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WUT students are working on new versions of their motorbike

Photo of the latest version of the motorcycle in action during training in Radom

Latest version of the motorcycle in action – training in Radom, photo: WUT SiMR Racing Technology

The first serious chapter of the story opened in 2017, when a team was established to build a motorcycle for the MotoStudent competition. After six years of development, the WUT SiMR Racing Technology machine changed a lot, its creators gained experience and they may be proud of their successes. Today, their aim is to construct an electric motorbike - for the next edition of the MotoStudent competition, of course.

The present motorbike is a combustion one. Young constructors from the WUT Faculty of Automotive and Construction Machinery Engineering used a one-cylinder engine from the KTM RC250 motorbike of 250 cm3 capacity and 30 horsepower. In the latest version of the machine, presented in 2022, a lot of changes were introduced to the original version.

Latest technology

Instead of the steel trussed construction, now there is an aluminium alloy ridge beam. The motorcycle has a ram-air system which uses dynamic air pressure caused by vehicle movement, a cooling system of increased efficiency and extended aerodynamics, including a covered rear wheel, an air blade based on a heat exchanger and aerodynamic covers of front suspension pipes.

– Compared with the previous construction, we extended our own system of data acquisition integrated with a programmable display and we used RTK technology which allows a centimetre precision of positioning the vehicle on the racing track – says Arkadiusz Dagiel. – New are also cloud solutions (IoT) and data analytics developed in cooperation with the company SAS Poland in an international team of Internet of Things experts.

Photo of the motorbike still without the coating - 2022 version

Motorbike still without the coating – 2022 version, photo: WUT SiMR Racing Technology

Not only racing

The teams now comprises eleven people and it is divided into one- or two-person sections dealing with construction, electronics (data acquisition system), aerodynamics, engine systems, and media relations and finding partners.

– In addition to constructing and making parts of the motorcycle, the students are doing research on rigidity characteristics of two-wheeled vehicles (test-stand studies), two-wheeled vehicle dynamics and optimization of the trajectory of movement on the racing track – lists Paweł Chodkiewicz, MA, academic tutor of WUT SiMR Racing Technology. – The team is also developing their own tools for analysis of data collected during the movement.

All paths lead to success… and MotoStudent competition

The first version of the motorcycle was presented in April 2012. The team took part in competitions on the Slovakiaring track in Slovakia twice. In 2019 they took the 2nd and 3rd places in Alpe Adria Vintage. In 2020, they came second in the Polish Cup in the category Sport250.

– In 2019 the students also participated in a race held on the Oulton Park track in Great Britain in the category Hel Performance Moto3 – a series accompanying Great Britain’s Championships – says Paweł Chodkiewicz, MA.

In August 2023, an updated version of the WUT SiMR Racing Technology motorcycle took part in the Silesia Championship held on the Poznań Racing Track. It was the first test of the new motorbike on a full-sized racing track. Despite initial problems, the team came third.

– We got the best competition time in the class we ran in (class SST250, four-stroke motorcycles of engine capacity up to 250 cm3 or two-stroke engines up to 125 cm3) – says Jan Biniewicz – The time is 1:55.060.

– With the present construction we are preparing to run in the class Moto4 in a chosen round of the Italian racing series Trofei MES – announces Paweł Chodkiewicz, MA. – We treat all competitions and trainings as a training opportunity to prepare the team for a new project for the next edition of the MotoStudent competition, this time connected with an electric motorbike.

Photo of the motorbike during the Silesia Championships 2023

Motorbike during the Silesia Championships 2023, photo: WUT SiMR Racing Technology

WUT SiMR Racing Technology consists of: Jan Biniewicz, Wiktor Chmiel, Arkadiusz Dagiel, Dominik Jurczak, Konrad Konieczny, Mateusz Klisiewicz, Łukasz Sadłowski, Kornel Sojka, Michał Suligowski, Urszula Wardzyńska, Michał Wiśniewski.