Gas savin' machine

[ciscokid]

With the price of gasoline inching towards $4 a gallon these days, I thought it time to invest in alternative means of transportation. Only drawback is not being able to haul timber or tools home on it. It gets close to 50 MPG.

[Big Shed]

Have you worked out your payback period?

Nice machine though!

[weisyboy]

ow to be paying $4us/gallon ($1.10aus a liter) it was $1.60aus/liter here yeasterday ($5.60/gallon).

deisel was $1.70/L. and i get on average 13km/L in my rodeo.

[Big Shed]

My car doesn't run on gasoline, but on gas - LPG that is. I have a very comfortable medium size car, a Holden Commodore V6 on LPG, using direct sequential injection.

I get 9km/L around town, paying $0.63/L for LPG, gives me a fuel cost of $0.07/km. On the highway, our last trip to Adelaide, we got 10.5km/L, so about $0.06/km.

Not many diesel cars on the road can match that.

My LPG tank hold 75L, so the 650km trip from Adelaide can be, and has been, done without filling up, saving further $$, by avoiding some of the scandalous country LPG prices.
In one town, LPG was selling for $0.879, that is $0.24/L more than here in Bendigo, which is itself a country town.

[BobL]

and i get on average 13km/L in my rodeo.

I think you mean 13 L/100km (that's also what it says on the Rodeo Website.)

I'm getting 9.6 L/100 km 3L diesel Toyota HighAce. That's even better than I was getting with the old 1982 Mitsubishi 1600 van which was doing about 14 L/100km.

[joe greiner]

How often do you need to haul timber or tools? A recent article in our local rag cited scooters (Vespa-like) as low as US$2000, with up to about 70mpg, I think; can't find the article now of course. Culpeper to McLean, four days per week round trip, would pay back right quick. Use the ute on Fridays. $4 per gallon? You ain't seen nothin' yet; projections at current escalation rate are near $7 within a year.

Joe

[weisyboy]

on a recent trip to cooroy with the twin cab filled to the brim with camping gear and 3 people and towin a car trailer laden i used 14L to do the 158km. that is 11.28km/L with a full load (aprox 9L/100km).

general runing around i get 13-14km/liter of fuel. in my 1989model single cab, 4cyl, 2.9L engine,

p.s. my maths aint to good

[wheelinround]

Thanks Kev for this one

29 April

A young inventor has created a motorbike with a twist - it usestwo wheels but they are positioned right next to each other, giving it the illusion of being a powered unicycle. And even better, itmighthelp save the planet.

Ben Gulak has spent several years building the electric Uno thatusesgyroscopic technology - like the infamous Segway commuter device – tostay upright.

The bizarre-looking contraption has only one switch - on or off – andis controlled entirely by body movement.

The rider leans forwards to accelerate to speeds of 25mph and backtoslow down. It has two wheels side-by-side and has been turningheadswherever it has been ridden.

The green machine is so small and light it can be taken indoorsandcarried into lifts - and is recharged by being plugged into themains.

The wheels are completely independent, allowing the bike to turnon asixpence and the technology takes the balance and guesswork out ofriding a unicycle.

Its 18-year-old creator is now looking for investors to get theUnointo production and onto the streets.

Ben, from Ontario , Canada , said: "I was inspired to make the bikeafter visiting China a few years ago and seeing all the smog."They all drive little bikes that are really polluting and Iwantedto make something to combat that.

"I started with the concept because if something doesn't look coolpeople just won't be interested.

"After coming up with the concept I started to build it and nowhavethe first prototype and the reaction has been amazing.

"It has two wheels side by side and that means it is easier toturnas they are completely independent and have their own suspension.

"The bike has a 'neutral point' and when you lean forward itaccelerates to keep the neutral point in the right place.

"It has a couple of gyros and is basically self-balancing – ittakesthe guesswork out of riding a unicycle.

"The bike takes a bit of getting used to because you have to learntotrust it. But it doesn't take long.

"It takes any weight and weighs 120 lbs and can fit into a lift soyou can take it indoors to charge it up.

"Currently it has a top speed of 25mph, but that will be increasedgreatly with bigger motors.

"It has a range of about 2.5 hours and it is designed for thecommuteto work through busy towns. I believe this could be electricalalternative to the car. I'm just looking for an investor to helpmeget it into production."

[BobL]

on a recent trip to cooroy with the twin cab filled to the brim with camping gear and 3 people and towin a car trailer laden i used 14L to do the 158km. that is 11.28km/L with a full load (aprox 9L/100km).

How did you measure the 14 litres?

[dazzler]

Bikes are economical however you must factor in the on costs of chains and sprockets and tyres particularly in the more powerful bikes.

This is one of the reasons bmw bikes are very popular. Shaft drive and normal profile tyres that are slow to wear and cheaper to replace.

[echnidna]

how do you put a roof rack on a bike?

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Roof racks are easy.

Riding the bike afterwards... now there's the tricky bit!

[weisyboy]

How did you measure the 14 litres?

before i left i filled it to the brim (overflowed it actualy) and when i got to cooroy i toped it up and put in 14L.