A Poo Powered Bike? Really? Must be a Liberal idea.
TOTO, a name you might’ve seen on toilets and urinals, has built a motorcycle that runs on excrement. The toilet saddle is just for show, as the actual engine runs on manure and waste water, but you can’t fault the company for trying to make a splash when the Toilet Bike Neo debuted in Japan last week.
The Neo, a product of three years of research, development and design, is based on a 250cc trike, with a built-in toilet for a seat. The rider does not contribute to the fuel supply of purified and compressed livestock waste. So for now, this model’s bio-gas comes from the Shika-oi, in Hokkaido. As an engineer explained, “The waste and household water are converted to methane gas by fermenting, and the methane gas is converted to bio-gas by purifying.” Only the bio-gas ends up in the bike, so there’s no manure on-board. (Insert your own joke about crappy bike riders here).
The trike took a month-long slog from TOTO’s HQ in Kokura to Tokyo this past October, traveling around 870 miles in the process. Now, the bike is touring further afield in Japan to promote TOTO’s environmental efforts. But don’t hold your breath for your own poo-powered three-wheeler – TOTO has no plans to make another model.
