First Biodiesel Motorcycle in Malaysia

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USM students make nation’s first biodiesel motorcycle

Yes folks, USM (Universiti Sains Malaysia) has pioneered biodiesel motorcycle transport in Malaysia and they did it in style. Reported by our very own Andrea Christine Filmer of The Star Newspaper. (The darling of the USM debate team who just graduated this year. She won herself the Gold Medal for her degree course in communications, and also won the book prize for film and television. Now 22, she writes for major publications in Malaysia including The Star.)

By ANDREA FILMER

PENANG: Imagine being able to fill up your motorcycle every morning with cooking oil.

Imagine no more. Now you can do it.

Mechanical engineering students of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) have produced the nation’s first biodiesel motorcycle.

Special bike: Prof Gitano-Briggs watching project participant Goh Chin Yuan, 22, filling up the biodiesel-powered motorcycle with cooking oil.
“Many college projects done abroad have tried this, but most just merge an existing diesel engine to a motorcycle.

“We at USM are doing it the hard way by actually designing a purpose-built biodiesel motorcycle engine,” said Prof Horizon Gitano-Briggs, a USM lecturer and head of the project.

USM has teamed up with state-owned motorcycle producer Modenas and engine manufacturer Yanmar to produce the Biodiesel Jaguh Prototype Vehicle.

The engineering students took nine months to modify the Jaguh using components from a biodiesel-powered engine.

“We also needed to add some extra parts and the total cost of custom-machining the engine only reached RM500,” said Prof Gitano-Briggs.

The prototype has a top speed of 30kph but the students have set 2009 as the deadline to produce a completed commuter motorcycle that can do 80kph and go the distance of 100km per litre of bio-diesel.

“That’s less than two sen per km,” Prof Gitano-Briggs said.


This article taken from STAR newspapers...

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