Is it possible to transfer the aerodynamic concepts that we admire on wing cars to road bikes? Someone is trying and it could make history.
When you work intensely on a completely new project, failure is just around the corner. The study in wind tunnels is increasingly accurate for supercars and superbikes, but there is no shortage of problems. These are different worlds but which merge on universal aerodynamic theories.
White Motorcycle Concepts is a company that successfully works on extreme technological innovations. For example, they launched a hybrid version of the Yamaha Tricity scooter. Now they are trying to create a very high performance motorcycle that exploits the venturi effect. The hydrodynamic phenomenon takes its name from the discoverer Giovanni Battista Venturi.
It is a simple concept but it has very complex effects in the creation of a medium, that is, the pressure of a fluid current increases as the speed decreases. It is possible to state that an increase in speed corresponds to a decrease in pressure and vice versa, i.e. the increase in pressure corresponds to a decrease in speed. White Motorcycles has already tried to overcome the laws of physics, trying to beat the speed record for electric motorcycles of 455,737 km/h set by Max Biaggi with the Voxan Wattman.
A motorcycle that challenges the laws of physics
The WMC250EV prototype is the most extreme a motorcycle designer with a passion for the Venturi effect can conceive to date. It uses the principle of Formula 1 ground effect cars that press into the asphalt like suction cups through the surface. In the case of the motorcycle, the air passes through a central duct which, by narrowing in section, increases the pressure and speed of the fluid, improving stability and acceleration.
Thanks to a revolutionary chassis, the “drag”, or the aerodynamic resistance that worsens performance, would be limited but there is a problem. Don’t expect a concept aesthetically comparable to a Ducati Panigale. With a void in the center not only would a motorcycle with a Venturi effect be unpleasant, but also rather uncomfortable for the pilot. Many extreme projects have been developed in the past, but then they were rejected for road production. Seeing is believing.
