No one saw the return of forced induction in the motorcycle industry before Kawasaki went full Kawasaki and launched the Ninja H2. Even then, there was no response from other manufacturers, who let the H2R keep the throne as the most bonkers production motorcycle. But, throughout the last year, that's all changed between Honda's all-electric blower featured in the V3R and Yamaha's E-Turbo patent.
Now, KTM's joined the mix with a new patent that slots in perfectly between all three aforementioned designs, and could lead the forced induction movement going forward.
The KTM patent shows an electronically assisted mechanical supercharger, sitting perfectly between the H2 and all-electric V3R. The supercharger is mechanically driven by the bike's crankshaft; however, there's a small electrically-operated clutch that decouples the supercharger from the crankshaft, in which case an electric motor spools the supercharger. The electric motor would take over to allow instant power from the supercharger when the engine's RPM is too low to naturally allow it.
