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And that's in addition to all of the backyard and private land opportunities that will open back up just naturally as a result of a quieter bike.
We're still a small team, and our first priority is getting the bikes right, along with customer and dealer support, but as soon as we can, we hope to help the community create new riding opportunities and areas. The sport has been shrinking in terms of access for so long, how amazing would it be for it to actually start gaining riding areas?
2) Definitely thinking about it and see a massive opportunity for kids but first things first right now.
3) Weight is an issue on paper, but I can't stress enough that everyone needs to ride the bike. Mass centralization and reduction in gyro work some amazing magic. When we don't tell people the weight, they come back thinking it's 220 - that was Josh Hill's estimate. You feel it when you lift the bike off the ground or onto the stand, and a touch under braking. You really don't feel it anywhere else. If bike weight is about your ability to move the bike where you want to and preserve your own energy, the Redshift will do both of those things better than anything else you can ride, I promise.
Our current openings (ha) are listed here: https://www.altamotors.co/careers
If nothing up there looks right but you think you're a good fit and have something special to bring to the team, you can send a cover letter, resume, portfolio, and/or feats-of-strength video to our jobs@altamotors.co inbox.
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Suspension and brakes are geometrically interchangeable with a well known Euro brand, so it's really easy to find parts, tuning, or swap for A-Kit. Ditto for rear wheel and final drive. Front wheel, we run a unique axle width that allows our hub and triple to work with a 4 piston sumo brake without clearance issues. But Alta wheels are readily available from Warp 9. Pegs run the same pattern as Yamaha, so also easy to find options.
We had big plans for an intake and full Ti exhaust, but just weren't seeing much in the way of performance gains vs stock...
I'll follow up with you by email.
All pure electrics (BEVs) naturally have regenerative engine braking - unless it overvolts the battery and they need to shunt that energy elsewhere. So any time you're using engine braking on our bike, you are regenerating some amount. However, on an MX or Sumo, the center of gravity is so high that there's minimal weight on the rear wheel and the max torque you can put through the rear under braking is lass than 10% of what you can do under acceleration. Our map settings vary from 3-7%. Factor in how infrequently you are using engine braking and you're not gaining back a meaningful amount of range. We use engine braking for feel and handling of the bike, any range gained back is incidental. That said, it is noticeable after long downhills, because the reality is you will have at least as much range left at the bottom as you did at the top, which you can't say for gas. It's kind of weird to do an out and back summit, and get to the peak with 50% charge and be worried... then get back to the truck with like 40%.
What will really move the needle on regen (as well as a bunch of other aspects of riding) is 2WD/FWD. Once you can drive and brake electrically through the front wheel, you can recapture pretty significant amounts of energy as well as do some crazy things in terms of vehicle dynamics and all with the near perfect control electric can offer. I don't see that happening any time soon, but it will happen eventually.
I was in the air force, stationed in Drambuie, off the Barbary Coast. I used to hang out at the Magumba Bar. It was a rough place. The seediest dive on the wharf, populated with every reject and cut-throat from Bombay to Calcutta.
It was worse than Detroit.
rob@robandrewsmx.com if you wish to discuss.
What is your business background before Alta?
Did you start the company from scratch, or did you join the existing operation after it was up and running?
It is great that you take the time to come to this forum, and to me it says a lot that you joined this forum 6 years ago so you did not come here just to "sell" your product (like some other "spammers" have done in the past).
Your open and honest answers, and willingness to listen to feedback, is refreshing.
Probably not this year, but I am pretty sure an Alta will be in my garage sometime soon.
On a serious note, thanks for unofficially answering these unofficial questions.
Is there any kind of active cooling for the battery/electronics?
Do you use prismatic cells or more of a 18650 type cell in the battery pack?
Thanks. Bikes look great! Maybe someday . . .
Pit Row
This sort of feels like what the 70s and 80s must have been like with massive improvements in MX bikes, although no doubt the improvements will be slower to implement these days.
After I get out of law school I will absolutely be giving the RS serious consideration. Maybe by then improvements will make it even that much better than it is today.
Derek and Jeff, my cofounders, were kicking around ideas and had started working through architectures and technologies in CAD before I met them. Once they had it to a point where it looked on screen and in the math that the bike could compete wit ha 250F MX, they found me through their network to figure out if this could be a business. That was in 2009. We spent another year of nights and weekends cranking away at the tech, engineering, and business plan before we cut the cords from our day jobs in 2010, incorporated Faster Faster Inc., and went full time. So the Redshift is really their brainchild, and I see my job as parting the seas and making the room for the two of them to work their genius.
My professional background is degrees in engineering, art, and management. I did mechanical engineering work in prosthetics, bike design and MFG, suspension design, ski bindings, had a stint in power and energy consulting, started a company developing friction stir welding for commercial applications, then went into management consulting (at BCG) before really hitting my stride in design consulting with a firm called frog design where I spent about 5 years before we started Alta / Faster Faster Inc.
My riding background is I've been mountain biking since the early 90s,raced XC in the 90s, switched to DH in the 00s. When I was 12, my parents stopped me from buying the KX80 I wanted so badly. This is my way of getting back at them. Other than ripping around the Himalayas on an Hero-Honda 150 (?) in 1999, I didn't really start riding motorcycles until about 2005 when I bought my first street bike and then my 250XCF in 2009. Derek and Jeff have been riding and racing for decades... Derek was practically born on motorcycles and is a 3rd generation pro. So I represent the beginner / crossover rider between the three of us. With my DH racing background, a couple of years of track days on road courses, and my engineering background, I pick things up pretty quickly. And I understand theory really well. But I'm really careful to not overstate my skills or history when it comes to practice vs theory - it's too easy for me to defer to Derek or our head tech, Dale Lineaweaver, who both know their stuff backwards and forwards.
To be honest I don't see the tech making sense for civilians. The bike is going to be well over 300lbs with the genset added, and ditto for the cost on top of the base redshift. Unless you truly need the run-silent capabilities or the superior throttle control of electric, you're just much better off on a gas bike with a big tank for any extended range needs.
When's the Alta Jetski coming out?
We run an 18650-based architecture, and have dramatically advanced the state-of-the-art of pack technology for 18650s. That's where our advantage comes from (much like Tesla, but a generation or two further ahead). The motor and motor control are liquid cooled and then heat sunk into the forged front frame section, so we don't need a radiator. The battery is a self contained cooling system, so those fins on the case are functional. I won't share the voodoo that goes on inside the pack though.
Wanted to thank you for taking the time to talk, it's very refreshing to have a direct Q&A. I don't think CEO's of Yamaha or KTM will be here anytime soon!
Can you get the Redshift with a 18" rear wheel? Any skid plate options?
BTW i'm about to apply for your Video Content Producer position, think it would perfectly combine my skill set as a filmmaker and my passion for technology and dirt bikes.
We're being really careful to focus on markets and use cases where we think the electric (with our tech) can be the best thing you can buy. If it doesn't meet that standard, then we'll skip it. there are too many good opportunities where the numbers work - from ATVs and side-by-sides, to kids bikes, to... other things
Thanks for that.
James
Greets Mark, (the Netherlands)
@Tingo....thank you for starting this thread! Tons of valuable information in here.
@ML....never mind.
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