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Makes you wonder why after 30 years Cobra never tried to make an adult bike. Surely they would have given it a go if they thought they had a chance to be competitive with the Japanese and Euros?
Kudos to any manufacturer brave enough to risk their money to put their bike out there for us to have fun.
The obvious answer would be they found a niche market with few competitors, especially back when they started.
Reality.
Alta didn't go bust they were literally bought for IP then everything shelved. They were going places.. that's why someone bought them up
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Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
It would have been really cool to see them do an 85, 112 and full size 125.
*Harley-Davidson
I remember hearing they were developing a 125 a while ago but nothing ever happened with it.
They make other stuff other than motorcycles I believe
Think you'll find they never turned a profit, had run out of cash, and couldn't raise new investment. At the death, HD paid pennies for their IP and (maybe?) used it in the Livewire project.
That's going bust in my book.
It was a noble effort IMO - the vehicle business has huge barriers to entry - which makes Stark's achievements to date even more impressive.
Harley did not purchase Alta, though they tried.
Ultimately, Bombadier bought Alta, and they bought the brand specifically for the electric motor IP for Can-Am, Ski/Sea-doo and Rotax electric racing cart applications.
They likely used Alta as a stepping stone to get closer to or further improve their own electric motor development.
My bad, yes it was BRP
I keep hoping for an Alta revival when I see BRP has a new product announcement that is motorcycle related. And so far its been a disappointment. I bet that just having the dealer network they have , they could sell the same bike Alta was making and do OK if the price was right. I don't know if they could do it or not, but if they could make the Alta and sell it for $8k or so I bet they would sell.
If they could refine what Alta had a little bit, cool the battery better, update the cells and work with Polisport to produce a new Can am bodywork that would also bolt onto existing Alta's. It would be a solid option for a full sized electric. I've seen an Alta locally for sale that I keep thinking about trying to buy . Last I saw it posted they were asking $4500 or so.
I think that the ZX has a better shot at selling than the Kove just based off the looks. The Kove has those funky shaped shrouds that just don't flow and look very different from all the other bikes . So some kid with their dad that has the choice of a teal Kove, or a blue ZX moto, I bet they pick the ZX moto 8 times out of 10. The engines looked very similar in some of the photos I've seen of bike bikes. So if they are very close to the same thing mechanically, I'm gonna go with the ZX moto.
I hope that they are solid and decently reliable. Even if the stock bike is not going to be fast enough to holeshot motos, if its a reliable bike that stays together, its another option. And I'm sure there will be discounts and deals at points, and leftover models, etc.
The story I heard was H-D made a big investment in a production partnership with Alta. This would help Alta grow production and H-D get some electric bikes to sell made on the back of Alta's devo.
H-D pulled some shady stuff, halting production knowing Alta was financially over extended at the time, as an attempt to force them into selling the company.
BRP made a better offer at the last minute and probably was an easy choice since H-D dicked it up initially.
There is still some question over who owns some key pieces of IP. I'm not involved but my guess is noone finds it worth the legal battle right now. However, if it is copied and vehicles sold, then there is revenue to claim through a lawsuit.
Flux has some Alta people, not sure what the hold up is, possibly waiting for Stark to get the path paved a little further.
Yes that's more like it.
HD entered a partnership with Alta in March 2018, that was the kiss of death. They wanted to boost Livewire development and offered Alta cash injection, dealer network opportunities and so on.
By October 2018 HD had all they wanted from Alta, set up their own electric R&D department and pulled the plug on Alta, game over. HD did hire a bunch of Alta personnel to work on the Livewire but they didn't buy any IP.
Alta rushed in a last ditch effort to find new investors, BRP was interested but it did not materialize so Alta died a quiet death. BRP did acquire some IP from Alta creditors later, after the company had ceased to exist.
Sadly Alta never shifted towards increased production, they've made about 1000 bikes in 3 years. For the record Stark makes over 1000 bikes per month.
If you're interested in this story, check this out
Among all the serious chinese MX/enduro big size dirt bikes, the ZX is the best-looking one (IMHO). Its bodywork is simple, and its lines / design are well-balanced. It features good components in terms of brakes and suspension; all that remains to be seen is the reliability of the engine and the durability of the frame.
Hopefully, this isn't just an attempt—like so many other chinese brands that appear and disappear—but rather a product that will endure and evolve in the market.
Comparing a cobra 50 to a dirt bike made for adults is very weird comparison
Again, the claim made was "Well, it's a hell of a lot better than anything the US makes."
I don't see a qualifier in that statement for full size budget bikes. I simply responded that there is a proven US dirtbike manufacturer on the market.
If someone was talking about a new two stroke, and said "its a hell of a lot better than anything Honda makes", would you go grab the marketing page for the CRF450 and have the same argument?
Very clear that the statement was made about a particular segment of the market, and I believe thats the nuance you have missed.
Maybe 😏
Point is, dumping on the US because we don't exploit labor to make a cheap 250f like China is pretty sad. Defending that with your username is also pretty interesting.
Pit Row
If you took that as ‘dumping on the US’, you need to develop thicker skin…..
The bikes being discussed are the types that nearly all members of the forum could/would be riding. It never even came close to discussing the bikes that their children and grandchildren would be riding.
Cobra isn’t competing at all with the ZX Moto that the thread is about.
The USA exploits plenty of cheap labor, we just don't build motocross bikes with it.
We've established that there is no actual US bike worthy of comparison, so I don't see how else to interpret the original comment than systematically.
Agree to disagree I guess. At least it opened up some interesting discussion about US brands. I'm good with my $6900 YZ125.
I don't know, man. I didn't look at it like dumping on the US, it's just a fact. No US manufacturer makes a 250f or anything that would be raced in the pros. Not everything is some weird competition. I wish we had an American manufacturer, though.
I don't know, man. I didn't look at it like dumping on the US, it's just a fact. No US manufacturer makes a 250f or anything that would be raced in the pros. Not everything is some weird competition. I wish we had an American manufacturer, though.
Fair enough. I get a little jumpy when we start putting anything from China on a pedestal. Call it a side effect of the ban on politics discussion.
I personally never believed the "budget MX" market actually exists in the US. I guess we'll see if it creates a bunch of new riders or if people start trading in their $10k four strokes.
It is unproven, but look at what’s actually bolted to it: fully adjustable KYB suspension front and rear, Bosch dual-injector EFI, hydraulic slipper clutch, and a quickshifter out of the box. This isn’t a cheap backyard clone; it's backed by a team, who has already proven they knows how to engineer performance machines that punch above their weight.
Sure, long-term reliability is the big question mark everyone's waiting on, but if the reliability holds up, getting a fresh-out-of-the-crate 40-hp 250F with top-tier suspension for half the price of the big three is worth watching closely instead of dismissing outright.
Dismissing it for made in china is a mistake, a huge amount of high quality products come out of China, and like it or not I guarantee you all have some in your house.
Nowhere close to the degree of China. That is a ridiculous comment.
To what degree is it? Looking at stats proptionally more Americans live paycheck to paycheck than China's population.
I don't trust stats from China but I also don't trust stats from the US govt.
It's real funny though how the govt propaganda can't ignore things are bad here and their favorite deflection is to say atleast we're not China because they do XYZ. Well guess what? the USA also does XYZ....Something aint adding up.
I dont support any system of govt that relies on coercion (all of them?) but atleast they make dirtbikes in China 🤷
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