E85 Chopper Raffled Off
by Steve
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
The world's first chopper to run on E85 fuel was raffled off last Saturday during the half-time of the Iowa vs. Iowa State football game.
Dubbed "Renewable Energy Chopper" and built by Orange County Choppers, it was won by Michael Murphy of Seymour, Iowa.
Note to Seymour, Iowa: we don't want to see any signs on your city limits saying, "Home of the E85 Chopper".
The Iowa Farm Bureau, who commissioned the chopper, donated the raffle proceeds and summer-long donations amounting to $113,357.51, to the "Clean Air Choice" program, a program of the Iowa American Lung Association.
The "Clean Air Choice" program promotes the use of E85 fuel, which the entire State of Iowa is banking on to boost their economy.
Source: American Lung Association of Iowa
Labels: E85 Motorcycles, Orange County Choppers
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Orange County Choppers to Build E85 Motorcycle
by Steve
Monday, May 14, 2007
The Des Moines Register reports that Orange County Choppers has agreed to build a motorcycle that runs on E85 for the Iowa Farm Bureau.
E85 is a type of fuel consisting of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline...The Iowa Farm Bureau has commissioned the building of the E85 motorcycle by the Orange County Choppers, a New York-based company known for its television show on TLC.
The full article here...
http://desmoinesregister.com/..../70514043/1029/BUSINESS
The Iowa Farm Bureau is planning a statewide marketing campaign touting the superiority of E85 over standard gasoline, and this OCC motorcycle is part of the blitz. Of course, the whole State of Iowa is known for its corn industry.
The report doesn't say if this motorcycle will be "flex fuel" capable, meaning running on either gasoline or E85.
There's been some discussion online about the viability of motorcycles running on E85. E85 is higher octane, and can run on higher compression engines. But it's not as efficient as gasoline, meaning vehicles will see lower gas mileage. On a motorcycle, you'll need larger fuel tanks to maintain existing ranges.
On the other hand, E85 is a cleaner burning fuel, meaning that motorcycle manufacturers can easily overcome existing state and federal laws on emissions.
Labels: E85 Motorcycles, Iowa, Orange County Choppers
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