IPFS News Link • Transportation
IPFS News Link • Transportation
The Honda Innova is no slouch out of the box, returning 133 mpg from a 125cc engine producing a whopping 9 horsepower. But the Dutch “efficiency enthusiast,” as EcoModder calls him in its write-up, couldn’t leave well enough alone.
He’s put in a lot of miles on recumbent bicycles and knows a thing or two about aerodynamics, so the first thing he did was convert the Inova to a recumbent
by moving the seat waaaay down on the bike’s step-through frame and
moving the footpegs. That and a simple fairing boosted the bike’s top
speed from 56 mph to 69 mph. Together with taller gearing, Jacobs
raised his fuel economy to 156 mpg.
But why stop there? Jacobs spent several months designing and
building the full fairing, which splits in two vertically just behind
the windshield so he can get in. While it looks like you’d blow right
over with a sneeze, Jacobs claims the bike is stable even in a 40-mph
crosswind.
The bike’s record is 214 mpg, and Jacobs says it averages 199. But
he’s not done yet. He’s shooting for 235 mpg — which for those using
the metric system is 1 liter per 100 kilometers.
More info and pics at EcoModder, where one member is doing a similar mod with a Suzuki Burgman scooter.