Solar-powered motorbike that charges while you ride

While we’ve seen plenty of electric-powered scooters, bicycles, motorbikes and cars, vehicles that charge on the go are a little harder to come by. The desire for a cleaner, greener mode of transport coupled with the high cost of fuel has prompted an Arizona man to get on his bike and come up with a solar-powered bike prototype that captures energy from the sun while on the road. Richard Grzych says his self-generating electric vehicle, which he has dubbed the Solar Flyer, has a range of 50 miles and can reach speeds of more than 90 mph.

Unfortunately, details of Grzych’s vehicle are a little sketchy. What we do know is that Grzych has used a 2003 Derbi racing replica, which looks like a slightly smaller cousin of a racing Ducati, as the base for his bike. To this, he has attached flexible solar panels that charge the batteries and the electric motor, which are tucked away under the bike’s red plastic bodywork.

Grzych says his bike runs practically silent up to about 20 mph, after which the motor emits a sound like a muffled jet engine, which increases in volume and pitch as speed increases. The bike is slightly louder slowing down because a regen motor is employed to charge it whenever the accelerator is released. This also means that the brakes barely need to be touched to slow down most of the time.

Grzych also has plans to attach a trailer to the motorcycle, which would extend the bike's range. Included in its haul would be four 12-volt deep cycle marine battery packs with a dozen additional solar film packs mounted to it. There would also be room for a plug-in charger, tools, chairs, cleaning supplies, cooler and anything else that might be needed for an all-day bike show.

Grzych has launched a start-up company, Freedom Machines Inc, to get the Solar Flyer (also know as the Solution SGEM) to market and is looking for investors.

Darren Quick

Via InHabitat, Autbloggreen, iReport, ABC 15 News