The last time we covered Max Biaggi and his Voxman Wattman electric motorcycle, he had just set a new land speed record for electric motorcycles at 254 mph (408 km/h). But apparently even that wasn’t fast enough for Biaggi.
Now the bike and its speed-chasing rider have returned to push the envelope even further.
The bike — which is actually three bikes in streamlined, partially streamlined, and standard form — was built to be the fastest electric motorcycle in the world. It’s cooled by dry ice and uses a 317 kW (425 hp) motor and 15.9 kWh battery.
While that motor is around four times as powerful as most flagship electric motorcycles such as the Zero SR/F and Harley-Davidson LiveWire, the battery capacity is roughly equivalent to today’s leading consumer electric motorcycles. The major difference is that the Voxan Wattman consumes much of its battery power in a few runs, compared to most consumer electric motorcycles that can ride for hours.
By modifying the motorcycle with various ballasts and fairings, it can fit into several different categories for record attempts.
Late last month on a disused NASA space shuttle runway at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Voxan Wattman used that ability to snatch up a total of 19 new world records for various types of speed runs in different classes.
The most impressive of all is likely the new record set in the “partially streamlined electric motorcycle under 300 kg” class.
According to Jalopnik, not only did the Wattman achieve a two-way average speed of 283.182 mph (455.737 km/h) for the record, but the onboard GPS actually clocked the bike peaking at over 290 mph (466 km/h).
The two-way average is the number that goes in the record books, though, replacing the previous record of 253 mph (407 km/h) that had been set by the bike just last year.
While it surely doesn’t do it total justice, you can get a sense of what those speeds were like in the video below.
Biaggi also set a number of other impressive speed records, including an unfaired 228 mph (367 km/h). That’s a lot of wind slamming into you without a slippery fairing around the bike!
Here’s a complete list of the new records:
Under 300 kg class
- 1 mile, flying start, partially streamlined: 454 km/h (282 mph)
- 1 mile, flying start, non-streamlined: 368 km/h (228 mph)
- ¼ mile, flying start, partially streamlined: 293 km/h (182 mph)
- ¼ mile, flying start, non-streamlined: 285 km/h (177 mph)
- 1 mile, standing start, partially streamlined: 273 km/h (169 mph)
- 1 mile, standing start, non-streamlined: 260 km/h (161 mph)
- 1 km, standing start, partially streamlined: 223 km/h (138 mph)
- 1 km, standing start, non-streamlined: 219 km/h (136 mph)
- ¼ mile, standing start, non-streamlined: 156 km/h (96 mph)
- ¼ mile, standing start, partially streamlined: 149 km/h (92 mph)
Over 300 kg class
- 1 km, flying start, partially streamlined: 408 km/h (253 mph)
- 1 mile, flying start, partially streamlined: 404 km/h (251 mph)
- 1 mile, flying start, non-streamlined: 367 km/h (228 mph)
- 1 km, flying start, non-streamlined: 364 km/h (226 mph)
- 1 mile, standing start, partially streamlined: 255 km/h (158 mph)
- 1 km, standing start, partially streamlined: 216 km/h (134 mph)
- 1 mile, standing start, non-streamlined: 216 km/h (134 mph)
- ¼ mile, standing start, non-streamlined: 153 km/h (95 mph)
- ¼ mile, standing start, partially streamlined: 142 km/h (88 mph)
That was one busy week!
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Author: Micah Toll
Source: Electrek
