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Electric motor & driver technology is ready. That's what gives you the crazy torque and programmable power delivery in your Tesla and other high end examples including RC cars.
The battery tech just isn't small or light enough yet. In order to have the range for a long moto at a fast pace, the batteries become very large and very heavy in comparison to a tank of gas and a gasoline engine/transmission system.
No doubt the electric drivetrains are already better than gasoline. They can give essentially 100% torque at zero RPM and can be programmed for perfect torque/power delivery and/or traction control. No transmission is required due to the flat torque curve and crazy RPM range of the electric motors.
We just need light weight, compact, fast charging batteries to make them competitive. The batteries we have now are giving the output power, but they need to be about 2/3 to 1/2 their existing size and weight to equal a gasoline system.
The Zero motorcycle is somewhere between a mountain bike and a motocross bike chassis in size & strength. That keeps the overall package weight down when you add the battery into the equation. Still, the specs for the Zero I've seen have it weighing a bit more than a 250F with less range and less power to weight ratio.
I can't find their motocross bike specs, but here's the dual sport version. 289 lbs. 44 HP.
http://www.zeromotorcycles.com/zero-fx/specs.php
I also don't think regenerative braking is going to be as much benefit to a motocross racer as it is to a street rider or trail rider, so the range we see on the track won't be as good. This is because we have to be aggressive on the front brake while using the rear brake as a slide, a pivot or to control the rear suspension on down-hills, etc. Since the front wheel isn't connected to the motor, the front brake can't regenerate into the battery. Maybe that innovation will come along as the bikes develop?
What are your thoughts on the Alta (BRD) bike shown on the first page here in regards to how far off it may or may not be in order to be truly competitive? I ask since they're mission statement is to make an EV bike competitive in SX/MX 250f class.
Listening to Keefer's comments in the video, he said something to the effect of the electric bike is down on power when the soil is deeper, etc. Based on that, I imagine they are playing a fine line balance between three things in their design:
1 Riding time per charge of the battery
2 Maximum power
3 Battery weight & size = max range (with a lesser concern given to motor weight & size = max power).
The Alta seems to be the best thing right now, but it's possible that companies like KTM have similar projects going on behind the scenes.
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I race a YZ125 most of the time. This bike makes somewhere around 34 - 36 horsepower. I sometimes win the 30+ class on it against 450cc bikes that make 50 to 60 horsepower with smoother delivery. What that means is that to go around the track with a similar lap-time, the 450F making 55 horsepower needs to be on the throttle about 61% of the time that I do. That means I'm riding the 125 engine 39% harder than the 450F. Well, that's not entirely true, since the bike is so much lighter I can take corners faster. So I don't waste as much power to braking. So let's say that accounts for half the difference. That means I need to ride my YZ125 20% harder than the guys on 450s I'm racing against. Make that 21% since they drop my on the start and I actually have to battle my way up from dead last every single moto.
Now consider the electric bike in the same way. You have to consider average horsepower per minute as you go around the track. The electric bike can be down on peak power to the 250F if you can manage to be on the power more of the time.
Alta lists their power as 25/40 which gives a little credence to my theory of HP per Minute. The 25 HP number is their "Continuous" rating. The 40 HP is the "Peak" rating.
The thing you have to consider is that my YZ125 can essentially make 34 HP at peak and continuous. The same is true for a bone stock 250F. It has essentially 40 HP peak and 40 HP continuous. The cooling system is the only limiting factor on the gasoline engine.
The battery output is the limiting factor on the electric motor. If you want the Alta to run at 40 Peak / 40 Continuous, you need to increase the battery size. That's a weight penalty that kills the performance of the bike.
On a deep loamy, sandy or muddy track, the bikes get dragged down by the soil. There is a ton of rolling resistance and the bike just doesn't carry speed. So the engine (or motor) has to work much harder to keep you up to speed. This means the average horsepower per minute you use is higher. This means the continuous HP rating of the engine must be higher.
That is why you see so many bikes overheat or blow up at sand races but not at hard-pack tracks.
This is why I believe the batteries aren't good enough yet to compete on a level playing field even with my stock YZ125.
Scientific breakthroughs in battery tech are incremental and are happening all the time. This takes several years per each new technology. As science figures out new ways to store electricity, it becomes an engineering problem and takes another several years to figure out how to manufacture the technology in an affordable manner. The mobile phone industry will make our E-Bikes possible sooner than later.
Here is one that stood out to me I first saw last year:
Edited to tone it down to a more respectful tone
http://www.tacita.it/t-race-cross/
Pit Row
I would definitely go with the handlebar lever option, but i can understand that going back and forth from a gas bike to an electric one would be frustrating...
Replacement battery cost is prohibitive.
Initial cost of bike is too high.
Ride time/miles too short.
Would be nice if it didn't ride like a mountain bike, ie shifting and braking.
Otherwise, I am in love with the idea of e-motocross/trail bikes. I, too, have been following their rise in the market share, and I hope that someone can figure out how to make the batteries more user friendly!!
Furthermore... Even if the cells could do 4k cycles, how many cells are in each pack? All it takes is one out of the 2 dozen individual cells to go bad to ruin the pack. And lastly... When was the last time anyone actually road any bike for 4000 motos? Most bikes would be a pile of rubble wayyyyyy before then.
I could go on and on and on... I hate seeing/reading all the ridiculous info that is out there.
Apart from that minor quibble, I find the whole electric thing very exciting. Others have said it before me, but the opportunity to ride close to, or even within cities and towns is absolutely huge, and would mean I could ride all week, not just on the weekend.
The complaint about cost is I think a moot point, as there is no doubt that once battery tech gets better, and these bikes begin to be mass produced, the prices will come down. If you build a boutique anything, with a small model run and experimental parts, prices are going to be high to recoup R&D costs. Mass production will be the biggest driving force behind bringing the cost of these bikes down.
For me, ride time and weight are the biggest concerns. There are exciting developments happening right now with battery tech, so as long as they can get the power to weight ratio down to in line with petrol engine models, then I don't see anything stopping them taking over in the long run. Motocross has an interesting future.
I'll wait until KTM have a competitive electric bike. Once they release one, you know they'll be good !!!
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