Revolutionary bike 'too quiet'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4353853.stm

Revolutionary bike 'too quiet'

Manufacturers are working on fitting an artificial engine sound
The world's first purpose-built hydrogen-powered bike could be fitted
with an artificial "vroom" because of worries its silence might be
dangerous.
A prototype of the motorbike, which could cost more than $8,300
(£4,500), was unveiled in London on Tuesday.

The problem with the "fuel cell" bike, which produces no polluting
emissions, is that it is too quiet.

But anti-noise campaigners said they welcomed the prospect of a
motorbike without the usual excruciating roar.

For their part, manufacturers said the fake engine noise device, which
could be switched off, would help alert road users.

The motorbike, known as an Emissions Neutral Vehicle (ENV), has a top
speed of 50mph (80km/h), a range of at least 100 miles (160km) and can
run continuously for four hours before the fuel cell needs recharging.

Its water-vapour emissions are so clean that they are drinkable,
according to its designers.

Mobile energy source

But with a noise emission equivalent to an everyday home computer,
motorcycle enthusiasts thought the "exhilaration" factor was missing.

"They can add all the noise they want, it will still lack the
va-va-voom serious motorcyclists look for," Jeff Stone of the British
Motorcyclists Federation told the BBC.

Concerns were raised that the motorcycle was too silent and might not
be noticed by other traffic and pedestrians.

Harry Bradbury, chief executive of the bike's British manufacturers
Intelligent Energy, said: "What we are doing is introducing
flexibility into it, so that you can have ambient noise that is
tolerable - low-level noise sufficient for safety reasons - but which
can be switched off when desired."

Peter Wakeham, director of the Noise Abatement Society, who said
motorbikes were among the worst noise offenders, welcomed the idea of
a quiet bike.

"But it kind of defeats the purpose of designing a silent bike only to
then add an artificial noise device," he said.

Dr Bradbury said the bike's detachable briefcase-size cell filled with
high pressure hydrogen, or "core", could eventually be used as a
mobile energy source, with the same cell used to power different
objects.

He said the prospect of producing mobile hydrogen energy from a
variety of sources, including crops such as soya or sugar cane, could
benefit remote communities or developing countries, where large
electric grids were not economically viable.

 

Is it april fools in Europe still?

 

Look at the photo on the link!

 

I didn't really want to say anything about this. I just wanted to quote the
entire article again, because I know it annoys people.

 

Just Download mp3,s to your motorcycle for a new 4 into 1 exhaust .

 

You've got to be shitting me. Finally motorcycles have been given a chance
at extended life and people want to bag it because it's too quiet?

Get Farked.

JustAL

 

Bottom-posting low-life.
- sanbar

 

Biggus is of the opinion:

It's got a top speed of 80k's. You can have a speaker pumping out the sound
of jet exhaust and the theme song to top gun, and you're still not going to
have much of an exhilaration factor.

See, loud pipes do save lives! Some pom newspaper said so.

- Matt