Electric Motorcycle Inventor Crashes at Wired Conference

not5150 writes "The inventor of the electric 'KillaCycle" motorcycle was taken to the hospital for x-rays after demonstrating the vehicle to reporters. Bill Dube, a government scientist during the day and bike builder at night, attempted a burnout in front of the Los Angeles Convention Center during the Wired NextFest fair. Fueled by the "most powerful" lithium-ion batteries in the world, the bike accelerated uncontrollably into another car. There's a video interview (thankfully before the crash) and footage of Dube crashing."

Electric Motorcycle + Wired

[deniable]

My first thought was that he ran over the extension lead.

KillaCycle?

[kooky45]

Does what it says on the tin.

Re:0-60 in less than a second

[RuBLed]

0-60 in less than a second

and vice versa

Finally

[sc0ob5]

A product that can actually live up to it's name.

Is it just me?

[spazmonkey]

Is it just me, or did everyone get the motorcycle clip from "PeeWee's Great Adventure" stuck in their heads upon reading that description?

In other news

[iamacat]

The motorcyclist was using Sony cells and also suffered a bad burn to the groin.

GLAYVIN!

[Mad Martigan]

That's why Professor Frink's motorcycle flies through the air [snpp.com] -- no cars to hit.

-----

Frink tests his new flying motorcycle.

Frink: Hello, son. You want to try the flying motorcycle I just invented?
Bart: No time.
Frink: Okay.

Later, Bart loses his skateboard in the wet cement.

Bart: I could sure use that flying motorcycle now.

Frink flies by.

Frink: You had your chance. Whoa-hai.

-----

Quote of the Video

[adamkennedy]

"I'm normally the crew chief and the owner, I don't ride it."

I was already going "oh dear..."

Re:Idiot

[mpe]

As a scientist, he should have known better than to not wear a helmet....

Calling the thing "KillaCycle" probably wasn't the smartest of ideas either. It sounds more like the title of a low budget horror movie...

Re:More seriously, though

[heinousjay]

A dick who makes his own decisions and deals with the consequences.

I'm aware that's a synonym for freedom loving.

Re:Idiot

[clickety6]

Balls... and heart where his mouth is and all that.

Thankfully it wasn't that bad a crash ! :-)

Re:0-60 in less than a second

[dwater]

what? less than a second in 0-60??? what does that mean?

Electric has grown up.

[Futselaar]

For a while, we have had electric cars and motorcycles that could go fast and reasonably far. Being able to crash them stupidly was probably the final thing needed to make them a success. And now that electric bikes have grown up to this level, linux on the desktop cannot be far off, can it?

Re:Just needed stiches

[jd]

No sparks? No flames? Dudew, you should have added some pyros to the bike, even if you never intended it to move, to give people something to photograph. Same reason early computers were dressed in lights. Sheesh, talk about a missed opporutinity.

May I be the first to.....

[Anonymous Coward]

offer words of encouragement to our latest Darwin hopeful. There's always next year. If electric motors can't get the job done think...rocket engine.

Re:Best wishes, but come on buddy, common sense

[Dr. Cody]

But come on buddy, a little common sense, and remember you're a role model. *You* might have known what you're doing but lots of idiot teenagers would have been watching the footage of you doing this gig and other ones similar to it. They might take home the message that it's ok not to wear helmet and body armour. The fact that something did go wrong showed that you weren't completely in control.

Won't somebody PLEASE think of the CHILDREN!!!???

Wow, a "Drag" bike crashes on "TGVideo"...

[StressGuy]

I can't believe that got by my works proxy-server.

Re:More seriously, though

[mabinogi]

I must say, I've never seen a slang nazi before.

Re:More seriously, though

[tgd]

As a professional stuntman,

Wow, that preface to a statement must be great for picking up women.

And yes, I'm serious, not mocking.

Re:More seriously, though

[bradinthehouse]

How about that! The first slashdot poster to have a chance at a woman...

Re:More seriously, though

[something_wicked_thi]

Can we all just agree that he's a dick, and then everyone else can argue about why he's qualified later?

Re:Finally

[Strawser]

Yeah, it may be funny, but the very fact that this event occurred gives him media coverage. Probably unintended side effect, but well deserved! I, for one, had never heard of the Killacycle. This is seriously cool stuff !

Plus, when looking for a crotchrocket bike, you want to be sure it's fast enough to kill you with little difficulty. Otherwise, it's no fun. I think he just uped his stock a few points. "Wow. That thing's bad-ass. You could die on that! . . . Where do I get one?"

Re:0-60 in less than a second

[Hognoxious]

I dunno. Probably something about parsecs.

Re:More seriously, though

[rah1420]

What sort of a dick rides a bike without a helmet?

They call that sort of dick "organ donor."

Re:More seriously, though

[HardCase]

You're searching for dicks?

Not that there's anything wrong with that...