53 hp turbo diesel Auto trans 2wd option 100 mpg - check the vids, sounds like a truck! http://www.dieselmotorcycles.eu/ http://www.motorcycledaily.com/05january09_turbo_diesel.htm
You guys have seen this, no?? http://www.dieselmotorcycles.com/models.htm think KLR650 diesel (nickname, KLR=Killer)
I like those KLR bikes. I hit them up for Dakar sponsorship 4 years ago....and they already had plans to race it with some US Marines!! Regarding that 3 cylinder bike--that thing is just amazing! Shaft drive rear, optional OEM front wheel drive, 3 cylinder motor, 4 front lights--that bike is FULL of really cool stuff. Very impressive. Wonder who supplies the motor? Would make a nice option for the military, round the world guys, ecologists, and high end commuters. I really think they could sell those things. Why not a BMW/Husky diesel adventure touring commuter bike like this? THAT would be a statement.
Neither bike, as presently engineered, can pass EPA regs. Note the "production delayed" flag on the proposed HDT street model. Their current production is strictly off-road for military apps. The Dutch bike will not see US approvals either. Both BMW and MB had to virtually re-invent the diesel to get their new automotive offerings here, and are still forced to use the urea-acid injection band-aid to get them "clean" enough for CARB. Then there's the HP/wt. issue which neither have successfully addressed. Current state-of-the-art diesels can reliably produce approximately 1.45 hp and 2.3 ft./lbs per cubic inch of displacement which is certainly competitive with gas engines. But, they are still > 2lbs.+ per cubic inch - a major draw-back for power sports applications. We know....and are working on it.
I'm right with you there StapleKing. The only reason the KLX650 diesel even exist is due to the military's requirement to run everything on one fuel as in JP8 fuels that include include Diesel Fuel and Aviation Kerosene which has a low flash point unlike gasoline. As far as the future of diesel motorcycles... I think you're going to see it in Utility Quads and Side x Sides where there is a need for that kind of power and the vehicle that the engine is in can carry it without it being a liability to it weight wise. Interesting concept though, but I'd rather read about it in Popular Science as a pie in the sky concept than something ready for market... or is there even a market for such a product? Then again Can-Am came out with the three wheel Spyder and that thing is selling like crazy... who would have ever known. JustSaying
They do. That's their thing, small diesels. The bike was secondary I'm sure in an effort to sell more diesels.
i think they have been playing with bikes for a while... "Dutch company E.V.A., builder of small diesel engines as well as an interesting two-wheel-drive system for motorcycles, intends to bring such a bike to market in Europe, and perhaps even the U.S.A. this year." This is interesting... "Desert-sand lifting device, for lifting when the bike is stuck in sand" and 225kg / 496 pounds Also did you notice the CV belt right behind the engine and very low... and they think they are going to ride this in the sand?
Make it a two-stroke and Ill take one. We have a picker at work with a 8-71 detroit and straight exhaust. I get chubbed up when its screamin wide open.
Someone also doesn't understand that there's a reason DD doesn't make 2-stroke diesels anymore. Actually, several reasons..
Anyone who ever got hosed by the low exhaust of an old GM city bus knows why. They do make a neat sound!
