This bike wants to break the electric motorcycle speed record

Monaco-based Voxan reveals bike for record attempt

The land speed record for electric motorcycles may be contested next year with an attempt announced by Monaco-based company, Voxan. Voxan is a subsidiary of Venturi, a luxury sports car manufacturer and Formula E racing team.

In order to beat the current electric motorcycle land speed record of 330 km/h, Voxan hopes to field its Wattman motorcycle. Based on an electric motorcycle it developed in 2013 (but has yet to be produced and sold), the Wattman that will make the record attempt has been streamlined and heavily modified from its original stock form. The team hopes to attempt to break the record on July 2021 at the Salar de Uyuni salt flats in Bolivia.

The speed record motorcycle features a double wishbone front suspension setup. It ‘s powered by a 317kW (425 hp) electric motor. Powering it is a 15.9KWh battery. Another interesting component is its dry ice (frozen carbon dioxide) cooling system. Finally, to slow it down is a rear brake system. It’s all covered by a streamlined shell to maximize aerodynamics. All together, the bike tips the scales at 300 kg. Piloting the motorcycle will be two-time WSBK champion, Max Biaggi.

The team explains that there were lots of considerations that went into the selection of these components.

The front double wishbone is hoped to create a narrow profile to maximize aerodynamics. There’s no front disc brake because it would interrupt the flow of air and would cause instability when slowing down on the very loose surface of the salt flats. Only the rear brake and lots of run off will be used to slow it down; no parachute or any other braking system will be used. Finally, the dry ice cooling system allows the team to forego the use of a conventional radiator which could be heavy and cause aerodynamic drag.

The team was originally supposed to make their attempt this year. Unfortunately, due to the current pandemic, it has been pushed back for another year. Nonetheless, the bike is ready to go and the company has proudly shared it in an online reveal.

If it does break the record, perhaps the company could finally release the street Mersion of the Wattman, which already looks like it could break a few speed records in stock form.