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This Harley-Davidson Cruiser from the 1990s Is Uniquely Built for the 2030s

In the name of sustainable fuel, a Canadian engineering student Frankensteined together one of the wildest motos I’ve ever seen.

Close-up of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle fuel tank and engine, featuring a yellow and brown fuel tank with the Harley-Davidson logo, black hoses, and various engine components in teal and black.Alex Jennison

By Steve Mazzucchi

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For all the hype about our electric future, it’s important to remember that no energy solution is perfect and we should constantly, creatively pursue innovative approaches to fueling our wheels.

That’s the message 22-year-old University of British Columbia engineering student Alex Jennison and his team are seeking to spread in a pretty unusual way.

Vintage Harley-Davidson motorcycle with a yellow and brown fuel tank, black leather seat, and studded black leather saddlebags, parked outdoors with green trees and a clear blue sky in the background.
As bonkers as the idea of using a tractor engine in a motorcycle is, this yellow, brown and green color scheme kinda works, amiright?
Alex Jennison

See, to make his case that biodiesel (sourceable from restaurants, among other places) is superior to electric (which comes at the cost of, Jennison points out, deadly cobalt mining in Democratic Republic of the Congo), he built a motorcycle.

But not just any motorcycle. A 1999 Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail with a tractor engine that runs on used vegetable oil, which he plans to ride 1,200 miles from Vancouver to Los Angeles, with several university publicity stops along the way.

Alt-alt energy

So why this bike and this engine? 

“Kubota gifted us the engine to demonstrate that clean fuels are viable,” he told Canadian automotive website Driving. “I chose the 1999 Harley-Davidson because it is the last model to have the engine and gearbox separated instead of mated together.”

A young man with curly blonde hair wearing a light-colored t-shirt is working on a mechanical engine. The engine has various components, including pulleys, belts, and hoses, and a yellow part is visible in the background. The man is focused, using both hands to adjust or repair the machinery.
Just one moment from the many months Jennison and his cohorts have invested in this unprecedented exploit.
Alex Jennison

As for what the engine actually is, the sharp-eyed blokes at UK moto site Visordown believe it to be a 1,647cc D1703 with a peak power output of 25.7 kW, or 34.5 bhp. 

No idea how well it will run on a two-wheeler but one thing I know for sure is, I’d love to just hear it.

Final push

The most badass looking proof of concept ever took him and his crew more than 15 months to work up.

Along with tearing down the bike, modifying the engine to run on fry grease and squeezing it into the rebuilt bike, they developed cold-climate-compatible biodiesel tech with UBC’s 400-vehicle fleet operator that Jennison says reduces CO2 by 74 percent.

Yellow and black Harley-Davidson motorcycle with leather studded saddlebags, displayed outdoors on a platform with trees and a blue sky in the background.
You’ve gotta respect the fact that Jennison stuck with those old studded leather saddlebags. This project may be about the future but you can’t forget the past, man!
Alex Jennison

Now the only real holdup to this epic adventure is lacking the cash needed for lodging, a follow vehicle and for a videographer to document the journey and spread the word much more widely.

Want to help? Check out the video for Jennison’s GoFundMe below, then head over to his go fund me page and chip in. 

About the Author:

Now managing editor, Steve has served in a variety of roles with GP since 2019. Having previously written and edited for such publications as Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Esquire and ESPN, he enjoys covering a range of topics — but mostly those pertaining to cycling, snow sports, pocket knives and motos — and dreams of a utopian world in which everyone’s bike seat is at the proper height.

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