Victory Racing bikes powered by Parker electric motors in Isle of Man TT

Parker Hannifin's Global Vehicle Motor PMAC electric motors will be powering two Victory Racing prototype race bikes when they compete in the SES TT Zero Challenge class event, taking place during this year's Isle of Man TT meeting.

On the first day of practice at its Zero debut, Victory became the third team ever to achieve an average speed of 100mph or more. The average lap speeds achieved were 105.185mph for rider, 'General' Lee Johnston and 104.185mph for William Dunlop, both riders achieved 140mph through the Sulby speed trap.

When developing the motor, Parker's designers needed to tackle two challenges. First, they needed to get maximum horsepower out of a compact motor with a fixed space envelope. Second, they needed to make the motor efficient enough to help the battery pack last the entire 37.73 miles.

The end product is 8in in diameter and 5in long, and is said to deliver 175hp and 97% efficiency to power the 220kg bikes.


This technology also has potential to be used for other applications. For example, the PMAC has been used for on-vehicle power generation in hybrid vehicles. Typically the motor/generator is connected to the front main belt on an engine to generate electricity, and a second motor uses the power generated to power a traction motor or other equipment, such as auxiliary cooling fans or air conditioning units.

In a very different context, Parker's motor has also been used to provide electro-hydraulic pumps to operate flight control surfaces on rocket ships.

With electric bike performance improving year-on-year and lots of interest in the prototype bikes, the partnership between Parker and Victory has scope for potential.