Aero becomes a playground: active wings on supersport and touring bikes

MotoGP has highlighted the advances in aerodynamics in the motorcycling sector over recent years. Admittedly, the science of airflow has always been an essential component of all motorbikes. With supersport bikes, the primary focus was on improving top speed, whilst the fairings on touring motorbikes were designed to shield the rider and passenger from wind pressure and turbulence.

However, once winglets became standard following Ducati’s breakthrough in MotoGP, they soon appeared on Superbikes too, albeit initially more as a gimmick to visually emphasise the sporting credentials of commercially available sports motorbikes. Today, winglets are fitted to faired sports motorbikes in all classes, and are even found on top-of-the-range roadsters.

Now comes the next step in their evolution: active aerodynamics. An Italian small-batch manufacturer of sports motorbikes is leading the way here: Bimota uses automatically adjustable winglets on its flagship superbike, the KB998 Rimini. At high speeds and with only very slight steering angles, the movable parts of the outer wing panels lie flat to reduce drag. On twisty roads, the wing panels are set at a steeper angle to increase downforce, which is intended to result in better and more stable handling. To achieve this, the Rimini-based manufacturer has fitted its own control unit, which processes and regulates the data received from the motorbike’s ride sensors in real time. The system, tailor-made for the KB998 Rimini, is supplied by Athena’s electronics division, GET.

CFMoto will be taking a similar approach from next year: the production version of the V4 SR-RR is set to incorporate the active winglets from the concept bike that was unveiled at EICMA in Milan in autumn 2025. Their system is modelled on the Bimota KB998 but goes one step further: the wings, mounted on both sides of the fairing, are designed to be controlled independently of one another, thereby allowing the benefits of active wing adjustment to be utilised even when cornering. According to the manufacturer, on straight sections this solution is said to reduce drag by 12 per cent during acceleration (with the winglets in the flat position) and, when set at a steep angle at high speeds, provide 45 per cent more downforce.

The Chinese are using aerodynamics as a platform to signal and demonstrate their technical expertise. In June 2026, CFMoto sought to demonstrate the performance of both the new technical platform and the aerodynamic concept during a certified development test run, in which an early prototype reached a top speed of 316 km/h – a Chinese record.

Chinese rival QJMotor is also working on its own solutions for active wings: patent documents that have come to light suggest approaches similar to those of CFMoto: MV Agusta’s former Chinese partner is working on a system that utilises a 6-axis IMU to use the adjustable wings to assist with braking, control wheelies and improve downforce when cornering. However, these are currently only patent applications. It is not yet possible to verify whether the Chinese company will actually take the development into series production; not all patents are put to immediate use.

BMW provides a case in point; the company also possesses a wealth of expertise and numerous patents in this field. In practice, however, the next generation of the S1000 RR relies on a refinement of the current aerodynamic concept: a complex work of art in which airflow is specifically channelled through individual parts of the motorbike, flanked by permanently fitted winglets. It is not clear whether the future M1000 RR will also retain permanently fitted winglets, though this is to be expected. Even at Ducati, which first sparked the hype surrounding winglets with their debut on the Desmosedici GP15, there are currently no signs of a move away from the Panigale V4’s current aerodynamic concept.

Aerodynamic innovations are usually first seen in supersport bikes. However, adjustable airflow is also becoming increasingly important in touring motorbikes. Unlike manually or electrically adjustable air deflectors, such as those fitted by BMW in the R1300 RT touring bike, Moto Guzzi remains a pioneer in the use of adaptive air deflectors: Since 2021, the V100 Mandello sports tourer has featured deflectors that adjust their angle ‘depending on speed or the selected riding mode’, thereby influencing the airflow around the rider according to the riding situation.

In any case, Moto Guzzi is a pioneer in the field of aerodynamics within the motorcycling sector. After the Second World War, the Italian manufacturer recognised aerodynamics as essential for comfort and performance and commissioned its own wind tunnel as early as 1950. Since then, the field of aerodynamics has grown in importance, and – not least due to its prominence in top-level sport – a dynamic drive for innovation is in full swing within development departments. With the increasing prevalence of active airflow control elements, we can expect to see further innovations and new features in this area in the coming years.