Energica has never had a power problem; the Italian electric motorcycle manufacturer produces the high-performance racing electric motorcycles used in the MotoE racing series. But that hasn’t stopped the electric sportbike maker from innovating even further with a new, higher-powered electric motor.
This time the company didn’t go it alone though, instead partnering up with fellow Italian manufacturer Mavel.
The pair developed a new 126 kW (169 hp) peak-rated motor known as the EMCE, which stands for Energica Mavel Co-Engineering.
The new motor offers around 18% more peak power than the model currently in use by Energica.
In addition to increasing the unit’s power, the partnership was also able to lighten the motor and controller as well, resulting in a shedding of 10 kg (22 lb) off of the final bike weight.
According to Energica, the new lighter drivetrain should result in an efficiency boost of between 5-10% compared to the previous generation of electric motorcycles.
While many manufacturing projects have been delayed during COVID-19, the debut of the new motor was actually moved up, as Energica’s CTO Giampiero Testoni explained:
“The introduction on the market of the new EMCE engine was scheduled for release in 2022, but following the difficulties of our supply chain – due to the global pandemic situation – we decided to anticipate this timing and instead, in just 6 months we have developed this co-engineering with Mavel, into our current model year production.”
Energica says that the new motor and drivetrain will be used across all of Energica’s electric motorcycle models.
To achieve those power and efficiency gains, the partnership worked on a number of innovations in the new motors.
The rotor and stator of the motor have an “innovative geometry that minimizes energy losses and maximizes performance.” The company claims that the torque band is more uniform as well.
In addition to the liquid cooling system for the motor, Energica says that the rotor was designed to generate internal airflow to further transfer heat out of the motor. That helps the motor to continue operating at high-performance levels even under high-speed riding.
The motor also includes patented sensors that can help predict any mechanical failure, helping the motor to operate more reliably.
There’s no word yet on when exactly the new powertrain will work its way into Energica’s electric motorcycles, but we have to imagine they’ll want to begin offering the increased performance soon.
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Author: Micah Toll
Source: Electrek
