-Active wings to improve downforce in corners
-Aero wings are increasingly common on today’s superbikes
-Expect to see the tech on production bikes in the future
Aero wings have become a common sight on superbikes these days and they come in all shapes and sizes. The BMW S 1000 RR that’s on sale in India, for instance, has massive wings. These generate downforce to help keep the front end down while accelerating hard, thereby improving control over the bike. However, going by the latest patents filed by BMW, they seem to be pushing the performance envelope of what’s possible with wings further.
BMW is developing active wings for the S 1000 RR which will help adjust the angle of the wing to remain parallel to the ground, when the bike is leaned over. This is done by means of actuators. Keeping the wings parallel to the road will improve the downforce in corners which will lead to better grip levels and ultimately faster lap times.
The patent doesn’t disclose how this mechanism works but it won’t be hard to imagine a dedicated IMU system carrying out the necessary computation to determine the right angle of the wing in a corner.
All said, the influence of technology in superbikes is growing by the day as these machines become faster and faster. We can expect to see these active wings debut in a production BMW S 1000 RR, sometime in the future.
