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Honestly, I was expecting a more negative response, so thanks for taking it easy on us. My favorite quote from past discussions with motocrossers was "I'd rather lose on a gas bike than win on some faggy electric."
Quick responses to some of the questions and comments:
- Chassis geometry, weight distribution, center of gravity, and suspension setup are all right inline with the Japanese motocrossers. That was our blueprint, and that drove the design of the chassis and drivetrain. The bike should feel immediately familiar, although a touch narrow.
- Rear brake is an available option, but once you get used to the hand brake (about 30 minutes of riding) I'll be surprised if anybody but old-timers choose it. The hand brake is just so much more sensitive, and frees up your right foot for right turns.
- Price... I'm not confirming that pricing, but there's no way around it, these bikes are expensive. Performance was our first priority. The cost is what it is as a result. That said, I think most riders will be faster on one of these than a gas bike, and the maintenance is WAY lower. If you're paying someone to do your engine work, you'll break even against a CRF250R at about 200hours. Plus you'll spend more time riding.
- Battery is fixed, not swappable. Our 1st gen design was hot swappable, until we realized there was no way someone was going to swap an 85lbs battery worth half the cost of the bike in the mud next to the track. A fixed battery is lighter, smaller, cheaper, and more durable. We're working on fast charging instead.
Anyway, thanks for the interest. We're committed to developing this thing until it's the fastest bike out there, and the feedback is helpful, so keep it coming.
Skywalker Sound could expand its business to MX for electric bikes. They would be like the next Pro Circuit.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-SYq8H4xnI[/youtube]
Now, how about a special Vital MX test ride day in SoCal?
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I wonder what Motocross is going to look like 10 years from now - or longer?
r cooled rm 125s that much better
I can't wait to own one someday.
http://www.motoblog.it/galleria/brd-redshift-sm-01
But it's just a matter of time (battery development).
Just out of curiosity i have a few questions. What will it free spin like. Is it going to be like auto brake when you let off the throttle. Also, what about the motor bearings. When they take a crap, which is the most common failure in electric motors, is it going to just lock up and throw the rider? I assume your going to use a brushless DC motor. Where will these be repaired as a typical bike shop will have no clue how to work on these. What horsepower or KW motors are going to be availalbe and how will that relate to a current 250/450. I'm sure i have many more questions, but this will take care of my curiosity for now. Thanks,
First, "free spin"... it's programmable. We're trying to keep software and especially fiddling to a minimum, but one of the benefits of electric is you can have almost any closed throttle behavior you want: heavy 4-stroke engine braking, light 2-stroke engine braking, or my current setup, constant slight forward chain tension. With the bike set up this way, so that it always takes up the chain slack (but doesn't pull hard enough to actually move you), there is near perfect off-throttle response. It's pretty amazing to come out of a corner and not have that "snap" upset the bike as you get back on the gas. But this also makes it freewheel into the corner, so you have to be really solid with your rear brake. It also means there's no engine braking to catch a wheelie... again, rear brake.
We haven't had a motor bearing seize yet, and that's exactly what we'll be trying to induce for the next 6 months. Part of the benefit of our frame design is that all of the bearing surfaces are perfectly aligned, which should mean the bearings perform to their rated life (well beyond the life of a dirt bike). They are all easy to inspect, and relatively easy to replace. You're right, having one seize would be unpleasant. Though the wheel has such mechanical advantage over the motor it should still roll to a stop, you would have a hard time pushing to bike out.
The proprietary parts (essentially everything from the swingarm pivot to head-stock) are all of a modular cartridge format. While all BRD dealers will go through service training, most of the time they will simply confirm a part failure, pop out the part with a few bolts and a harness, receive a replacement and ship the old one back to us. As far as we can tell, this is the fastest possible turnaround with the least necessary training, and it lets our engineers diagnose any failures that we may have not seen in our testing.
We are starting with the 40hp (29kW) drivetrain revealed a few weeks ago, and will concentrate on that format for awhile. We'd rather get one category right than two or three wrong. Our target has always been lites class. While the 250s have plenty of power when you find it, the hard part about riding them is finding the torque. With the torque available pretty much everywhere, the RedShift feels more powerful than a 250, but the top end is about the same. We may be biased (Jeff and I are both on 250s, his following a 520), but we think 250 is the sweet spot for most riders and racers. Lots of people use the grunt of 450s, but unless you're in the desert or sand, very few folks ever use the top end.
Pit Row
I will keep my clothespin and trading cards ready...
video
video
(sorry in advance if double-posted)
fs
I like the freewheeling/taught chain idea, heavy compression braking is one of the biggest things I dislike about riding Four-strokes.
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