The Electric Superbike Twente team unveils its new race bike: the Delta-XE. This all-electric motorbike boasts 200hp, a third more than its 150hp predecessor.
The Electric Superbike Twente is a student team consisting of students from the University of Twente and Saxion. The composition of the team changes every year. Every year, the team builds a completely new electric-powered racing motorbike. The team aims to set MotoGP lap times with an all-electric superbike by the year 2022.
Top speed of 300 km/h
The latest electric superbike designed by the team is the Delta-XE. This motorbike weighs 220kg and is equipped with a 150kW or 200hp electric motor. This allows the vehicle to accelerate to 100 kilometres per hour in less than three seconds. Its top speed is 300 km/h. The motorbike boasts a torque of 170nm measured at the engine or 800 nm at the rear wheel. The Delta-XE is powered by a 13.5 kWh battery, which delivers 800 volts.
The motor is powered by a custom-made permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM). This is an alternating current motor whose rotor and coils rotate past the magnets at the same frequency as the frequency of alternating current. The resulting magnetic field drives the rotor. The 170kW motor is supplied by AE Group. In view of the high temperatures of the electric motor, additional cooling fins have been made on the electric motor casing which - like the two radiators - release heat to the outside air.
The motor is controlled using a PM150DZR motor controller from Cascadia Motion. The Delta-XE is equipped with 13.5 kWh lithium polymer. The battery has 576 battery cells. The battery is managed using a customised management system developed by Prodrive Technologies.
Both the bike's frame and swingarm were produced by Bakker Framebouw. CeraCarbon Racing is responsible for the front suspension, sprockets and chain. Ten Kate Racing Products supplies the rims and tyres, as well as the rear suspension. The hoods are produced by Suter Industries and Allplast. HEL Performance Products supplies the Solid Billet 4 Piston brake discs.
'More powerful and reliable'
The Electric Superbike Twente team reports that the Delta-XE outperforms its predecessor in all areas, but is especially more powerful and reliable. In terms of safety, several protocols and safety systems, among others, have been further developed. As an example, the team mentions the standard plug that allows the bike to be charged using a Tesla charger.
The team plans to appear on the starting grid with two racing motorbikes during a race in Hengelo, Gelderland. These are the Delta-XE and its predecessor: the APEX-RS. This vehicle boasts 120 HP, 100 nm of torque at the engine and 800 nm of torque at the rear wheel. The APEX-RS weighs 190 kg and accelerates to 100 km/h in less than three seconds. Its top speed is 250 km/h.
Electric championship for self-built motorbikes
Races in Bermuda and Finland were also planned, but have been rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There is also contact with a racing championship in which races are mainly held at the Assen Circuit. For the future, the team is working on setting up an electric racing championship for home-made motorbikes: the ERRA. This should be an international championship. The team hopes the ERRA will add to the racing calendar next year.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Photos by: Sebastiaan Bors
