Yep, White Motorcycle Concepts has given the WMC250EV its very own aero tunnel
The WMC250EV from White Motorcycle Concepts is a rather bold-looking bike which has been designed for one thing and one thing only – to break the electric motorcycle land speed record.
Clearly, aerodynamics has dictated the design of the motorcycle, but credit must be given for electric vehicle architecture that has made packaging less of a nightmare in speed record machines such as the WMC250EV.
Having taken the Suzuki GSXR1300 Hayabusa as the baseline for aerodynamics, White Motorcycle concepts has managed to reduce WMC250EV’s drag by 70 percent to bring the bike’s drag coefficient down to 0.11.
This has been achieved by reducing the bike’s frontal area and chiefly thanks to the aerodynamic tunnel dubbed V-Air that runs from its nose to the tail.
Founder of White Motorcycle Concepts, Robert White, has stated that the aero concept also reduces front-end lift, while also increasing front and rear-wheel loading.
However, unlike other speed record bikes which have a low seat height, the WMC250EV’s seat height is the same as a Yamaha R6. This has been done deliberately to demonstrate that this concept could be adopted into the real world.
The WMC250EV, in its initial form, uses 2 20 kW (26.8 HP) motors in the front wheel and a pair of 30 kW (40.2 HP) motors at the back. But, the final power output is likely to be higher.
This motorcycle’s alloy battery case doubles as the main structure, while it has a Bimota Tesi-style hub-steering system, a swingarm at both ends and an enclosed chain drive (to which lubricant is drip-fed).
Using the WMC250EV, White Motorcycle Concepts aims to take an attempt on the British record later this year and the target is 200 mph (322 km/hr).
However, in 2022, on the Bolivia salt flats, the motorcycle will be used to attempt a world record in the semi-streamliner electric class and White Motorcycle Concepts believes it can crack 250 mph (402 km/hr).
