Upgrade to enjoy this feature!
Vital MX fantasy is free to play, but paid users have great benefits. Paid member benefits:
- View and download rider stats
- Pick trends
- Create a private league
- And more!
Only $10 for all 2024 SX, MX, and SMX series (regularly $30).
My sons have an electric oset which I take to our local, public parks to ride in the fields. I’m doing it as respectfully as I can, away from people, and my youngest is going barely fast enough to stay upright yet I still get bad looks from people. Some approach me and think it is cool but others feel like we shouldn’t be there which they’re technically right about. Whether it is gas powered or electric, motorized vehicles are prohibited almost everywhere that isn’t a road. People that have this vision of “urban” motocross and electric bikes opening up new places to ride are high.
Personally, I like older bikes BECAUSE they lack new technology. They’re slower and more difficult to ride but that character makes them more FUN! Constantly building a bike that can go around the track faster is great, I guess, for a professional race team but I’m 30 years old with 2 children, a mortgage, a career, etc. I don’t give a shit about a lap times during a race, I want the fun factor. I’d like to see the next generation of e-bikes be marketed as being fun and affordable.
I wont ever buy anything Honda makes but if Yamaha buils one,I'm in..
The Shop
So do they make them have the speed and torque of a 450, more, less? I would like to see speeds around that of a 125 or 250f. Personally, I think 450s are overkill, though im sure im in the minority there.
Id like to see great racing and less riders getting injured. Whether that means slowing bikes/ebikes down or changing the tracks whatever it takes. I beelieve the issue is due to the power of the bikes but of course the manufacturers and teams dont want to hear that and I cant prove it.
1. The general motocross community thinks nothing is better than what they have. People are so used to the normal ICE and everything that surrounds it. The fact of the matter is the general motocross community doesn't ride anything other than the bike they currently own, and thus their opinions are not based on actual testing of various brands, bike types, etc. "My suspension is fantastic" - Joe Motocross who owns a 15 year old 2 stroke and rolls jumps on the vet track, for example.
2. Smell, sound, blah blah blah. You may say that now, but you get over it quickly. In fact, I've realized that quiet bikes allow you to concentrate more on your riding. Noise, especially super loud noise, clogs your mind. I wear ear plugs when i ride my gas bikes and it allows me to focus more and keeps my mind clear.
3. "But, i need my clutch and gears!". This is only necessary because your gas bike has an engine that produces a power curve, and you need to rev the engine and switch gears to be in the sweet spot. Goes back to my first point... people have been so used to using a clutch and shifting gears that anything else is weird. The fact is, AC electric motors (like in the Alta) produce max torque right at 0rpm, and the torque curve is so flat that no shifting or clutching is required.... you're essentially always in the right gear and in the right part of (ICE equivalent) power band. Just like a 4 stroke can bail you out of mistakes you make compared to a 2 stroke, the electric power plant does that even moreso than a 4 stroke. Oh, and you never have to worry about stalling it, either!
4. Everyone always assumes electric is slow and gutless. They think of golf karts and the like. The Alta MXR specifically is nothing like a golf kart. It has so much torque that i can wheelie on command at the extra twist of my right hand, yet its so controllable and manageable at the same time. My right hand is connected to the rear tire.
Now on to my personal anecdotes:
First off, every person who was skeptical before i let them ride my Alta came off the with a smile on their face and were just plain shocked at how well it performs. People just need to experience it first hand. 2 people I've let ride my bike went off and purchased an MXR of their own, both were skeptical before riding it.
Electric power is so awesome on a motocross track, dare i say PERFECT for motocross. And it's safer in the sense that you'll always be in the right "gear" and have the power to do what you want. You'll make less mistakes, and any mistakes you do make can easily be corrected.
Due to nearly 0 inertia from the powerplant, electric bikes are very nimble and don't do anything funky. On my gas bikes i'll get weird kicks and just a sense of instability at times. Now I've been striving to make my gas bikes as stable as my Alta.
The lack of noise... i'm able to ride in areas i would never think about riding in with one of my gas bike, and NOONE cares that i do it. Its really the noise that people care most about. "Out of sound, out of mind" kinda thing.
Since i don't have to think about clutching, shifting, don't have a loud engine to clog my mind, and have smooth strong power on tap, i'm able to focus on the fundamentals of riding.
In my entire riding experience of over 25 years, i've never made such large strides in my speed and skill level in a short amount of time as i have when riding my Alta. It single-handedly has improved my riding skill and, everything else aside, that in and of itself is worth it.
For those of you who are crying about how they will ruin the sport make sure you have your box of tissues back at the truck when one goes silently by you. You can always claim the tears are from the roost of the E bike.
Sound in stadium sounds great!
Smell walked into Indy last week, sweet smell of VP...
etc........
Pit Row
Sure it wouldn't be anywhere near as loud as now but it would not be an 'absolute lack of audible sensory immersion' there would definitely be noise..
Also I don't think the concert analogy works cause music appeals to that sense (hearing).. Sure sound helps us appreciate mx but no one (I know at least) sits with headphones on listening to bike sounds haha
All that said I get it I love the sound of a 2 stroke on the pipe I even like the torquey growl of a current 4 stroke and I'll miss them if they go but I can see plenty of upside to an electric bike.. I've joked about it with my mates how pit boards won't be necessary anymore (jokes) and the quietness opens up trash talking opportunities haha
I'm just jealous of you guys that can ride and improve all winter, while I'm stuck inside a snow globe half the year every year.
Look at RC electric cars and all the aftermarket stuff you can buy for them. Batteries, motors, drive units.
PC do more than pipes and grind cylinders and if Mitch takes on the electric market the same way he did the 4 stroke, he'll hire a top RC engineering guy to be at the front of this new market. He's probably already half way there. Dude's no dummy.
And you’re illiterate.
Post a reply to: Why is everyone so “against” ebikes?