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Toys Operating Systems BSD

Build Your Own FreeBSD-powered Motorcycle 188

Posted by michael from the is-there-anything-BSD-can't-do? dept.
Durt_b1ker writes "Check this link out for a highly mobile FreeBSD computer with obligatory pics and video."
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Build Your Own FreeBSD-powered Motorcycle More

Build Your Own FreeBSD-powered Motorcycle

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  • So... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 25, 2004 @09:20PM (#9534096)
    Does this mean you have to have the daemon on your back and be a hells screen prompt?

    • Sort of, but whereas BSD is very secure, you'd have to be in a full leather body suit with no holes except the zipper mouth (like The Gimp from Pulp Fiction).

      Hey, could someone link a Fahrenheit 9/11 .torrent? Thanks.

    • You've reached bike.owns.com! This page is about my motorcycle:

      2003 Kawasaki Z1000
      Beware, the following was created with vi *:)
      Jump to:
      Specs
      Modifications
      Links
      How
      Technical
      Parts
      Pictures of the bike
      Pictures of the computer installation
      Videos
      Contact
      Specs:
      Displacemen t 953cc
      Fuel capacity 18 litres (4.0 gallons)
      Dry weight 198 kg (437 pounds)
      Horsepower 116@rear wheel.

      Modifications:
      The How and Technical section include information about the biggest modification I've done. Heres the small stuff:
    • Bourne 2 Beos Wireless Interface Linux Distribution
    • haha... so funny. the logging thing is kind of cool though.

  • Not Windows (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 25, 2004 @09:22PM (#9534111)
    Well, at least you won't be getting a blue screen of DEATH!
  • FreeBSD powered motorcycle? What balderdash. This thing still requires gasoline, same as most other bikes.

    Now maybe it's FreeBSD-enabled, or perhaps its computer control system is run on FreeBSD...

    I understand that it's knit-picky, but sometimes slashdot headlines sound really silly.

    • Re:Deceptive Headline (Score:4, Funny)

      by endx7 ( 706884 ) on Friday June 25, 2004 @09:32PM (#9534166) Homepage Journal

      I understand that it's knit-picky, but sometimes slashdot headlines sound really silly.

      nitpicky.

    • bad analogy (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Douglas Simmons ( 628988 ) on Friday June 25, 2004 @09:50PM (#9534262) Homepage
      So you think this isn't powered by FreeBSD, or at least that to say so would be balderdash. But do you remember how back in the day at the bottom of websites there were all those Powered by Apache/BSD/(whatever) logos?

      By the logic you're using, those websites weren't powered by Apache, they were powered by the Generel Electric coal power plant a few miles away. So nit-pick this, buddy. Parenthetically, I'd consider laying off the thesaurus... Balderdash... who says that.


      BTW, someone link a Fahrenheit 9/11 .torrent please.

      • By the logic you're using, those websites weren't powered by Apache, they were powered by the Generel Electric coal power plant a few miles away.

        Of course. Didn't you check my previous comments to see me complaining about that very thing in past Slashdot threads?

        Balderdash... who says that.

        At the minimum, avid fans of the Balderdash [amazon.com] family board game. Of course.

  • Looks like he used his motorcycle... (Score:5, Funny)

    by mOoZik ( 698544 ) on Friday June 25, 2004 @09:23PM (#9534118) Homepage
    ...to host his web site. No comments and it has already crashed. Literally.

  • Wait a minute... (Score:5, Funny)

    by metalligoth ( 672285 ) <metalligoth.gmail@com> on Friday June 25, 2004 @09:24PM (#9534123)

    ...since BSD is dying, this is one motorcycle I'd never want to ride!

    Mods: Have a sense of humor here. Seriously. I run a server with BSD at my company.

  • Perhaps the motorcycle running their webserver is out of gas?
  • I really fail to see any reason to build a machine this powerful into your motorbike, what exactly does all this processing power go towards? Or, what is the purpose of this project?
    • >kldload bktr, this loads the Brooktree driver that the PCI capture card uses

      well, guess what that CAPTURE CARD is doing in his motorcycle .. mm maybe its swimming ? or perhaps making sandwiches ? ... :/
    • Did you see the reference to the camera and the brooktree driver. He is capturing video while he rides. This seems to be an extremely ornate solution to the need for a camcorder mounted on the bike. On the other hand a camcorder wouldn't be on the front page of /. like a UNIX implementation. It is possible for him to upload the video via wireless when he finds a hotspot so perhaps this is more functional than a camcorder in that respect.

  • We all know that motorcyles are dangerous... (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    ...they have a higher fatality rate than other vehicles.

    Oh but hang on this is BSD - so it is used to DYING.
    • ...they have a higher fatality rate than other vehicles.

      I know you were making a NetCraft/BSD dying joke, but fact of the matter is that motorcyclists have almost the exact same fatality rate as cagers (in Sweden). The trend has gone from approximately 25 deaths per 1000 motorcyclists 20 years ago to 5-6 deaths per 1000 motorcyclists now and those are the same numbers as for cars.

      Yes, I realize that the numbers for the US are drastically different (both are higher), but still. It goes to show that it

      • Regardless of the stats, the grandparent poster just makes me want to reach out and touch them...

        With a shovel to the back of their head.
        Almost akin the the temporary citizen comments i get now and then. my usual response is either to seethe in anger or outright tell them to piss off.
  • Nice, but how fast does it go?
  • Look, I'm all for putting computers in everyday objects, but how does this guy use his computer? I'd rather he keep both hands on the handlebars than trying to ride and use the computer.

    I hope he remembers to wear a helmet to prevent head crashes!

  • Watching a live slashdotting (Score:5, Funny)

    by Twid ( 67847 ) on Friday June 25, 2004 @09:28PM (#9534148) Homepage
    Heh, I've never watched a friend get slashdotted live. Ben's trying to move the gallery links off to a static page right now! :)

    18:27 <@toast> ben: your machine can't hold up :(
    18:27 <@ben> go to slashdot
    18:27 <@toast> oh wait, it's on /. front page
    18:27 < twid> toast: nope
    18:27 <@toast> omfg you got mentioned on slashdot you are so cool!
    18:27 <@ben> yes.
    18:27 <@ben> its the top hit
    18:27 <@ben> on the front page
    18:27 < twid> OMG BEN
    18:27 <@toast> ben: CAN I BE YOUR FRIEND?!?!
    18:27 < twid> omg the site is down already
    18:27 <@toast> ben: your server lasted for like 3 seconds, GOOD JOB :)
    18:27 < twid> hahahahah
    18:27 <@ben> last pid: 47359; load averages:
    28.51, 20.60, 9.57 up 11+00:33:58 18:23:52

  • Raising Hell (Score:3, Funny)

    by karniv0re ( 746499 ) on Friday June 25, 2004 @09:29PM (#9534151) Journal
    How long before the FreeBSD Hell's Angels start a war with the Linux Banditos?

    • Re:Raising Hell (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Kurt Russell ( 627436 )
      I owned a 77' Kz1000, that bike ran like a raped ape! I got drunk and traded it for a harley sportster. What a major mistake, that bike was a pile of dung. The Banditos out of Corpus Christi, Texas did me a favor by stealing that pile. I think we sould cut the guy a break he's a biker and a nerd.

      Nerds tinker it's what we do. :-)

  • The site is toast, but presumably the bike is still petrol powered but has a computer on board.

    Unless of course the system writes to /usr/propulsion on a continous basis...

  • Start Up (Score:3, Insightful)

    by davidmandle ( 758509 ) on Friday June 25, 2004 @09:31PM (#9534162) Homepage
    What happens if the computer is on while he starts his bike? When a car starts, the radio goes silent while the engine cranks over. What happens to the powersupoply to the computeR?
    • When a car starts, the radio goes silent while the engine cranks over.

      Maybe you should try kick starting your car.

      KFG

  • Wait... (Score:5, Funny)

    by dysprosia ( 661648 ) on Friday June 25, 2004 @09:34PM (#9534183)
    Does this mean FreeBSD beat NetBSD to a motorcycle port? "Of course it runs NetBSD...except if it's a motorcycle"?

  • This has been tried with MacOS X. (Score:5, Funny)

    by UncHellMatt ( 790153 ) on Friday June 25, 2004 @09:37PM (#9534194)
    Unfortunately whenever they'd start the motorcycle it would bounce uncontrollably.
  • I grabbed it seconds before it went down. Here's a copy 'n paste of the technical specs for the computer:

    Technical:
    Wait you said it ran UNIX, what exactly did you mean?!
    The PC itself runs FreeBSD 5.2.1, the best operating system in the world, let the flames begin.
    Custom modifications made to it:
    /etc/rc: Added fsck -y before mount/check filesystem line. This ensures no 'unable to fsck press enter' problems.
    /etc/fstab: Added 'sync' option to / FS. Causes all writes to be unbuffered. Helps prevent vide

  • why would i want a subject? (Score:5, Funny)

    by compwizrd ( 166184 ) on Friday June 25, 2004 @09:44PM (#9534233)
    guess you have to be a member of the wheel group to mount it.
  • Nice to see Slashdot is now writing for the people who lack reading skills. With the site being slashdotted a little more text to explain WTF was going on with the article rather then "here read this" would of been nice
  • Let's just say this will crash less than those Microsoft OS cars. lol

  • FreeBSD - Born to be Wild (Score:5, Funny)

    by bXTr ( 123510 ) on Friday June 25, 2004 @09:57PM (#9534290) Homepage

    Getcha kernel runnin
    Head out on the highway
    Hackin for adventure
    and whatever comes our way

    BORN TO BE WILD!

  • is he hosting the website on his motorcycle? With 802.11?
  • Really, no joke, theres a pic of the camera, I've never seen so much duck tape!
    I'm sure theres an easier way - video camera mounted on bike perhaps?

    We geeks do enjoy reinventing the wheel the hard way.

  • That's a shame... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Nimrangul ( 599578 ) on Friday June 25, 2004 @10:11PM (#9534352) Journal
    You know it's a shame they used a Motorcycle. You see, it's official now; Motortrend confirms it, Motorcycles are dying.

    One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered cyclist community when Kawasaki Motors Corp confirmed the motorcycle marketshare has dropped yet again, now down to less than 18 percent of Americans owning a motorcycle. Coming on the heels of a recent Motortrend survey which plainly states that motorcycles have lost marketshare, this news serves to confirm what we've known all along. Cycling is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent frontal impact test.

    You don't need to be David Hasselhoff to talk about motocycling's future. The piss is on the snow: cycling faces a dark future. There won't infact be any future at all for cyclists because the industry is dying. Things are looking very bad for cycling. As many of us are already aware, motorcycles continue to lose market share. Red ink flows like a moon cycle.

    Harley-Davidson is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of the Easy Rider generation. The sudden and unpleasent departures of long time Harley users Ricky L. Phillips and Gerald Smith only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: Motorcycling is dying.

    ... Ok, I'll stop now.

    • Hmm I hope this is a joke ?

      What is losing massive market share are the large road slugs that the Japs have tried to pump out in volume to drown the Harley, they are nice pretty but well theyre not a Harley, there are a LOT of reasons for the harley mystique, 1 is its TOTAL lack of technological dependece. I can but a new Harley, throw in an aftermarket cam, heads, swap the carb and tinker with it to my hearts desire. Try that with a Jap bike....yeah right.

      That said I am not a fan of any of those large
  • "40GB HD" Imagine the potential if it had a larger hard drive, say 160GB. Users could hook up a small LCD screen in between the handle bars and watch divx movies! Or listen to mp3's. All this, in addition to recording course turns via GPS!
  • that he's not mature enough to be ashamed of his driving. Flame me if you've ridden for 20 years accident free.

  • Connecting to the ECU (Score:3, Interesting)

    by carcosa30 ( 235579 ) on Friday June 25, 2004 @10:25PM (#9534445)
    This would be totally fatuous were it not for the plans he mentioned of hooking the computer up to the bike's engine control CPU. I don't know enough about that sort of thing to know if there's any point to it. Possibly overclocking your engine to a dangerous degree when you need to go very fast, but why...?

    Pretty neat nonetheless. Computer controlled neon lights, et cetera...?
    • This is nothing too new. You can get a PowerCommander device that does this for more of the newer fuel-injected bikes (like my 2003 yamaha r6)

      You can put a setting on the power commander to make flames come out of your exhaust if you really wanted to, but why go through the trouble? most people get the power commander so that the power output is more linear since some bikes only reach their full power band around the 10,000 rpm range which is much less used in normal street usage. Manufacturers build th

  • I'm working on something similar (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Chairboy ( 88841 ) on Friday June 25, 2004 @10:46PM (#9534576) Homepage
    I'm in the planning phases of doing something like this with my Bandit 1200.

    http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t =2 7133

    For the interface, I plan to fabricate a fighter plane style MFD to replace my gauges, and also do the video logging that he does, except using a camera built into the fairing. I've done video on bikes before, and vibration is a big problem, so among other things, I'm hoping to find or adapt some video stabilization code.

    I've already got a computer in my car, the only things I'm waiting for before I start buying is:
    1. Nano-ITX Epia motherboard (4.7" squared)
    2. An LCD screen that's daylight readable and affordable.

    For power supply, I'll use an Opus 90 (this guy should have used the Opus 150, it has a shutdown controller built in) like the one in my car.

  • Bikeshed? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Brandybuck ( 704397 ) on Friday June 25, 2004 @10:49PM (#9534594) Homepage Journal
    But what color is the bikeshed?
  • Watch the gas->home video and go about 1/3rd through it, and watch this guy pass on the dotted white lines while driving on the freeway with cars on either side of him. He weaves right in between cars with 1 foot of clearance on each side at speeds close to 60-70mph... This guy is nuts!!!

    • a lot of states that's 100% legal (on a bike) (Score:5, Informative)

      by caveat ( 26803 ) on Friday June 25, 2004 @11:46PM (#9534886)
      "lane splitting" is legal in quite a few states (no, i'm not going to check...i do know it's ok in NY, it'd be insanity to ride the LIE otherwise). it's usually pretty safe to split two cars side by side, since the drivers won't go swerving at each other; trying to zigzag through a passing situation is much stupider, i knew a kid who got pasted on the LIE when the guy in the left lane cut right (in front of the other car) a little earlier than he was expecting...i guess the fall didn't hurt him that badly, but the bumper-to-bumper traffic going 45, well, that was a different story...
      • I concur.. it's completely legal in California and most of the drivers on the road are aware of it.. they move out of the way/realize that you're going to be pulling on side of them..
        • What's legal in California is:

          The traffic is moving 15 mph or less.
          The delta between you and the traffic is 15 mph or less.
          You don't cross the white line (you are sharing the lane).

          That's what it was the last time I checked the California Vehicle Code. Yes, I used to ride motorcycles in California. Yum!

          It's been a while though, so the laws may have changed.

          • no (Score:2)

            by peterjm ( 1865 )
            I asked a cop about this (who was in process of pulling me over b/c my plate would sometimes hide itself, who knew?). You're not going to find, "splitting lanes" or "lane splitting" anywhere in the ca. vehicle code. It's considered sharing a lane, and there are no defined rules. You could get a ticket for going 5 mph faster than surroudning traffic if the cop felt you were being unsafe.

            but, if you can find something, i'd be more than happy to eat my words. This was just what the cop told me when I aske
      • Legal or not, it's 100% stupid if the traffic is moving. Plenty of people have been cleaned up doing this.
    • Lane splitting at 60mph is nothing; I've done it on my motorcycle at higher speeds.

      There were two videos floating around the web at one point that would amaze you if you think this guy is dangerous. One was taken by a guy who owned a Ferrari F50 (their last generation supercar). He approached speeds close to 200mph on public roads. The other was of a guy on a motorcycle who drove the outer loop around Paris in 18 minutes. He passed trucks like they were standing still. Rumor has it he died on a subsequent

  • I wouldn't post those videos if I were him (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Yonder Way ( 603108 ) on Friday June 25, 2004 @10:58PM (#9534639)
    This guy epitomizes an inconsiderate motorcycle rider. He's cutting people off, running red lights, passing people on the inside during a turn. Riders like this make it that much harder for responsible riders to get along with the cars on the road.

    • Re:I wouldn't post those videos if I were him (Score:4, Informative)

      by Polo ( 30659 ) * on Saturday June 26, 2004 @12:20AM (#9535050) Homepage
      Now you got me curious, and I watched all the videos.

      I just didn't see it the way you did. He didn't seem to be speeding, he didn't run any red lights (although I might have seen a pause on red), and as for passing people -- "lane sharing" is legal in california. It's pretty much accepted that motorcyles pass cars on the freeway and pull up to the front of intersections. I expect to someone from another state it would be something to get used to.
      • Something like that would be grounds for a big fine and probably loss of license in Pennsylvania.

      • You can be totally legal, or arguably legal, and can still ride like an ass. This guy rides like an ass.

        Overtaking in a turn, into a parking lot with people walking around, maybe grabbing a prime parking spot. Lane splitting and squeezing just to get ahead of a queue that is three vehicle deep. These actions tend to annoy cagers. I am a daily motorcycle rider, and I would have sighed and shook my head if I had seen any rider doing that. He does no one no favor.

        Cheers,
        e.

  • He should change the hard drive for a flash memory based drive. The vibration and outdoors ambient will break it. The same applies to the CPU fan. He should go with a low power CPU that can be cooled with only a heatsink.
    • There is not a lot of vibrations on an inline 4 cylinders like this Kawasaki.

      If it were a Harley, he should not only use a solid state drive but he should also glue the CPU to the socket :-)
  • It would be nice to have the physical dimensions of the setup so I might be able to fit a similar setup in the back of my bike.. :D

  • So, this would be a... (Score:3, Funny)

    by mpthompson ( 457482 ) on Saturday June 26, 2004 @12:16AM (#9535032)
    Unixycle?

    Ouch! There goes my karma...

  • So it's ethanol based then? (Score:4, Funny)

    by SuperKendall ( 25149 ) * on Saturday June 26, 2004 @01:39AM (#9535319)
    After all, it's powered by kernels...

  • There's a name for guys like this... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by tokabola ( 771071 ) on Saturday June 26, 2004 @02:56AM (#9535536) Homepage
    When I was a Military Police we had a name for guys who rode like this. We called them STATISTICS.

    As in "87% of all motorcycle fatalities are caused by reckless riding" or " So far this year we've scraped 14 motorcyclists off a bumper"

    • Re:There's a name for guys like this... (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      I wish more people knew about these stats. This guy rides like he's going to die, but mostly it's absent minded car drivers and bikers who don't leave themselves an "out"

      In this area (Northern CA) I see it all. Women on cellphones doing makeup while doing 90 on the freeway. Guys reading the paper, shaving and drinking lattes.

      I'm from the UK originally (8 years ago) and I'm disgusted by the level of driving skills here. Based on skill the speed limit should be 10mph on the freeways.

      If I were in charge
      • The 87% figure was specific to Ft. Carson at the time (it's in Colorado Springs, Dad Driving Capitol of the World) and most of those accidents were partly the cars fault too. The fourteen is what I remember, vaguely, meant to make my point, not be definitive.
        As an MP (and later a cab driver) I drove a lot (ussually 8 to 12 hours/day) for ten years, in US, Korea, and Germany. I agree on a lot of points but think the fines are excessive for first offenses. Flat out opposed to random stops, Police abuse
  • just because it's BSD.

    You know what this means? That our motorcyclist has to drive cross country, fighting crime and solving mysteries with the aid of his deck. And for continuing adventures for one season, he has to pursue the M$ Bus of Mi$information, going by tips from strangers about bus sightings. Can anyone here say, Hassellhoff?

  • DARPA Challenge (Score:3, Funny)

    by Performaman ( 735106 ) <PeterjonesNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Saturday June 26, 2004 @10:54AM (#9537032)
    As I remember, one of the contestants for the DARPA challenge was/is a motorcycle/dirt bike with a dual Athalon-64 driving it.
    All this guy needs now is Kismet and a wireless card.

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