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Pain at the pump
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Independence Day And The Solar Flyer
Independence Day and The Solar Flyer On Independence day 2008 I rode up to the parade grounds, the school parking lot on my prototype nicknamed the solar flyer. The nice lady in charge at first looked at me like I was from Mars until I said, I'm riding the first solar charged electric motorcycle in the world. There was a short pause then, oh okay. Put this in your windshield and line up here. I called her over to take a look because I still didn't think she got it yet. I just taped two signs on it that read the first solar charged electric motorcycle by Richard Grzych. Made with a black magic marker on typing paper and duct taped to the tail of the bike. She read the sign and suddenly the light came on. She said you know with four dollars plus a gallon for gas someone is going to come Up with an answer. If we put our ingenuity to it America can solve this problem. Now that's what I need to drive to work and back. Now, I've been preaching this for years now, nobody got it, until I made those little signs. She was taking the words right out of my mouth and seemingly right out of my head. She got it, no emissions, no noise, no gas, no fuel costs. She didn't have time for questions, so I let her go. I silently rode up to my spot in the parade. People were walking by saying cool after reading the signs. A father and young son came up to ask questions. With older men the question is always, how far will it go? The younger guys always want to know how fast will it go? Which makes perfect sense. The young want speed and thrills. The mature want distance and comfort. Just like in life. Now females are in a totally different ZIP code. They don't even ask questions. They just read the signs, say cool and move on. They just take it for granted it's got to be better than four dollars plus a gallon for gas. These two guys hit all the questions they fired away how far? how fast? how much? And so on, the father races electric RC vehicles and the son was riding in the parade on an all electric pocket rocket mini bike. I asked him, so you think you can make it all the way to town hall? It's about 4 miles with hills, trees and curves gently along Cedar Lake and through town. People line up where ever there is room to sit or stand. We are a small town of about 10,000 souls we love parades and the Fourth of July. The boy just shrugged his shoulders and said don't know this is the first time I've rode it. They were very interested in what I was doing but the parade was about to start. A bunch of Harleys were lining up ahead of me, but I had my spot all to myself. I built the bike in secret not many people had seen it till I started road testing. Most people didn't have a clue of what they were looking at when they did see me cruising all over town. So this was my coming out party and it was going to be fun. I decided the day before on a whim to see if they will let me in the parade. I didn't know what to expect but I was going to have fun. It was a beautiful sunny day and everyone was in a festive mood. I could hear the Harleys rumbled to life. I just couldn't see them up ahead. Just in front of me was a big flat bed truck with a Nitro burning dragster pick up on it. To me it symbolizes the old way of thinking. That is to go somewhere you have to burn something. Lots of horsepower and noise and copious amounts of fossil fuels along with massive amounts of air pollution. My bike is so quiet I always sneak up on people usually startling them. There is no revving up the motor, no warm-ups, no clutch or gears, no pollution, just turn the key and turned the twist grip and you're off silently, up to about 20 mph then you hear the motor start to sing it's similar to a very quiet jet engine. At 60 mph she's whining pretty good and sounds pretty high pitch. But off the line and she's silent all you hear is the chain going to the rear wheel. Strangely enough it's slightly louder slowing down then speeding up. Because it uses a regen motor it charges the battery when ever you let off the accelerator. The motor acts as a brake that you can modulate with the throttle. You barely touch the breaks most of the time. The parade started rolling at a walking pace, barely 3 mph. It would be a long slow ride. Candy was being thrown off the floats, even some T-shirts from some church group were flying through the air. I was getting hungry that Candy was looking pretty good. My little signs were on the back of my bike. People couldn't see them from the front. They would look at me with a puzzled look until I passed. Then they would usually read the sign out loud. A short hesitation then cool! This happened over and over the length of the parade. That confused look then, cool. I was surprised how many people could read in this town. After all I went to the public school here I know what it's like. They stifle creativity, encourage conformity and crush independence. But they do teach most people to read. A quarter of the way through the parade route I was watching those candies flying through the air to waiting kids lined up along the road. My hunger pains took over. Hey kid, give me a piece of candy would you? He handed me a couple. I popped one in my mouth. It's going to be long ride. I should have got breakfast first I thought. About then the Nitro burner in front of me fired up his engine. The pungent fumes filled the air. The smell of all those dead dinosaurs was giving me an upset stomach but the Candy helped. He revved his big block motor as we rolled through the via Doc. It echoed loudly, drowning out the people reading my signs. About this time the first of the Harley flock fell by the Wayside. I learned later his clutch hand was cramping up from the slow speed run. He peeled off and he gassed it. Heading for the nearest watering hole. I on the other hand I had no clutch to worry about or to fatigue me. I was having a ball telling the crowd,” I'm running on the sun”. I weaved back and forth letting everyone see my bike and read my signs. I pointed foreword “that's the old way, this is the future”. He shut down the dragster and all was quiet. No more fumes. The Harleys were really struggling at this pace. Soon another would fall by the way. He pulled off and shut it down the rear cylinder was overheating. No sense in blowing up his engine. The air cooled V twins weren't built to cruise at 3 mph. My prototype on the other hand was running great. She was silent, cool as a cucumber, no fumes, and my onboard solar panels were putting out more amp’s then I was using so my batteries were full and happy. My motor was running the same temperature as the air about 80°, perfect. Everyone was taking pictures and saying cool! I only heard one negative comment. Cool but not my choice of colors. I thought to myself it's bright red with black and white checkers what's not to like. She was probably born unhappy and she will probably die unhappy. You just can't please everyone. To me she is a beautiful machine. A racing replica, fully fared, sleek, and silent. She's a close cousin to the sexiest bike in the world the racing Ducati. Just slightly smaller and a lot less power. The Harleys were peeling off one by one. The next guy his leg was burning up from all that heat coming off the engine and open pipes. He had to get off it before third degree burns set in. At about midway through the parade route right down on the lakefront. I saw an old man nearly jump right out of his lawn chair run up to catch up with me after reading the sign. He fired off the questions one by one as he ran alongside of me. I answered as quickly as I could until he ran out of juice and fell by the wayside. I could see in my mirror he still had that hopeful look in his eye as he panted for breath. A lot of people seem to be hungry for this idea. A truly green vehicle, oil free transportation. Independence Day should stand for real independence from big oil and big government. My prototype proves it can be done and people get it. By the time I got to the judging stand I heard my signs read out loud hundreds of times. The announcer looked at me with that look, what is this? I pointed to the sign. He quickly read it out loud word for word without knowing what it read till he said it. I heard it booming through the PA system as I passed. He read it in his best announcer voice. Just like the rest of the parade 1 second delay then a loud applause even some yelling. I saw the little electric pocket rocket made it all the way to the end. A few Harleys that made it were sitting in the shade of a tree cooling off with their riders massaging their left forearm, all cramped up from those heavy clutches. They looked hot and grumpy as I comfortably cruised by. A mini bike chopper with an American flag taped on the sissy bar made it. The kid was having a ball he wanted to ride it home but mom said no! I was going home smiling it was time to get her ready for the big car and bike show on Sunday at the annual Cedar Lake Summerfest held at the town grounds right on the lake. They have a carnival with rides and games and free entertainment on the stage overlooking the lake. They have a great setting for fireworks. For the last 10 years I've been taking pictures of the fireworks show. Over that time I've developed a whole new technique. I call it 4-D photo art. Over the winter I wrote a book titled “Sky Candy how to photograph digital 4-D fireworks” learn to create your one of a kind work of art. The book is loaded with incredible full-page shots along with a CD of 50 of my favorite shots. All taken at Summerfest. Some of my shots are online at their website. So far I haven't heard back from the publisher I sent it to. How long does it take to say yay or nay? I don't know, but I hope to hear from them soon or I’ll have to try another publisher. I had just acquired a trailer that was built to be pulled by a Gold wing motorcycle. A big cruiser, long hauler with lots of power I wanted to hook it up to my prototype she's only 18 hp. Will she pull it okay? We'll find out. I plan to pull it to the big car and bike show but I had to do some fabricating on the hitch first to get it to fit my bike. The trailer has been in the plan for a while now. I just didn't have the money to get it. Now I only had one day to get it together. The plan for the trailer is to be, number 1; A range extender, by mounting a big battery pack in it known as B pack. A set of 4, 12 v deep cycle marine battery pack. Number 2; Mount 12 more solar film packs to it just like the bike. Making it a major charging system. Number 3; have room for the plug-in charger, tools, chairs, cleaning supplies, cooler etc.. It will carry all you need for an all day bike show. But first the hitch. I fabricated up some mounts, bolted it up and took it for its maiden voyage, a ride around the trailer park. The solar flyer pulled it just fine empty. So I loaded it up with some old batteries about as much as the new B Pack would be and gave it a ride. I could tell the difference but she pulled it. I cleaned and polished it, touched up the frame and painted the wheels. Then I loaded it up for the show and hooked it up. I rode into the show right on time, the first bike there. Rumor had it there was a big trophy for the “most unique” and I was going after it. After all I had the trailer to haul at home. As soon as I pulled in two bright red sport bikes pulled up next to me. They looked in brand-new condition but I knew they were older models. I questioned them on year and model. I told them how pretty they were. We chatted a bit but they never asked about my bright red sport bike right next to them and they walked off. I thought there’s some competition. I strolled over to the sign-up desk, well where the desk was supposed to be. They weren't ready yet. I was on time they were way behind. They were totally un-organized and didn't really have a clue. I waited to sign in. No sign in sheet, no ticketing, no categories, no list of trophies. They had everyone give themselves a category. How do I know what category I'm in? I'm a one-of-a-kind. Am I wasting my time? So like everything else I just did the best I could and smiled. I was going to enjoy myself no matter what. I parked the solar flyer and its trailer right on the corner so no one would block the view of the bike. No one told me where the bikes would be, so I made this the spot. By the time I came back the two sport bikes were gone I guess they decided not to show their bikes. It's a shame, they were perfect. I guess the un-organized show scared them off. Just then my buddy pulled in with his sidecar dempner with an ural motor. It looks like something out of World War II but it's a four year old bike made in Russia. It's 2 Wheel Drive so it's good in the winter. He grounded it into reverse and backed her in. Then a beautiful understated Harley bagger pulled in and backed into his spot. The old guy looks like a professional shower. He proceeded to wipe her down with care. He stroked her like a curvatious woman. A brand-new 2008 victory cruiser pulled up, nice paint job. A lime green flame job with that big fat back tire. The young guy hadn't shown it yet. This was his first time. I had only shown a bike one time at this show only, a few years ago. I rode my very rare 1968 260 Bennelli with only 800 miles on it to the show and rode it home with a trophy. So far I was batting a thousand. I set up my spot, unhooked my trailer and pushed it back a bit so people could walk all around my bike. The trailer held my small table and chair a cooler with cold drinks, cleaning supplies and a big deep cycle marine spare battery. She pulled it just fine and I had everything necessary for a days stay. I had my big work book in case I got bored I could always write. My wife made me two little signs on the computer like my handmade ones only better. I taped one in the windshield so people would know what they were looking at. They worked great. People automatically read the sign, paused and gave a nod of approval or just cool! Some people would study it top to bottom looking under her skirt and under her bonnet, while firing off questions. It was ready to talk bikes and alternatives to fossil fuelers . My ideas are a little radical for this little town but will soon be the norm for most people. Not to many green thinkers around here. With gas at over four dollars a gallon a lot of people are coming around. You could almost see the tide turning all day long. Lots of good comments, a few bad ones. I watched the light come on over and over again. The judges showed up about two o'clock, they started with my bike. I opened up the bonnet to show them the batteries, the switching systems I installed, the controller, the motor then I showed them the trailer. I told them of the plans I had for it. They jotted down their scores and disgust the bike between themselves. They quickly moved on. That was it. The only contact I had with the event people all day. I talked oil and bikes all day long. It was quite enjoyable, I had fun. The solar flyer sat in the full sun all day. I had a voltage meter hooked up. To show people how much power the onboard solar cells were producing. She read about 72 V all day. Batteries showing full at 50.6 volts. She was happy soaking up the sun and the eyes of everyone walking by. By the end of the day I was getting a little sunburned my shaded sitting area was now full sun. We were all getting a little tired but they couldn't get their stuff together enough to hand out trophies. People were leaving in disgust and loudly complaining. I still didn't know if I was wasting my time or not. An hour later they started to hand out a few trophies. Nothing yet but I was staying till the end, if that's what it took. An hour and a half after it was supposed to be over I heard from the PA speakers “and for the most unique or rare model Richard Grzych for his solar charged electric motorcycle” a short pause then applause. My heart fluttered from a little adrenaline rush. I rushed over to get my trophy as the announcer told his story of how he built an electric bicycle out of a car starter. I was gleaming with trophy in hand. They stopped me for a picture. I set the shot for them. Standing tight to my bike with the trophy right on top of the windshield. That way the bike was a big part of the shot. It turns out my trophy was one of four large double size trophies for special categories. Pictures of the winners of these would be published in the Cedar Lake Journal that week, right on the front page. Wow! I felt like I hit the jackpot and wanted to get out of the casino before they took it all back. I packed up my bike and trailer with a smile. I had only heard one motorcycle trophy given out so far. It was possible that I could have won another single trophy but they were going so slow I just couldn't stand it. I had what I came for and I had a trailer to haul that big beautiful trophy home. I smiled as I silently rolled out with trailer and trophy in tow. That week I bought a paper and sure enough a beautiful shot of my bike my trophy and me. They just made up a story. They didn't even interview me. But it was a good shot and I had plans for that shot. Recently we've been trying to get a sponsorship with the solar cell makers that I use on the bike. So far no luck. I want to send that picture to them with a little pointer saying “your company name here”. It's worth a try right? We've been unable to get any support for this project from anywhere and believe me we've tried almost everything. We’ve put everything we've had into building the prototype. All our reserves are exhausted but I won't stop. Little by little I get closer to the dream. My trophy was a milestone but there's plenty of milestones to get to still. But after all I get to ride around town on “the first solar charged electric motorcycle” and that's a good start. I often wonder when I cruise by the gas stations if the workers are thinking, when his he going to stop and fill it up. Never I say. I turned my old gas tank into a glove box, might as well make it useful. Although a solar charged electric motorcycle is a good start, it's just that, a start. I have several more onboard charging systems coming online soon. These will truly make it a self generating electric motorcycle and a dream come true. The end. From this fun experience I took away the distinct conclusion that people are ready for a solution. If you give them one they will take it. We are way overdue for some American ingenuity to show the way out. We can do it. My little prototype shows the way and there will be others. We as a people need not look to big oil or big government to solve our problems they won't. We can, if we just say, “whatever it takes”. To see my prototype the solution S.G.E.M. Google Richard Grzych. To support the Project you can e-mail me at earthling5@msn.com Richard Grzych
- TAGS:
- money,
- gas_prices,
- economy_solar,
- electric,
- motorcycle
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