Fastest electric motorcycle (150 kg-class)

The fastest average speed achieved by a sub-150-kg electric motorcycle is 180.065 mph (289.787 km/h) over a flying kilometre. The record was set on 6 August 2024 by the Buckeye Current Racing Team (USA) and pilot Louis-Marie Blondel (France) on the Ohio State RW-5 Voxan at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA.

The RW-5 is the latest design produced by the Buckeye Current Racing Team, which is a student organization that was founded at the Ohio State University College of Engineering in 2010. Previous generations of Buckeye Current bikes have raced at the Isle of Man TT and the Pikes Peak Hill Climb.

This particular model was designed from the ground up as a land-speed racer. It was developed in partnership with Monaco-based electric powertrain specialists Venturi, whose Head of Engineering, Louis-Maris Blondel, rode the bike on its record-setting run. It weighed 148 kg (326 lb) and was powered by a 130 kW (174 hp) Beyond Motors AXM2 axial flux motor.

The Buckeye Current team, which is made up of undergraduate and postgraduate Ohio State University students, almost ceased to exist during the Covid-19 pandemic. During lockdown, the team members that had designed and built the Pikes Peak racers all graduated and left without being able to train a new intake of students. Luckily, the new Buckeye Current team was supported by other student teams, such as those that compete in Formula Student, or that worked on the Buckeye Bullet electric land-speed record car.