Brushless permanent magnet DC and AC motor and synchonous reluctance motor design for racing motorcycles

There is an increasing interest in electric transportation. Most large manufacturers now produce hybrid versions of their popular models and in some countries electric cycles and scooter are now popular. Motor sport is often used to develop technology and in this paper designs for electric racing motorcycles are addressed. These are in-frame motors (rather than hub motors which can affect handling and are not as powerful). Typically 10 to 12 kW-hours of batteries can be carried on the cycle and the batteries are almost exhausted at the end of a race. Therefore very high efficiency over a range of operation is needed, but also the motors need to be compact and have high torque density. This paper examines the use of permanent magnet motors and possible designs.