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[flar]

I don't remember precisely what triggered me to search this article out, but I believe it had to do with a bizarrely conspicuous product placement in a movie or TV show. I always wondered what the story was behind why Babylon 5 featured a motorcycle in one of their episodes. I get wanting to have some nostalgia in their story lines - many "not so distant future" sci-fi shows have the characters reminisce about our current culture - but it was odd that they'd be able to rebuild a (what was then a) current model just to ride it on the show. I didn't rewatch the episode, but I believe that the character even cited the model name and a marketing bullet list of its features - as one might do for a vintage item that one is obsessed with, but in this case it was a current model for sale and so it reeked of product placement.

In any case, here is the article on the incident in their fan pages where they list some of the "fictional facts" that the characters cited in the show.  In particular:

As gasoline-powered devices became out of favor due to their harmful effects on the atmosphere, production decreased and the last gasoline powered motorcycle was built in 2035. By 2258, they were a rare collector's item.

Full article: https://babylon5.fandom.com/wiki/Motorcycle

[Doug S]

They may be about right about 2035 being the last year of ICE motorcycle production, but I think they're WAY off on the other date. How many of those last bikes will make it 223 years into the future??

[Crissa]

That's why they're a rare collector's item, Doug.  There are trains and carts and boats still around from over a hundred years ago.

-Crissa

[JaimeC]

I remember that episode.  JMS was VERY active in the fan forums when that show was on.  He said someone at the US Kawasaki headquarters was a big fan of the series and wanted to donate a motorcycle for him to use.  That left him with a quandary:  HOW do you fit a 20th century motorcycle into a story set aboard a space station in the far distant future?  Undaunted, JMS came up with that story.  He has LOTS of references to the 20th century in that series.  Michael Garibaldi was a BIG "Looney Tunes" fan and his "favorite thing" that he shared with Mindari Ambassador Delenn was an episode of "Duck Dodgers in the 24th and a Half Century!"

By the way, the "ZIMA" sign in the Zocolo was just something they found on a backlot and he thought it would be hilarious to imply it was still being brewed and sold during the time of the series.  The company itself had nothing to do with it, but didn't object to its use.

[Crissa]

I love Zima and buy a few six-packs every time they revive it

Of course, my first experience with it was pretty negative:  A friend dumped one on my head.

-Crissa

[Richard230]

I thought I watched every episode of Babylon 5, but I don't recall that one.   

I recently purchased DVDs of the complete first, third and fifth seasons of the show.  Is there any chance that episode would be in that collection?

[BigPoppa]

It's from a Season 1 episode so you should be good to go: https://babylon5.fandom.com/wiki/Eyes

It's also available on Amazon Prime if you're a Prime member. It's episode 16 from season 1.

[kurio99]

I don't doubt that ICE and meat will be gone in 15 years.  It won't be due to high notions or government regs.  Quite simply, they will be priced out of the market.  Right now, EM's are more expensive but once the makers hit the necessary economies of scale, they will easily undercut gas bikes with fewer parts and easier assembly.  I'm reading of major battery breakthroughs that just need to come to market to put the final nail in the coffin.  Eventually, the econmies of scale will invert, at which point, you need to be rich to own a gas vehicle and have to carry a drum of fuel as the gas stations disappear. 

[Same with meat.  One day, veggie meat will taste and chew like the real thing but cost pennies because it's made with peas or beans.]

We live in interesting times.

[Richard230]

It's from a Season 1 episode so you should be good to go: https://babylon5.fandom.com/wiki/Eyes

It's also available on Amazon Prime if you're a Prime member. It's episode 16 from season 1.

Thanks, I'll be sure to watch that one.   

[valnar]

I don't doubt that ICE and meat will be gone in 15 years.

I doubt it.  Very much so.

[kurio99]

Depends on market forces and visionaries.

Look at flat screen TV's.  It was invented in '64, but once the technology hit a certain capability and price point, in the space of 8 (?) years, we went from 0% to 100% flat screen sales.

[Sklith]

Electric drive trains are without a doubt the best but predicting the time when ICE vehicles become a thing of the past is a fool's errand. Even when EVs become cheaper than the polluting alternatives, there'll still be plenty of naysayers who'll focus on the 0.001% time of use where they're in super remote locations and need to bring extra gas in jerry cans to drive 1000 miles or some other bullshit as an excuse.

ICE enthusiasts will keep moving the bar as to what the perfect vehicle should be. Their vehicles used to be faster/quicker, now suddenly 0-60 and quarter-mile runs don't matter to them. Reminds me of Harley riders a bit; they used to be considered high performance bikes up until Japanese ones surpassed them, and suddenly Harley fans claimed that top speed/reliability/build quality don't matter.

[Doug S]

...there'll still be plenty of naysayers who'll focus on the 0.001% time of use where they're in super remote locations and need to bring extra gas in jerry cans to drive 1000 miles or some other bullshit as an excuse.

ICE enthusiasts will keep moving the bar as to what the perfect vehicle should be. Their vehicles used to be faster/quicker, now suddenly 0-60 and quarter-mile runs don't matter to them. Reminds me of Harley riders a bit; they used to be considered high performance bikes up until Japanese ones surpassed them, and suddenly Harley fans claimed that top speed/reliability/build quality don't matter.

I'm not sure I agree. You see some people riding horses these days, but it's almost always just because they enjoy riding horses. Other than, say, the Mennonites and the Amish,  you don't see many people at all commuting on horseback. Even cattle ranchers mostly use ATVs these days. Some people adopted slower than others, but it was just a few decades before anybody who could afford to upgrade to a car, did so.

[Sklith]

Some people adopted slower than others, but it was just a few decades before anybody who could afford to upgrade to a car, did so.

And that's what it'll take, a few decades for people to upgrade to EVs as well. 15 years is a bit optimistic, even if ICE vehicles become completely obsolete by by then we won't see a huge shift in global production. It just takes too much effort to shift this much industry around like that.

[JaimeC]

I just want to know what kind of powerplant Lennier installed...