In the past, when race bikes were upgraded and developed in full view, it was hard to tell just what or where the upgrades were because the very vast majority of R&D was taking place under the fairings. These days, it IS the fairings and bodywork being subjected to the scrutiny of very clever people, and if you’re anything like me, you find yourself all too often looking at a MotoGP bike and wondering what all the winglets, scoops, ducts and bulges are all doing.
With MotoGP manufacturers now using Formula One teams, resources and know-how in the development of their aero packaging, it occurred to me that I have a contact in my phone of someone who is from that world and who has more recently been immersed in motorcycle aerodynamics, but of a different sort– the slippery sort. Rob White is founder of White Concept Motorcycles and brainchild of the radical WMC250EV concept bike that he designed and built entirely by himself to prove a… err… concept.
Think what John Britten did when he created the BrittenV1000 race bike. He designed and manufactured every single part of a bike that didn’t follow the perceived rulebook and broke the mould like all the best engineering mavericks do. Rob White quit his job, sold all his bikes, remortgaged his house, got a divorce, used the £2500 his grandad left him in his will, and borrowed another £70,000 from his mates to design, make and test every part a machine he hopes will one day take the land speed record for an electric bike.
Denne historien er fra May 2023-utgaven av Fast Bikes UK.
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Denne historien er fra May 2023-utgaven av Fast Bikes UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Sensational Suzuki Live - Blending decades of motorcycles, racing legends, track time and a beer tent with a cracking band, Suzuki Live's formula proved a winner for the thousands there.
Blending decades of motorcycles, racing legends, track time and a beer tent with a cracking band, Suzuki Live’s formula proved a winner for the thousands there. As motorcycling events go, Suzuki Live's 2024 effort is surely set to take some topping. Held over two days at the iconic Cadwell Park circuit, the event played host to a list of two-wheeled legends and a mixed bag of iconic Suzuki machinery spanning five decades.
Steve Parrish
It's been a busy old month but so good being back in the thick of it. Despite the great British weather, it finally feels like summer is here, and I've been all over the place with some really great events since we spoke last month.
Christian Iddon
It's a long time since I had that feeling... 1057 days, to be precise, and if you were to ask if 'that day' was the day it would happen again, then I would have bet all my worldly belongings against it.
BOTH A CRIMINAL AND CIVIL CASE
There’s a time and place to lawyer up to the hills, and this is one them...
LONGTERMER KAWASAKI ZX-6R
Last month, I was gearing up to consign my ZX-6R to the back of my garage while I disappeared for the best part of three weeks to work at the TT with Batham's Racing.
YAMAHA WABASH RT
When you live a life of wheelies, burnouts and fast laps on race tracks, it's hard to spot a midlife crisis... but six months on in the saddle of Yamaha's Wabash e-bike, I daresay that's exactly where I'm at. I'll be honest, cycling isn't for everyone, and quite frankly, Lycra is even more polarising, but for me, life on two wheels, be it powered or pedalled, has formed my staple diet for as long as I can remember.
24 HOURS FLAT-OUT!
Ever fancied a crack at 24-hour endurance racing? You might think again after reading this...
PROJECT 37 A TEST OF TIME
Having got his head around the standard bike at Cadwell, Timmy heads to Powerslide Motorcycles with a wish list of improvements for the Suzuki GSX-8R...
'WHY WE GO RACING...5
Ever wondered why big brands spend big money and put in huge amounts of effort to go racing? Well, we did too, so we didn’t hesitate to ask the man who makes that call for Honda Racing UK...
9 BIKES WE WISH WERE STILL HERE...
No one’s worked out how to bring things back from the dead, but if we had our way, these are the bikes we’d oe see makingareturn.