Experimental analysis of a motorbike high speed racing engine

Power gain is the main objective in any motorbike competition. Despite of the wide literature on theoretical and experimental methods for increasing engine power, there is a general lack of data about tests on racing engine performance due to the obvious manufacturers' reluctance to spread information, especially for recent high technological level applications. This paper, instead, presents all the main results of the experimental tests conducted on a motorbike engine both in the original stock arrangement and in a modified configuration proposed in compliance with the Technical Regulations of the 2007 FIM Road Racing Supersport Italian Championship (CIV). Traditional testing techniques (steady-flow discharge coefficients measurements and chassis dynamometer tests performed in the slow speed ramp mode) are chosen to reduce time and costs and to limit engine wearing while obtaining an acceptable degree of accuracy. It is also proved that the tests to assess the improvements obtained with design changes could not have been completed in the steady-state mode using a single engine because of the short life cycle of racing engines due to wearing, which would have altered the comparisons. Test results show a 16% and 33% rise in torque and power for the racing configuration, reaching the state of the art of the best performing engines in the Italian Supersport racing class. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.