Man this would be awesome, if it lasted longer than 40 minutes
If you had any doubts that electricity is the future of off-road performance, this bike should eliminate them. KTM has created a fully functional electric, zero emissions enduro prototype and intends to put it into production. In keeping with its "Ready to Race" slogan, the Zero Emissions Motorcycle is a full-on competition bike, in which capacity it will be evaluated and developed before going on-sale as little as 24 months from now.
The Austrian company is releasing very few details of the Zero Emissions Motorcycle, but has revealed that it develops 29.5lb/ft of torque and carries lithium ion batteries capable of lasting 40 minutes under "race conditions" and that can be fully recharged in just one hour. In comparison, the Quantya Strada that we rode around our Brooklyn office develops only 23lb/ft. It's difficult to compare the two models' ranges as "race conditions" are hard to define, but Quantya says the Strada should be capable of about 25 miles off-road, which sounds like a rough equivalent.
KTM's battery pack and electric motor together weigh 17kg, but some of this weight will be offset by the elimination of the clutch; exhaust pipes and canisters; fuel tank and other necessities of internal combustion. The company expects that the Zero Emissions Motorcycle will carry a small price premium over a KTM enduro of similar performance.
Discussing the thinking behind the Zero Emissions Motorcycle project, KTM board member Harald Plöckinger says the lack of noise and emissions means "We can bring now the Enduro sport again more near in the centers of dense development and cities." Indeed the greatest advantage electricity brings to dirt bikes isn't the number of spotted owls that will be saved (comparatively cars, homes and industry all pollute exponentially more than all motorcycles put together), but rather the access that the power source will be capable of granting and preserving.
Seeing the competitive advantage the Zero Emissions Motorcycle would provide KTM and the environmental and political advantages it would give both the company and the country, the project is being part financed by the Austrian Federal Ministry for traffic, innovation and technology.
Sure, you won't be able to go 'brraaapppp' anymore, but you could ride in so many more places without people whinging. But without a longer power supply, I can't see it taking off dramatically. The need to hurry up with Hydrogen engines
there never ever will be a replacement for a 2 stroke or 4 stroke mx bike, nothing could replace the sound, smell and sight of one being rid properly, electirc and hyrdorgen are for geeky lil professors not hardcore racers.
YAMAHA privateers moorin,
if you aint rubbin you aint dubbin!
Looks like an SX 125. They even made the battery look like a motor too, with the 'ignition cover'.
I just hate how they have the gay rear fenders with the little part that comes down.
KTM says it’s serious about producing the bike for sale, and says that it has enough juice on board to run a 40-minute event and will recharge in about an hour. They also say that it produces 29.5 ft-lb of torque ... a 250 four-stroke makes 19.2 ...
cpt_Slow wrote:what happens when you get to a river crossing,or its just plain rainy. I figure most will be waterproof but surely the motor has cooling vents etc?
Electric motors themselves are not effected by water, brushed or brushless. Brushless motors are mostly closed endbells and do not require any cooling vents, wich would be the only reliable source of power for an application like a motorcycle.
