The British-based firm Intelligent Energy has this week unveiled a hydrogen powered motorcycle that could be on the market this year. Called the ENV (Emmissions Neutral Vehicle) it is expected to be priced at around £4500 it will travel up to 100 miles from a single charge which takes 4 hours. Top speed? £50mph and its only emissions are water, which the designers claim is clean enough to drink.
In our increasingly environmentally conscious world a bike like that should sell like hot cakes. But I'll be it won’t, and here’s why:
1) Styling. Credit to the designers, they didn't try and mimic the styling of a conventional motorcycle. In fact they went waaaay in the other direction. What they've come up with can best be described as a cross between the Suzuki Katana and the Sinclair C5!
2) Colour. I'm sure it will ultimately be available in many colours so why launch the prototype in white? Are they hinting towards its angelic emmissions? Its (carbon) neutrality? White bikes don't sell well. Period. Name one predominantly white motorcycle that has sold well in the past decade (excluding BMW police bikes and Courier Deauvilles). I'm struggling, Honda did a white hornet I believe, I think around 4 made it into production. Wrong colour guys, how friendly it is to the environment perhaps Kawasaki green would be more fitting for the first production run?
3) Performance. Who remembers your first 50cc bike? Were you happy with the performance? If you're like me, and most fellow bikers I know you spent most of your 16th year with your FS1E in bist trying to derestrict it to wring another 5mph out of it. The hydro-bike makes a whopping half a BHP (actually I made that up, I can't find any stats on that), but I do know it will do zero to its 50mph top whack in ... wait for it .... no seriously you'll have to wait for it .... 12 seconds! Thats comparable to most family cars.
4) Sound. This one's the biggest for me. The hydrogen-powered bike is silent. It makes the same amount of noise as a laptop computer! Even the tree-hugging journalists who reviewed the prototype thought this was weird and many commented on the safety aspect which is reasonable. We all know car drivers don't see bikers coming, if you're on the hydro-bike they won't hear you either. But for me the noise issue is about more than just safety. Bikers are a tribe, a cult. We're a minority and one viewed with suspicion by those who don't ride. The sound our rides make is part of what makes a biker a biker. Harley Davidson tried to patent the sound of their exhausts - thats how important the exhaust note is the Harley brand, the whole Harley experience. Noise prompts response, its a sensory stimulus. Some campaigners respond negatively to that sound and they'll no doubt love the ENV. But no one who has ever blipped a throttle and felt that childish delight as the engine roars will ever buy one of these bikes.
So here's my bet. The ENV will not outsell Honda's CBR600 in its first year of production. And if it does, I'll drink a pint of its emissions!
