Over the years, people have searched for different ways to power their vehicles, and they found solutions ranging from electricity to hydrogen, biodiesel, and propane, which are said to have significant cost benefits over gasoline and diesel fuels. A Bloomington, Minnesota, inventor has found a new viable solution; he built a motorcycle that can run on beer.
Alcohol-based fuels are nothing new. They have been used in automotive applications for a long time, especially in high-octane fuels for racing cars. But this is the first time we see it used on a motorcycle.
The man behind this unique creation is none other than Ky "Rocketman" Michaelson, who has gained quite a following with his previous inventions, which include a rocket-powered toilet, a hot-dog cooker, a high-speed margarita-maker, and a jet-powered coffee pot, among other unusual machines. His jet-powered inventions also helped him set more than 70 state, national, and international speed records.
This time around, the Minnesota man took his passion to a whole new level and devised something even more ambitious in his Bloomington garage - a motorcycle that runs on beer. Actually, he says it's the world's first beer-powered bike.
The unusual machine has been in the works for a few years now, and the man's son Buddy also helped with the project. The motorcycle is a striking example of engineering with a steampunk design twist. What makes the two-wheeler truly stand apart is its homemade steam engine that uses beer as fuel.
So how does it work? The motorcycle uses a 14-gallon keg with a heating coil inside instead of a gas engine. When the beer heats up to 300 degrees Fahrenheit (149 degrees Celsius), it basically turns into super-heated steam that generates enough thrust to propel the machine forward.
"The price of gas is getting up there. I don't drink. I'm not a drinker, so I can't think of anything better than to use it for fuel," the inventor declared for local news station Fox 9 KMSP-TV.
His son Buddy also explained that the one-off build could be tweaked to run on almost any beverage, from Red Bull to coffee.
Michaelson hasn't taken the motorcycle on the roads just yet, but he estimates it could reach a maximum speed of 150 miles per hour (241 kilometers per hour). He hopes to take his contraption out to a drag strip to test its real-world capabilities sometime soon.
He did take it to some local shows, though, where it really made an impression and won some first-place awards. After eventually testing it on a local drag strip, the beer-powered motorcycle will be put on display next to Michaelson's other inventions in his in-house museum in Bloomington.
Back in the 1980s, Ky Michaelson worked alongside Hollywood stuntman Dar Robinson on over 200 movies and TV shows, including Burt Reynolds' Hooper, Smokey and the Bandit, That's Incredible, The World's Most Spectacular Stuntman, which revolutionized the industry.
After spending a few years as a copy editor, Ancuta decided to put down the eraser and pick up the writer's pencil. Her favorites subjects are unusual car designs, travel trailers and everything related to the great outdoors. Full profile
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