Suzuki Crosscage: Fuel Cell Prototype Bike Motoring Channel Staff - 8/October/2007 | 
Suzuki Crosscage
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Tokyo, Japan —
When we talk about the future of low emissions motoring, the topic
almost inevitably turns towards hydrogen and fuel cell powered electric
cars. But what about a fuel cell powreed bike? Suzuki
has come up with the Crosscage concept that introduces a range of
unique features, including single-sided front forks and a dynamic new
design. But the focal point is the eletric power source that resides
between the rider's legs. British company Intelligent Energy has
provided the battery and electric propulsion sytem for the dynamically
styled Suzuki, and the small hydrogen tank is located where the engine
would normally be, slung beneath the rider. Because liquid
hyrdrogen needs to be pressurized to be stored with any sort of
stability, the temperature would have to very low and this has been an
issue for brands like BMW when installing the hyrdogen tanks in their BMW 7 Series fuel cell
cars. We're not sure how Suzuki has worked around this, but the idea of
a zero emissions motorcycle is now well and truly foreseeable. Suzuki
talks about an air cooled fuel cell system, and you can see the cooling slats underneath the seat. As
well as its electric powertrain, the Crosscage concept also features a
semi-naked design with a single sided swingarm and the major feature of
a crosscage frame. Two large bars provide the bike chassis with
stiffness, intersecting in the middle of the bike and it's a design
that may be employed on a production bike in the future if Suzuki
can show that it's rigid enough. The
single-sided front forks will attract a lot of attention when the
bike makes its debut at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, but we're not sure
about how effective this kind of steering mechanism is when put under
stress. It'll be interesting to see if Suzuki has any plans to enter
such a steering system in production, but as it stands it looks clever
if nothing else. Related Links:
- KTM X-Bow (2008)
- Honda EVO6 Concept Bike (2007)
- Casey Stoner: The New Champion (2007)
- Honda Z50M Monkey Bike (2007)
- Triumph
Street Triple (2007)
- Scooters:
A Menace On Our Roads? (2007)
- Ducati
Desmosedici RR (2007)
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