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Electric Dirt Bike

Rsquared

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I had my first chance to ride an electric motorcycle today and all I can say is I'm impressed. The bike is made by Alta and weighs about 260#. Pushing it around feels heavier than my 300 KTM, but once you get out on the trails the weight isn't noticeable. It actually feels lighter than my 300 and they tell me the reason is that it doesn't have the gyroscopic effect of the piston moving up and down. All I know is that it's very easy to turn. It has 4 power settings and I was in mode 2. It reminded me of my old 250 SX two stroke, it hit very hard. That electric bike is wicked fast and gets traction like nothing I've ever ridden. No clutch, no shifting, just twist the wick and hold on. My son rode it in all 4 modes and said mode 4 is just way too much, and he rides a 450...

Phone video of my son trying the Alta this morning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud_PIJtq5Zo&feature=youtu.be


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I think they are a great bike, i would like to see a quick way to charge it when out for a day ride. Like the ability to ride for more than an hour

They show in motocross a 45 minute time, so I am guessing maybe a 2 hour single track range

If I am going to haul out for the day, I want to be able to play for several hours each day 4 or 5 hours

4 hour recharge if I take a generator with me kind of kills a ride day, but I know they have made great leaps and will continue to, just not there yet.
 
Thanks for putting this up. One of these days that battery thing will get solved and then stuff gets interesting. I'm guessing right now the cost of swap-able batteries is just to expensive? Would be nice to have one charging back at the camp while out riding trails and swap out during lunch...
 
Thanks for putting this up. One of these days that battery thing will get solved and then stuff gets interesting. I'm guessing right now the cost of swap-able batteries is just to expensive? Would be nice to have one charging back at the camp while out riding trails and swap out during lunch...

I test rode one earlier this fall, if I remember right it was around 3000 dollars for the battery. Plus I have no idea what is involved in switching the battery out. As Roger said the bike is fast and has quality components similar to KTM, but till the battery life gets solved it's not much use, especially offload.

And on top of that I'm thinking retail is right at 15000!!

Soon but not yet.
 
If you had trails on your own land or out your back door, this would be awesome. Come home from work, unplug the bike and go for a rip.

Unfortunately, not so good for folks like us that live in the big city and have to truck our bikes to somewhere to ride and want to ride all day.
 

After reading up on the KTM E-Bike, I pulled up the Alta website. It's no wonder I was so impressed with the power output with 120 ft lbs of torque...
https://www.altamotors.co/redshiftmx#redshift-mx

It'll be interesting to watch this type motorcycle evolve in the next few years. Without a doubt the one they'll be selling five years from now will be dramatically better than the electric motorcycle of today.


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I think between perception to some, and for real battery life or lack of and stiff initial price, it'll be a while. And a major failure could be really huge bucks.
 
After reading up on the KTM E-Bike, I pulled up the Alta website. It's no wonder I was so impressed with the power output with 120 ft lbs of torque...
https://www.altamotors.co/redshiftmx#redshift-mx

It'll be interesting to watch this type motorcycle evolve in the next few years. Without a doubt the one they'll be selling five years from now will be dramatically better than the electric motorcycle of today.


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:tab There needs to be a race series with several manufacturers participating. Sprints and endurance series would be needed. That will drive innovation.

:tab I have no particular bias against electric versus gas as the means of locomotion. But like many folks, my concern would be range and recharge time. What if I forget to put it on the charger after a ride and go out later to ride...? Unlike a gas bike, I can't just top it off and go riding. I have to wait for it to charge. This is why I would think some kind of hybrid might be cool, but I don't know enough about the tech to know if that would be feasible. Maybe the combination of an alternator big enough to crank out the required amps and the gas motor big enough to turn it would be too big and heavy to be practical? Otherwise, I would definitely want to have a viable option for a spare battery at a REASONABLE cost...
 
:tab There needs to be a race series with several manufacturers participating. Sprints and endurance series would be needed. That will drive innovation.

Racing for sure accelerates development. The Isle of Man TT has had an electric class for several years now, and those bikes are fast...over 117 mph average on that TT course. Pikes Peak hill climb has an electric class, and this article says MotoGP will too.

https://newatlas.com/isle-of-man-2017-tt-zero/49979/

As far as dirt bikes, the Japanese just now figured out that E start on motocross bikes is a good thing, over 10 years after KTM did it. I am not sure they are going to be on the leading edge of electric dirt bikes. Companies like Alta and KTM will be though, and development is advancing quickly.

In my mid-50's now and at first didn't think I would ever have an opportunity, in a practical sense (equal to today's gas powered bikes in range and performance) to ride electric dirt bikes, but maybe it will happen before I get too old to swing a leg over a bike still.
 
John, no doubt that will happen. This bike is close now except range.
 
Racing for sure accelerates development. The Isle of Man TT has had an electric class for several years now, and those bikes are fast...over 117 mph average on that TT course. Pikes Peak hill climb has an electric class, and this article says MotoGP will too.

https://newatlas.com/isle-of-man-2017-tt-zero/49979/

Which is quite a bit up over the 2009 TTXGP at the same location with an average speed of 87.434 mph.

I definitely believe the Motorcycle Industry will be the push for better technology. Cars aren't as affected by weight and power as motorcycles are. But unfortunately motorcycles have less $$$ in both the the industry and racing for us to see real gains until they improve their foothold in the market and the racing. But it's happening.
 
I had my first chance to ride an electric motorcycle today and all I can say is I'm impressed.
Super cool. I can't wait till electric bikes solve the range problem and then the cost. I think, just as with electric cars, once the range is not an issue for the user, more people will get them and then the price will drop. KTM getting into electric bikes will surely turn a lot of attention to this sector. Kudos to them :clap:
 
I rode one today. Impressed also. With 53 years of shifter bikes under my belt, I tried to short shift when I first took off. Slam on the rear brake, engine doesn't die. I had a smile the entire time I rode.
 
There was a guy out at the Fly Funday today on one looked smooth and he was giving the guys fits in the holeshot challenge
 
FWIW, Cycle Shack North has put a 3000 dollar discount on this one, if anyone is interested.
 
TJ's in Austin is bringing an Alta to their next demo day.
 
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