210 km/h: BMW biodiesel-fuelled motorbike sets new land speed record
BMW has announced that a modified BMW R 1150 RT, with its standard engine swapped for a 3-series 2 liter diesel engine supplied by a British junkyard, has beaten the land speed record for a diesel-powered motorbike: 210.203 km/h (130 mph). The bike zoomed into the books on Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats.
Michael Sturtz, founder and executive director of The Crucible, rode the bike. The Crucible is an artistic industrial design center in Oaklad and responsible of the project, nicknamed "Die Moto". The fuel, B100, was supplied by Greenline Industries.
The Crucible's volunteer team responsible of the project, named "The diesel dozen" describe the project as "Moving artwork: a car engine on a motorbike chassis surrounded by a hand-made fairing, reminiscent of the first GP races". The team's next target is raising to 700 the maximum rpm by means of improving the electronic engine management and reaching 260 km/h (160 mph).
Gallery: BMW Biodiesel Motorbike
[Source: The Crucible]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
GreyFlcn 11:43AM (9/19/2007)
Joy, so we can burn up 210 gallons per mile, and deforrest the Amazon even quicker.
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mattyp 12:08PM (9/19/2007)
so it goes 210 kph not 210 mph, 130 mph dosent really sound that impressive, even if it is a diesel bike.
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Mr. Moofus 1:17PM (9/20/2007)
I don't think there is enough room on that bike for a 210 gallon tank. So I doubt the consumption is as high as 210 gallons/mile like GreyFlcn supposes. But I do wonder what the consumption/distance statistic was on those land speed record runs.
I think the 130 mph is impressive, mattyp. Since that set THE LAND SPEED RECORD FOR BIODIESEL MOTORBIKES, that is a metric that noone else has beaten, yet. That's 130 mph faster than I've ever ridden on a biodiesel bike. How about you?
This is a land speed record for an alternative fuel, but all the first two commenters can do is complain? This should be heralded as a sign that the cause of biodiesel and alternative fuels is advancing!
If this article had been about a bike that ran on soybeans, somebody would be bitching about the starving children in India that have less tofu now because some of it got diverted to make fuel. If this article had been about a motorbike that ran at 210 mph for three hours on a drop of water, somebody would start bitching about how all the commuters will be using so much clean water while starving, diseased children in Haiti don't have a clean drop of water to drink. Both good causes, but it's also important to me to get my fat ass to work, to the coffee place and back home with the least amount of environmental impact. Racing development like this land speed record helps that cause.
So please be positive and supportive of efforts like these. Either that or beat their record! All you have to do, currently, is 131 mph...
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