A year ago, T. Boone Pickens started beating the drum for a combination of wind power and natural gas to free America from foreign oil.

Now Lincoln Composites, Inc., a division of the Norwegian company Hexagon Composites ASA, has pitched into a demonstration of the versatility of natural gas.

Lincoln Composites designed and manufactured a custom compressed natural gas fuel tank for Chesapeake Energy Corp.'s "green" theme motorcycle built by Orange County Choppers of the hit TV show "American Choppers."

The chopper was custom designed for Chesapeake Energy's 20th anniversary, primarily to show the American people what Pickens has been preaching: that plentiful U.S. natural gas can power all kinds of vehicles.

The "American Chopper " episode aired on The Learning Channel/Discovery Channel last week. A repeat showing isn't scheduled now, but probably will be within the next couple of weeks, said TLC spokeswoman Shannon Martin.

Taylor Shinn, manager of corporate development at Chesapeake, said the point was to demonstrate that natural gas could be used for higher-power vehicle uses than the small mopeds that run on natural gas in Asia.

"As we worked with the experts at Orange County Choppers to design the bike, we knew we wanted to work with Lincoln Composites on the fuel storage," Shinn said in a news release.

"Lincoln Composites is one of the premier natural gas cylinder manufacturers and we are honored to have them join us in this project."

Lincoln Composites' contribution to the custom CNG Chopper included the design and manufacture of the all-composite, lightweight fuel cylinder as well as engineering services related to the fuel system design and installation, the company said.

Dale Tiller, president of Lincoln Composites, said, "The ease with which natural gas can be used as a fuel could not have been demonstrated on a more exciting platform than an Orange County Chopper."

Lincoln Composites ordinarily makes high-pressure compressed natural gas tanks for trucks and buses in the United States and Europe. It also makes hydrogen tanks and other composite vessels.

About 100 people work at the company's sites at 6801 Cornhusker and at Air Park West.

Although the motorcycle tank was strictly for the gas company's anniversary promotion, Tiller doesn't rule out the possibility that natural gas could become a more common motorcycle fuel.

"We've looked at that from time to time," he said. "Obviously motorcycles are used more in other parts of the world.

"It's not outside the realm of possibility, but we're not bracing for any huge orders coming in," Tiller said. "Hopefully we're drawing attention to natural gas as a viable fuel. We've demonstrated it for trucks and buses, now we've done it at the other end."