White Motorcycle Concepts and Zero Motorcycles reveal “Intelligent Aero” technology concept to improve electric motorcycle range.

White Motorcycle Concepts (WMC), the company behind the British electric motorcycle land-speed world-record programme, has collaborated with Zero Motorcycles to prototype the world’s first electric sports bike to incorporate WMC’s patented intelligent aerodynamic duct producing a 10% reduction in aerodynamic drag.

The re-engineered Zero SR/S concept incorporates a bespoke bifurcated aerodynamic duct running directly through the centre of the motorcycle, channelling air from behind the front wheel and exiting above the rear wheel.  To enhance the airflow through the patented duct, the team has also designed a new aerodynamic front fender and fork shroud package, ensuring maximum airflow through the system.

The two companies first connected at the Italian Motorcycle Show (EICMA) in November 2023, where WMC and Zero shared a vision, focused on advancing efficient innovation, improving range performance to meet customer expectations for EV motorcycles. The designed architecture of the Zero SR/S makes it ideal to integrate an aerodynamic duct.

The two organizations have been working on an accelerated development programme to deliver this proof of concept.  Following processes and procedures learnt whilst working in F1 and worlds sports car programmes, and honed on similar projects, the WMC in-house engineering teams have rapidly developed the concept; using a range of validated in-house modelling and computer fluid dynamics simulation techniques, prototyping and validation, using aero rakes commonly used in high level motorsport, and finally engineering for, and delivering, full assembly, enabling real world testing.

“The whole industry is currently facing a huge technical/commercial challenge to produce an electric motorcycle with performance close to its petrol equivalent.” said Robert White, Founder & CEO, White Motorcycle Concepts. “This problem space will not be solved by battery technology alone, it requires a blend of innovations to bridge the gap now and provide efficiency benefits in the future.

When I first saw the Zero SR/S frame and battery architecture, I immediately recognized the opportunity to retrofit a duct. I’m proud of what we’ve achieved, though the duct is limited by existing packaging constraints. It would offer even greater performance if integrated from the start of a motorcycle’s design.

Aerodynamics is a hot topic, especially in MotoGP, where winglets and other devices improve lap times, though this efficiency benefit does not always translate to retail bikes. Our intelligent aero duct enhances aerodynamic efficiency, positively impacting upon power consumption, especially at high speeds.”

The result, the new WMCSRS concept, presents the world’s first demonstration of our patented duct within a mid-sized sports bike and has been developed using all of White Motorcycle Concepts knowledge gained from their previous applications of their patented duct.

Within this application the design team have created a vertically bifurcated duct that picks the air up behind the front wheel and navigates the existing ZERO SR/S architecture and exits the bike just under the seat.  Through the baseline testing phase the engineering team used F1 style aero rakes in front and behind the front wheel and in front of the rear wheel to gain a deep understanding of the air flow.  This work identified the impact of the upstream architecture on the performance of the duct and so bespoke front fenders and fork shrouds have been created to enhance the overall performance.

The concept behind this central air duct has been honed as part of the White Motorcycle Concept’s land-speed record programme, and in the WMCSRS development the optimised dual-channel design, and upstream architecture, delivers a 10% increase in aerodynamic efficiency, equating to increased range at highway speeds.

The aerodynamic efficiency gain can be used to extend range or lower costs, reducing the need for a larger battery, which in turn cuts down on weight, charge time, and battery expenses. The duct is affordable to integrate and manufacture, with its range benefits remaining consistent over time. It enables increased top speed (max), top speed sustained and acceleration with a very low risk of component failure, and its advantages increase with higher-speed riding, unlike batteries, which tend to lose efficiency under such conditions.

“From our initial meeting at EICMA we have been interested to understand the potential impact of WMC’s aerodynamic duct” said Abe Askenazi, Zero Motorcycles CTO. “We are committed to innovation and, while battery development is advancing rapidly, we believe a combination of technologies is the key to developing the electric motorcycles of the future. This proof of concept has given us valuable insights into the potential benefits of integrating an aerodynamic duct into electric motorcycles, and we will continue to explore complementary technological advancements to deliver market-leading products for our customers.”

Following the lead of the car market exploration of all aspects of efficiency to extend range, the new generation of electric and hybrid cars are 30% more efficient than cars produced just 5 years ago.  The motorcycle industry can look beyond the limitations of current battery technology and embrace complimentary and consistent solutions to transition to net zero.  In respect to WMC’s patented duct, the benefit that can be gained will increase over time: as motorcycles will have to remain the same size to respect the rider, but as battery energy density increases this opens up greater volumes for a larger duct.  Creating a virtuous circle of benefit, larger duct, less batteries, more volume, larger duct.

The project is a great demonstration of what is possible when two innovative companies work together to address one of the motorcycle industry’s greatest challenges.

The new WMCSRS concept will make its public debut at Motorcycle Live 16-24th November 2024 and can be found on the Zero Motorcycle Stand 4A15, at the National Exhibition Centre Birmingham, UK (https://www.motorcyclelive.co.uk/).