Yamaha goes electric

Among the concepts Yamaha brought to the Tokyo Motor Show was the FC-me, a fuel-cell-powered scooter. Yamaha showed off its research into alternative fuel motorcycles with the FC-me and other electric and hybrid bikes. The FC-me is too small for a compressed hydrogen gas tank, so it uses a methanol-water mix for its fuel. Methanol has been used as a source of hydrogen in experimental fuel-cell power packs for laptops and seems a logical choice for the scooter. The FC-me's 150 pounds is pushed along by a 1.25-horsepower motor, which isn't much, but the high torque of the motor should give it better performance than a moped. Yamaha also had a couple of hybrids to show off, which, given that bikes get very good mileage compared to a car, may seem unnecessary. But why not use the hybrid system to capture a bike's wasted energy? Plus, adding that electric motor gives greater acceleration and the potential for running in stealthy all-electric mode.