Innovative Scientific Solutions Inc. (ISSI) is a contractor of the Air Force, and is interested in researching hybrid technology for use in unmanned aerial vehicles. The purpose of the hybrid system would be to increase the total range the unmanned aerial vehicles can travel before refueling. ISSI challenged a BYU team to create a hybrid motorcycle by modifying an existing electric motorcycle by introducing an internal combustion engine. The new system’s focus is to increase the total range the motorcycle can travel before recharging or refueling while maintaining its current weight and size.

BYU Capstone team 19 took on the hybrid motorcycle challenge. The team designed the motorcycle in a parallel arrangement. The bike starts up on electric power and then switches to the internal combustion engine at 9 mph and then can switch freely according to the driver’s choice thereafter. The hybrid motorcycle that the team modified outperformed its strictly battery powered predecessor. The motorcycle was able to travel much farther under steady conditions and achieved moderate improvements under stop and go conditions. To accommodate for the added weight of the combustion engine, the team decreased the battery size by half and added a 2-gallon gas tank, among other modifications. The motorcycle is on display at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.

BYU News, May 24, 2011