Serious battery powered dirtbikes are on the way

-- High Voltage - Dirtbikes
By, Trevor Hedge

Mention electric powered vehicles to most revheads and within seconds their eyes glaze over with thoughts of mediocre performance and a thoroughly uninspiring ride.

We helped to offset some of those thoughts last year when we profiled the incredible ‘Killacycle’. A battery powered drag bike that scorches dragstrips with seven second passes.

The latest electric motorcycles to break ground with an eye on competition are aiming their sights on the dirtier side of the revhead equation.

Californian company Zero Motorcycles have release to the public the new Zero X. A lithium-ion battery back powers an 18 kilowatt (23 horsepower) electric motor. With an almost instantaneous 50 foot-pounds of torque and only 68kg to shift the Zero X promises to be a very exciting ride.

The American company is selling the Zero X via its website, www.zeromotorcycles.com, for $7750 USD.

Austrian dirtbike specialists KTM are hard at work on their own zero emissions motorcycle and plan to have a competitive electric enduro bike on the market in two years.

Already an electric KTM prototype has been spied during testing and KTM have released a few details on their new silent assassin.

KTM’s prototype is powered by a 7 kilowatt electric motor with that power tripling to 21 kilowatts under maximum throttle. That is enough performance for the prototype to already match the acceleration of KTM’s smaller capacity four-stroke enduro bikes.

The prototype battery pack provides enough charge for an hour of spirited riding with recharges also taking an hour.

DI Harald Plöckinger, Board Member of KTM Power Sports AG, explained the company’s thinking behind this radical new approach to dirt biking.
“As an innovative and market leading company, KTM must also take up the task of testing out and developing new engine formats for our sports motorcycles. The concept of the zero emission motorcycle combines the well known KTM competence with new and highly interesting motor technology.

“With an emission free motorcycle we see a big opportunity to make Enduro sport available to a broader and completely new target group in the medium and long term by giving them access to a completely new trend sport. With a motorcycle like the KTM Zero Emission Motorcycle there can be attractive riding possibilities in the future, also in densely populated areas, without coming into conflict with existing restrictions.”

As the accompanying shot can attest to the electric powered KTM has no problem in lofting the front wheel. More importantly it also shows that KTM have already engineered a progressive and manageable enough of throttle for a rider to achieve such balance.

It is clear that battery powered bikes can accelerate hard but in the sporting arena the real test will be in how that drive can be utilised by the rider.

Are we ready to ride electric whitegoods?

Eventually we will have no choice in the matter. But it certainly warms this rider’s heart that an eventual end to fossil fuels will not mean an end to motorcycle racing and enjoyment.

The Zero Motorcycles effort is not as pretty but it is already on sale in America