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Engines and the future

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Who knows what will happen. I have given this topic (decline of the ICE and petrol/diesel towards electric) some serious thought and the conclusion I came to was to just enjoy today more. Every country has its own agenda and own political steer so it’s wasted energy really, what will be will be. I have never tried one (an electric car or bike), have no desire to either but maybe I would like it?
 
In 2010 British Petroleum had an oil platform explode in the Gulf of Mexico, I feared the gulf would become an oil bath tub. We all saw the video of the large round pipe spewing high volume oil from the bottom of the ocean. This went on for two months 24-7.
Even though a great effort was launched to mitigate the damage, it appears now that nature cleaned itself in the Gulf. No one talks about hundreds of miles of oil covered beaches.
While I am eager to someday drive an electric car, I am of the opinion that nature cleans itself in spite of us. The idea that we are all going to die in 14 years (as of 4 years ago) is nonsense.
 
I saw that comic prior and indeed funny as all get out :)
My line of thinking is along the lines of ownership…and well the +s of electric. If anyone can do it well and right when it comes to a motorcycle it is Honda that would get my vote. After all they did perfect the bmw boxer engine (in my mind) whill bmw was sleeping at the wheel.

I do own a 2020 Toyota Highlander hybrid, they killed the 6 cylinder engine in favor of a 4 banger. Not a fan per say of less is more when it comes to engine sizes though at 36mpg I have gotten used to it in this suv. It is a hoot to tool around on battery only mode. Granted for very short distance and at lower speeds. Still it is nice to be at a traffic Light or parked with no engine running with a/c on with no engine sound cause it is not running.

No, my post is not that the World needs to do electric, though on the progression of life it is probably an ok stepping stone engine wise. Rather, I simply enjoy the benefits (yes there are draw backs) which this new platform offers riders.

No sound per say, save or what they design into it, no gas, no FI, ease of use (within given distance designed range). Less cost…wonder though how bmw will spin the ‘bring into the shop for service’ so they can milk more $ from us thing. Possible Honda will just toss you the bike keys and say come see us when you need tires.

Got to go do a non-electric bike ride this morning and running late a bit.
 
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I saw a TED talk on electric vehicles. When you account for how the electricity is produced to recharge an electric car, the total carbon picture is grim. All-electric vehicles have the WORST carbon footprint. Gas powered vehicles are second, and gas-electric hybrids are best. And that's very unlikely to change unless MASSIVE, nearly-inconceivable changes to how we produce electricity occur. Nuclear would be a great choice, but to paraphrase Churchill "The world can always be counted on to do the right thing..... after it exhausts every other possibility."
 
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I specifically bought the R18 for THIS very reason. The BMW R18 will not exist as a purchasable bike in 20 years. I'll be 55 and will have never owned an American cruiser. I wanted a big heavy cruiser for once in my life that has things done the old school way and I'm not very good at restoring or owning older bikes. I find old bikes are a pain to own and maintain (My 1995 K75RT is getting hard to find parts for). If not for electrification, than the EU's emissions and noise restrictions will get worse. The fact BMW made the R18 Euro5 compliant is a blessing. Will it pass Euro6? Not clear. I think eventually Harley exits the EU markets and then California markets and everyone moves to electrification.

A dinosaur burning big heavy American cruiser that makes noise is not long for this world so I'm glad the R18 exists and I'm glad it exists today because by 2050, it won't except for BMW stuffing batteries into cylinder heads.

someone recently asked me why I bought an R18 and I said it's because I may not be able to buy one tomorrow.
 
adamchandler said:
I specifically bought the R18 for THIS very reason. The BMW R18 will not exist as a purchasable bike in 20 years. I'll be 55 and will have never owned an American cruiser. I wanted a big heavy cruiser for once in my life that has things done the old school way and I'm not very good at restoring or owning older bikes. I find old bikes are a pain to own and maintain (My 1995 K75RT is getting hard to find parts for). If not for electrification, than the EU's emissions and noise restrictions will get worse. The fact BMW made the R18 Euro5 compliant is a blessing. Will it pass Euro6? Not clear. I think eventually Harley exits the EU markets and then California markets and everyone moves to electrification.

A dinosaur burning big heavy American cruiser that makes noise is not long for this world so I'm glad the R18 exists and I'm glad it exists today because by 2050, it won't except for BMW stuffing batteries into cylinder heads.

someone recently asked me why I bought an R18 and I said it's because I may not be able to buy one tomorrow.
Click to expand...
I wonder if this is what Rush meant in their song Red Barchetta. "My uncle has a country place that no one knows about. He says it used to be a farm, before the motor law..... Down in his barn my uncle preserved for me an old machine, for fifty odd years to keep it as new has been his dearest dream. I strip away the old debris that hides a shining car, a brilliant Red Barchetta from a better, vanished time."
 
Yes, the R18 (base/pure) is the old brought to new and will be its own design that...might be...timeless :)
Darn...thinking the cruise control option I added my ding the 'old' part a bit...so it goes.
 
aicpjim said:
I saw a TED talk on electric vehicles. When you account for how the electricity is produced to recharge an electric car, the total carbon picture is grim. All-electric vehicles have the WORST carbon footprint. Gas powered vehicles are second, and gas-electric hybrids are best. And that's very unlikely to change unless MASSIVE, nearly-inconceivable changes to how we produce electricity occur. Nuclear would be a great choice, but to paraphrase Churchill "The world can always be counted on to do the right thing..... after it exhausts every other possibility."
Click to expand...

That's probably a topic for another thread but I agree. Humans have a distinct ability of letting technology get the better of them and considering how that tech impacts us and our planet is almost always an afterthought (Jurassic Park reference here). EVs do not have tail pipe emissions but the extraction of the rare earth minerals, manufacturing, shipping and powering of them is very reliant on exploited labor and producing greenhouse gasses.

I hope to F*** we figure this shit out because honestly, I want us to stop polluting our world but my gas station is still wall to wall plastic bottles, my EV on lease is still powered by coal and my 100% recyclable iPhone 14 I just ordered will be shipped to me from China by plane using cheap underpaid labor and driven to my house with a gas powered FedEx truck. Our impact as humans is akin to roaches to this planet and tail pipe emissions are a TINY fraction of our impact.

So what if Apple's iPhone is 100% recyclable, the entire consumer loop is not.

I'm not saying we should have a mass suicide event to save our planet but damn man, everything we do creates pollution and waste and we need a more holistic rewrite to how we live and consume that doesn't just destroy our planet slower but actually revitalizes it.

EVs are not the final solution and everything about them other than tail pipe is a polluter.

Look at EV motorcycles and count all of the plastic parts and count all of the stuff shipped from china and count all of the gas / diesel used to get it to me. Zero motorcycles are not zero carbon footprint. they're just zero tailpipe emissions.
 
adamchandler said:
I specifically bought the R18 for THIS very reason. The BMW R18 will not exist as a purchasable bike in 20 years. I'll be 55 and will have never owned an American cruiser. I wanted a big heavy cruiser for once in my life that has things done the old school way and I'm not very good at restoring or owning older bikes. I find old bikes are a pain to own and maintain (My 1995 K75RT is getting hard to find parts for). If not for electrification, than the EU's emissions and noise restrictions will get worse. The fact BMW made the R18 Euro5 compliant is a blessing. Will it pass Euro6? Not clear. I think eventually Harley exits the EU markets and then California markets and everyone moves to electrification.

A dinosaur burning big heavy American cruiser that makes noise is not long for this world so I'm glad the R18 exists and I'm glad it exists today because by 2050, it won't except for BMW stuffing batteries into cylinder heads.

someone recently asked me why I bought an R18 and I said it's because I may not be able to buy one tomorrow.
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Interesting thought and point.
 
To move a heavy mass from point A to point B through an atmosphere where friction is proportional to velocity requires an enormous amount of energy.
A 747 jet leaves a carbon foot print equal to 10,000 cars.
Is controlled nuclear fusion right around the corner?
Also….think of the massive toxic battery cemetery’s that will pollute the soil in 50 years due to the beloved EV.
 
R12C-R18TC said:
To move a heavy mass from point A to point B through an atmosphere where friction is proportional to velocity requires an enormous amount of energy.
A 747 jet leaves a carbon foot print equal to 10,000 cars.
Is controlled nuclear fusion right around the corner?
Also….think of the massive toxic battery cemetery’s that will pollute the soil in 50 years due to the beloved EV.
Click to expand...
What they heck. Let’s consider actual facts. Weird concept I know.

https://youmatter.world/en/plane-or-cars-which-means-of-transport-pollutes-the-most/
 
aicpjim said:
I saw a TED talk on electric vehicles. When you account for how the electricity is produced to recharge an electric car, the total carbon picture is grim. All-electric vehicles have the WORST carbon footprint. Gas powered vehicles are second, and gas-electric hybrids are best. And that's very unlikely to change unless MASSIVE, nearly-inconceivable changes to how we produce electricity occur. Nuclear would be a great choice, but to paraphrase Churchill "The world can always be counted on to do the right thing..... after it exhausts every other possibility."
Click to expand...
I think it’s worse than that, the planet likely does not have the mining capacity to produce enough nickel, cobalt etc. to switch every one to electric in the next 10 years like most governments are demanding.

This is a sh-t show that is about to go down.
 
I agree Governments and private sector should explore all avenues for energy generation. Read awhile back about some sort of sand container holding heated sand that is used later, say at night. The sky, sea, and underground are all fair game to harness new means of energy generation that could be eco-friendly.

So far as motorcycles go I think any progress is good. I recall a Wankel motorcycle engine was created one time which had a lot of torque I think or horse power though consumed oil and probably did not get great gas mileage.
 
adamchandler said:
That's probably a topic for another thread but I agree. Humans have a distinct ability of letting technology get the better of them and considering how that tech impacts us and our planet is almost always an afterthought (Jurassic Park reference here). EVs do not have tail pipe emissions but the extraction of the rare earth minerals, manufacturing, shipping and powering of them is very reliant on exploited labor and producing greenhouse gasses.

I hope to F*** we figure this shit out because honestly, I want us to stop polluting our world but my gas station is still wall to wall plastic bottles, my EV on lease is still powered by coal and my 100% recyclable iPhone 14 I just ordered will be shipped to me from China by plane using cheap underpaid labor and driven to my house with a gas powered FedEx truck. Our impact as humans is akin to roaches to this planet and tail pipe emissions are a TINY fraction of our impact.

So what if Apple's iPhone is 100% recyclable, the entire consumer loop is not.

I'm not saying we should have a mass suicide event to save our planet but damn man, everything we do creates pollution and waste and we need a more holistic rewrite to how we live and consume that doesn't just destroy our planet slower but actually revitalizes it.

EVs are not the final solution and everything about them other than tail pipe is a polluter.

Look at EV motorcycles and count all of the plastic parts and count all of the stuff shipped from china and count all of the gas / diesel used to get it to me. Zero motorcycles are not zero carbon footprint. they're just zero tailpipe emissions.
Click to expand...
Well written...and agree.. At work yesterday, wrenching on diesel burning trucks that plow snow on state hwys, with their laughable DEF system..I thought the very same thing while throwing a plastic water bottle into the trash I had just drained... We're the only species out of thousands on this planet that pollutes the exact environment we dwell...and greatly to our demise...
 
One of the very small things I try to do more of as I get that bit older/wiser is ‘make do and mend’. Examples. My TV set is a good 15 years old, it works ok, looks a bit dated but 🤷‍♂️, we will keep it until it conks. I have a basic Nokia mobile phone that’s cracked, held together by cello tape and marked all over from being dropped two dozen times, that’s a similar age. Our ironing board metal frame broke recently where the spot welds underneath broke away, so I drilled it and pop riveted it back much to my wife’s bemusement. Still works. That’s a good 20 years old.

Regarding the future and transport. The Amish had it right all along……

AAF00C30-2AF2-481F-9856-88BB434337BC.webp
 
Actual facts are important.
An EV has well past a 1,000 Lbs of battery on board.
These batteries do not have an infinite cycle of recharge available.
Where is the final resting place for expired car batteries?
 
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