Parker MPP traction motor selected for racing motorbike

Parker Hannifin's Electromechanical Automaton Division reports that its MPP series high-performance traction motor is powering an all-electric motorcycle built by Brammo Inc. Designed and built for ultimate speed, the bike was recently unveiled at the Red Bull US Grand Prix at the Mazda Raceway in Laguna Seca, California, where a major race took place as part of the FIM e-power race series.

Brammo is one of the world's leading electric vehicle technology companies, responsible for the design and development of the first production electric motorcycle - the award winning Enertia. With its headquarters in North America, the company has a significant global presence in the environmentally friendly vehicle sector and is an OEM supplier of its innovative Brammo Digital Drivetrain systems, including the Brammo Power battery pack and Brammo Power vehicle management system.

Jay Schultz, Parker product manager, states: "The Brammo engineering team has been an exceptional group to work with. They exemplify what high-performance engineering is all about, which parallels Parker's commitment to engineering our customers' success. It really shows in this bike."

Low weight, small size and high power density

Designed to provide optimum reliability for the demanding applications found in today's high-performance electric and hybrid vehicles, Parker's MPP traction motors offer low weight and high power from a unit that is claimed to be considerably smaller than other traction motors. The motors include an innovative winding design and Parker's exclusive dual cooling implementation, which features patent-pending internal cooling technology. In particular, this design yields up to 40 per cent higher torque per unit size than conventionally constructed permanent-magnet motors and delivers 20-350kW of power with 97 per cent efficiency.

The bike is set to become a serious new contender on the racing circuit when its makes it debut in September 2010. Brammo plans to market a street version of the bike for the commercial market in 2011, hence Brammo and Parker are working on an even smaller MPP motor for the production version of the motorcycle.

Roger Gerson, Brammo's electrical engineering manager, comments: "Working with Parker has been an outstanding and positive experience." Gerson and his team designed the gear reduction enclosure that houses the MPP motor, working closely with Parker in a very compressed timeframe. "We have leveraged Parker's leading-edge R&D work and stretched it to the max," concludes Gerson.