Petrol & diesel engine ban

[dave the german]

Just enjoy while you can - I'm not rich but I'll still be buying a new bike either next year or the year after. When I can no longer use/afford to put petrol in I'll get rid at a huge loss and look back at the happy times I had with it. I'll be 79 when this comes into force (if I make it that far). None of us have crystal balls so I don't see the point in getting worried about it

[Boxered]

Remember that this is a proposed ban on NEW IC engined cars and vans, there is nothing to suggest that all older vehicles will be removed from the road, I reckon certain bikes and cars will become even more collectable and valuable, just choose your bikes carefully and we should continue to enjoy them.
As for the infrastructure, with smart charging you can make better use of available grid power, so although you may arrive at work at 9am and plug your car in, a smart charger will only charge it when it is best suited to the grid and you can tell it to charge instantly if you need it urgently. The same applies to overnight charging, there is a lot less demand for electricity at night so that is the best time to recharge. I can't see the universal battery swap out idea working in practice though, but it would certainly work for hydrogen fuel cells.
The biggest problem with this plan in 2040 is the loss of tax revenue to the exchequer, we're probably going to end up with some form of charge per mile system of taxation.
I would quite happily drive an EV right now as most of my driving is just commute and local use.

Steve

[The Teutonic Tangerine]

I shall avoid grey hair sleepless nights etc by being like Me Micawber and wait for something to turn up

[ted]

So I assume the world will stop fracking - the Americans will rejoin the 'green movement' and we will give in with the North Sea oil seeing as an announcement has been made - oh well , let's get on with it!

[boxerscott]

Have not seen the market shit itself due to Gove`s prolific announcement, nor should it cos market forces, manufacturers and brown envelopes will dictate what we are driving, riding, beaming, flying around in in 2040.

I will not be using this as an excuse to get rid of my bike in 3 years time, I have no plans to sell it on the back of any politicians spoutings. Besides all that it is super comfy, super fast and super roadster. A thirty year old bike that does 2k a year has less impact on the environment than a super modern efficient one that does 20k a year. We are never going to see the end of internal combustion engines however new technology carries on like a wave pattern.

Chris

[fontana]

Have not seen the market shit itself due to Gove`s prolific announcement, nor should it cos market forces, manufacturers and brown envelopes will dictate what we are driving, riding, beaming, flying around in in 2040.

I will not be using this as an excuse to get rid of my bike in 3 years time, I have no plans to sell it on the back of any politicians spoutings. Besides all that it is super comfy, super fast and super roadster.

None of this is going to affect you anyway.
You're not really a motorcycle user in the real sense,
If all I did was have the odd ride around the block a few times a month it wouldn't bother me either.

[Paul]

Going back to my original post, the fuel cell will still allow the IC engine to work, but produce vastly cleaner emisions if running on hydrogen.
Just a change of ecu parameters for a different fuel.

Hi John,

Not quite just a change of ECU parameters, if you take a look at this Wikipedia article on hydrogen Internal combustion engines. To quote that:

The differences between a hydrogen ICE and a traditional gasoline engine include hardened valves and valve seats, stronger connecting rods, non-platinum tipped spark plugs, a higher voltage ignition coil, fuel injectors designed for a gas instead of a liquid, larger crankshaft damper, stronger head gasket material, modified (for supercharger) intake manifold, positive pressure supercharger, and a high temperature engine oil. All modifications would amount to about one point five times (1.5) the current cost of a gasoline engine. These hydrogen engines burn fuel in the same manner that gasoline engines do.

Probably not something you'd want to do with a vintage machine, such as a Vincent Black Shadow, but not entirely infeasible if you want to keep your favourite car/bike on the road. The cost of doing it one off, assuming Mr. Ford/BMW/Toyota etc. doesn't produce a standard conversion kit for your particular model of car, would I assume be pretty steep, rather than the 1.5 times engine cost quoted in the Wikipedia article.

[boxerscott]

This is reminiscent of Ben Eltons novel of the mid nineties "Gridlock". an excellent read.

Chris

[boxerscott]

Have not seen the market shit itself due to Gove`s prolific announcement, nor should it cos market forces, manufacturers and brown envelopes will dictate what we are driving, riding, beaming, flying around in in 2040.

I will not be using this as an excuse to get rid of my bike in 3 years time, I have no plans to sell it on the back of any politicians spoutings. Besides all that it is super comfy, super fast and super roadster.

None of this is going to affect you anyway.
You're not really a motorcycle user in the real sense,
If all I did was have the odd ride around the block a few times a month it wouldn't bother me either.

Correct, you are bang on the money At the end of the day they are only vehicles there are far more important political issues that need dealing with which are difficult and therefore are avoided.

chris

[Boxered]

This is reminiscent of Ben Eltons novel of the mid nineties "Gridlock". an excellent read.

Chris

...I'll just leave this here..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Barchetta


Steve

[boxerscott]

This is reminiscent of Ben Eltons novel of the mid nineties "Gridlock". an excellent read.

Chris

...I'll just leave this here..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Barchetta


Steve

OT but was that the Band with Tom Hanks playing drums? Nice bass, and a very nice little car

[fontana]

At the end of the day they are only vehicles there are far more important political issues that need dealing with which are difficult and therefore are avoided.

chris

Only vehicles upon which our society is pretty much dependent

[slparry]

Just enjoy while you can - I'm not rich but I'll still be buying a new bike either next year or the year after. When I can no longer use/afford to put petrol in I'll get rid at a huge loss and look back at the happy times I had with it. I'll be 79 when this comes into force (if I make it that far). None of us have crystal balls so I don't see the point in getting worried about it

<note to self ... add Dave to contact list >

[slparry]

Have not seen the market shit itself due to Gove`s prolific announcement, nor should it cos market forces, manufacturers and brown envelopes will dictate what we are driving, riding, beaming, flying around in in 2040.

I will not be using this as an excuse to get rid of my bike in 3 years time, I have no plans to sell it on the back of any politicians spoutings. Besides all that it is super comfy, super fast and super roadster.

None of this is going to affect you anyway.
You're not really a motorcycle user in the real sense,
If all I did was have the odd ride around the block a few times a month it wouldn't bother me either.

Can you not see how insulting that remark is? We're all motorcyclists here, we all have a passion for bikes, some more so than others. It's beyond rude for you to attempt to grade your passion as more worthy than others. I genuinely think you need to reflect on your statement and apologise to Chris. I suspect you won't of course as you have a history of never accepting you're wrong and riling others, despite everyone else telling you you're wrong, divisive or plain argumentative.

[madthemad]

I must agree with you Steve.