Browse > Home / Archive by category 'Autos / Motorcycles' September 9, 2008 Filed under Convertibles, Hatchback Cars, Motorcycles, Trucks & Pickup

Many of us have been speculating as to when BMW Motorrad will be releasing their new and much anticipated 1000 RR race bike. Well we can now tell you that BMW are to launch the new motorcycle and will hit our streets next year and has committed to build 1,000 units.

When you look closely at the BMW S 1000 RR bike is a little conventional than other bikes in the BMW Motorrad range. The engine used to power this motorcycle is a 1000cc inline-four and has been transversely mounted between the frame rails and its upside-down front fork. As a result the bike is very compact, so should handle very well on the road and on a race track.

As yet we have no performance figures, but we do know a few things and one of those is that the new race bike will use traction control. The bike should also be light as the carbon fiber has been used extensively throughout the design of the bike.

Looking at these couple of pictures of the BMW Motorrad S 1000 RR race bike in action on the road, it looks so cool in black I am reminded of the old TV series StreetHawk, not sure if it will be as fast though.

Intelligent Energy teams up with Suzuki to develop fuel-cell motorcycles

Intelligent Energy (IE), known on ABG's pages as the company behind the ENV fuel-cell motorcycle, has announced that they will partner up with Suzuki Motor Corporation on the development of prototype hydrogen fuel-cell motorcycles. Future bikes produced by the partnership will run on Intelligent Energy's proprietary Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel-cells that are billed by IE as having class-leading performance in automotive applications. The PEM design utilises thin metallic bipolar plates, allowing the resultant fuel-cell to be extremely compact and easy to mass manufacture.

Intelligent Energy's Chief Executive Dr Henri Winand was quoted as saying, "As a company, we have a range of leading clean technologies based on proprietary fuel cell and fuel processing systems. We work with key partner companies to integrate our systems into their products. It is well known that Japanese companies are particularly sophisticated and knowledgeable when it comes to fuel cell-based products. We are therefore delighted to announce our new partnership with the Suzuki Motor Corporation."

Analysis: The ENV has clearly proved the viability of fuel-cell powered motorcycles but Intelligent Energy was always going to have to partner up with an existing manufacturer to bring their PEM technology to the market in a meaningful way. This partnership paves the way for a whole new class of zero-emission vehicles on our roads.

[Source: Intelligent Energy press release]