buechley came up with an ingenious solution for cyclists or bikers: a jacket with turn signals on its back. She used the LilyPad wearable e-textile technology developed by herself, which is especially designed to have large connecting pads so that the LilyPads can be easily attached to clothes.
The jacket uses a LilyPad Arduino Mainboard and LEDs, and the signals are controlled through wrist-mounted switches.
According to comments on Buechley’s Flickr photo, there is already a patent for a similar type of clothing: High visibility safety garment.
You can find all the LilyPad products here.
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Sometimes vehicles aren’t only designed for transportation - they’re used for expresing an idea. This is the case with “The Thunderbolt” Scooter Concept by Henrik Björkman. This electric scooter doesn’t bring anything groundbreaking in terms of power sources, but it makes a stand against traditional engines.
Its most striking feature is the hole in the middle, where the engine would normally go. In this case, the electro-magnetic power train is inside the rear wheel, thus leaving room for the “anti-engine”. It has a decent range: 70 km on a three hour charge.
More pictures after the jump.
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If you’re looking to make your lifestyle more eco-friendly, transportation is one of the key issues. Maybe you don’t want to start biking - a scooter could be the best in-between alternative.
The X-Treme XM-2000 Electric Moped is a Chinese-built scooter powered by a 2 kW electric motor and a 60 volt battery pack. It cannot reach an impressive speed, only 40 to 45 MPH and it can only travel 30 to 35 miles on a full charge. If you need to travel more, you’re out of luck, but it is a good option for a commute of about 15 miles. Given the current price of electricity, this translates as a price of about 1 cent per mile. Charging the battery is simple: it comes equipped with an automatic charger which can plug into a standard 110V socket.
The price is $2000 and you can choose between two colors, blue and red.
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Do you think sculpture is only about the kind of things you see in classic museums? Statues and stuff like that? No.
Sculptor Bruce Gray and Motorcycle #1
Los Angeles sculptor Bruce Gray had a different idea about what sculpture can be about, so he worked with found objects to create a giant… motorcycle. Motorcycle #1 is 55″ in height, 94″ in lenght and 33″ in width, weighs 800 pounds and is made entirely out of steel parts the artist found, such as 2 very heavy massive railroad equipment gears for wheels, a train coupling link for the seat, giant train springs for shocks, oversized chain, and a BMW R75/5 motorcycle engine and tailpipes. Unfortunately, you can’t ride it and pretend you’re Mad Max: the engine doesn’t work.
However, you can buy it and admire it everyday. That is, if you have $25,000 lying around.
Model: Eve Ellis
More photos after the jump.
What do pizza and motorcycles have in common? Nothing, you say?
Well, from now one they have at least one thing. Artist Frankie Flood has designed five pizza-cutters inspired by Choppers, to show that even day-to-day objects can be a form of art. The pizza cutters are (appropriately) called Mantis, Psycho Pizza Cadillac, Easy Rider, Pizza for Life and Phatboy and were recently exhibited at the Museum of Wisconsin Art.
Even if you don’t agree that this is art… at least it could make eating more fun, right? And motorcycle lovers would probably like these as a gift.
More photos after the jump.
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First the Rider Scala gave you the option to add Bluetooth to any motorcycle helmet and made talking on a cell phone much easier than taking it out of your pocket and having it blown 1 mile back down the road.
Two years later, the updated Scala Rider Q2 brings something even better. Now you can talk to other Q2 users up to a distance of 500 meters (1640 feet), in full-duplex. The range might be limited, but this disadvantage balances out with the fact that you don’t have to push any button to talk and that you don’t have to stop speaking in order for your partner to say something.
Because, like its former version, the Q2 is Bluetooth-enabled, you can make and receive phonecalls and get vocal instructions from your GPS. And, if you get bored of talking to people, you can always use the FM radio feature.
Motorcycle theft is not necessarily a threat to bikers, but I would feel a lot better if I would know my bike is where it is supposed to be all the time (or, at least almost all the time).
BikeGPSTracking is supposed to be the best in Bike/Motorcycle GPS Tracking and Theft Recovery. Their system includes, among other things:
# Locate your bike if it gets stolen
- Know where your motorcycle has traveled with unlimited, continuous tracking
- Ignition on/off alerts
- Tether alarm; panic switch
- Small size; can be easily hidden
- Track anywhere in the USA and Canada (Mexico optional)
- Lowest cost GPS tracking for motorcycles and ATV’s
Of course, don’t take your bike with you if you are planning a visit to Europe :)
Find more information on their website. via