Posts
935
Joined
2/17/2011
Location
Boise, ID
US
ginger969
1/18/2018 10:03am
1/18/2018 10:03am
Edited Date/Time
3/2/2018 9:08pm
First Time on the Alta Redshift MX Electric Motocross Bike
A little background about myself;
- Weigh 155lbs
- Intermediate Rider (on a good day ha)
- Participant on the 2018 250f/450f VitalMx Shootouts See Here: https://www.vitalmx.com/features/2018...
I've been following Alta (formerly known as BRD) Motors since the beginning and if you want to know all the dirty details about Electric Vehicles and why I'm fascinated with them check out my forum post on them here: https://www.vitalmx.com/forums/Moto-R...
First impressions:
Alta has done an incredible job making the bike feel "normal" and comfortable in comparison to what most of us expect when you throw a leg over a bike. It's a bit heavy at 272lbs but the weight is somewhat non-existent once you get moving on the track. It's easy to figure out, turn on, charge, and change maps on.
The first lap didn't feel all that awkward at all. Since you don't have to shift or use a clutch you don't really find yourself trying to. Also, when you jump the bike handles fairly similarly to a gas bike and you just have to adjust a bit on how and when you chop the throttle to maintain consistency.
The brakes are killer (brembo) and the fork is the worst part of the bike. I would love to ride this bike with a better suspension setup to really see what it can do, but for the time being this will have to work.
The power is noticeably different between maps 1-4 and map 4 was impressive to say the least. The bike's ability to pull out of a deep sandy corner was awesome, though I found myself wishing it had a bit more umph as you get up to speed, it somewhat plateaus and falls flat from there and since you can't shift that's all you have to work with. Judging speed wasn't difficult for the small jumps, although I haven't had enough time on it yet to see what it might be like through rhythm sections and larger jumps but I would suspect it would be easy to adjust to.
The bike is thin, turns EXTREMELY well, and doesn't really leave me feeling like I didn't just ride moto. Aside from suspension and maybe a modified mapping change this bike would be cherry. No oil change, no air filters and not valve checks makes it pretty easy to wash and put back in the garage.
Enjoy the video and let me know what you think in the comments below!!!!
Thanks to Moto 1 in Nampa ID for the demo opportunity and shoutout to Alta Motors for helping broaden motocross as a sport!
The Shop
I'd have one in a second if you could swap batteries out in a a couple minutes. Does anyone know if Alta has ever mentioned anything like that? Is it something they might be working on? I sure hope so. I my opinion this is not a viable motocross racing platform until then.
No matter how far the lithium battery tech goes, it's going to be a long time before the run time is increased enough that these machines can tackle an entire motocross event without having to plug it in. If you could swap batteries out, run time would be almost irrelevant for anything but pro motocross. It would be expensive to purchase the extra batteries, no doubt, but it would also open up the door for aftermarket batteries, which could compete for price and performance.
now, off-road, thats a different story. I give it 20 years from now before one of these can go 3 hours, assuming there have been no new, industry changing, battery chemistry...which is certainly plausible.
Either way, I think the bikes are cool and definitely have their place.
The batteries took about 2.5/3 hours to fully charge from empty in my garage. I would assume with a battery swap and/or a charge in between motos you could finish a day at the races. Ideally you'd probably want two bikes, two batteries while alternating charge and run I would assume!
I'm not interested in packing around, maintaining, and listening to a generator all day every single time I want to go ride for more than 25 minutes. Not exactly my idea of good moto. Yeah, that will get you through a day of racing, but is that ideal...is that what you want? I'd rather just have a couple more batteries that pop in in a couple of minutes. Crazy...I know.
now, imagine if you had extra batteries and brought a generator to the track. ooohhh!
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Awesome post man thanks!!!
All the negative comments are hilarious. This is called progresion. It's new. It's where whether you like it or not we'll be some day. It's going to get better don't worry and at the heart of it you know that's where it's going.
I can only imagine how some of you and most people in general they first heard of solar power though wow what joke. Welp it's not idiot.
I know the generator is kind of annoying to always haul. Thats why I got my local track to install a 220v outlet.
There are many questions surrounding battery swapping...and no one has any answers and Alta is impossible to get a straight answer out of.
all I'm saying is this. Until battery swapping is a part of the "plan", and thoroughly integrated into the product, I don't see how this is more than a really cool novelty right now. The more I think about though, the more I'm sure thats in the future, and so I'll just shut up and wait until that happens. Probably right around the corner.
Doing so may void the battery warranty as you will loose the IP68 abilities of the connectors.Everything should still function properly as long as it stays clean and dry.
In its current form the Alta is maybe not for everyone, but depending on your situation it can make a lot of sense as a second, or possibly even your only bike.
Pit Row
With practice and a couple of guys with the right tools I'll bet it could be done in less than 10 minutes. It would need to look like a NASCAR pit stop, however. The packaging just doesn't lend itself to anything much faster. I could probably do the job myself in less than 30 minutes. So, it's a viable option.
I don't know anyone (other than warrantee work) that's gotten an extra pack. My dealer has a hard time getting any parts yet alone an entire battery pack. If someone can hook me up with a pack I'm interested.
Bike was easy to get used to. Mode 1 was like a mellow 125. Mode 2 was like stock 250f but with enhanced torque. Mode 3 was like a bone stock 250f. Mode 4 was pretty much insane, knobby killing, tire spinning power... maybe even more power than my stock motor 450.
One thing i really like about the Alta is it seemed like the throttle input was a direct correlation to power output; it seemed like 25% throttle was 25% power no matter how fast i was going. On a gas bike, that's not always the case. Once i got used to the direct correlation, i found myself getting on the "electric" sooner in corners, and i was able to modulate the power more precisely.
I had a conversation with an Alta rep that day and was asking about the possibility of custom engine maps; being able to tune the power map and engine braking. I was told they are working on it. I would really love to see that happen. Imagine really being able to fine tune both the power curve and the engine braking for exactly your liking. Talk about confidence inspiring.
I, too, didn't feel like the bike was any heavier than my 450. On paper its heavier, but the weight is low and the motor has less rotating mass. The bike was easy to turn in and felt pretty flickable.
I, too, thought the fork was terrible, as is the common opinion with the WP 4CS. I'm actually surprised you didn't test the new 2018 Alta with the AER48 fork on it. If i were to buy the 2017 model, i'd be buying it with the intention of putting a new set of forks on it before i even took it to the track. I feel like the 4CS really held me back from feeling maximum confidence on the bike.
The rear suspension is very good. The front forks, WP 4CS, are not as good. On some tracks they seemed fine, but on other tracks I didn't feel confident and couldn't charge like I normally do. With that said, I am 215 pounds, so any forks seem soft. I have since switched to close chamber WP forks with springs for my weight and the bike is way better for me. I want to try the new WP AER forks sometime too.
The battery can be swapped, but it is heavy and needs a couple people to do it. I think a battery costs a little over $3000 by itself too.
The Alta IS a viable map racing platform. I raced it in 12 local events and my results were the same or better than they would have been on a gas bike. At a mx race, I usually do 2 claases, which is 4 motos with 1 practice. A couple times I did 3 classes , which is 6 motos. This makes for a rough Monday! It was no problem keeping the bike ready to race with my 220v generator. I also won a $50 holeshot award at one race, my first big check in 40 + years of riding and racing! I think I holeshot 3 out of 4 motor that day.
The Alta IS the best cornering bike I have ever ridden, with the exception of my KX500. Just kidding, my KX500 corners like a 30 foot motor home pulling a 16 foot trailer. The Alta corners like it is on rails, and the power is always just right.
I start in map 4, and then switch to map 2 or map 3 for the rest of the race. It is pretty cool that you can switch on the fly. It will be awesome when you are able to customize the map to your liking.
I am coming up on 80 hours on my Alta, and it still runs like new.
For me, FMX pays the bills but on a good day when I am in race shape I am a half-decent +30 Pro and I haven't felt the bike has held me up at all from trail riding in Moab, free riding in Caineville and Reche or track days in between. I love the convenience of the bike and have had a blast trying to figure it out and ways to improve it.
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