ON THE PIPE MARK DZIKOWSKI
Battery-powered off-road racing future?
W
came from Alta Motors, which developed a first true modern electric dirt bike. Alta started development around the same time as Zero Motorcycles, but it took them close to 10 years to release their Alta Redshift in 2016. The Redshift looked promising. Modern frame and suspension and power to compete with ICE powerplants of the masses. The bike was still heavier than the competition and more expensive, but that is understandable and would easily improve with increasing sales numbers to reduce cost and fund more R&D to reduce weight. That unfortunately never materialized and in 2018, Alta closed its doors after a failed deal with Harley-Davidson, which would have injected much needed capital into the company and save it from financial trouble. Yes, you might be thinking, “What about KTM. Don’t they make an electric dirt bike?” The answer is yes and no. KTM launched the Freeride E in 2011, but it is more of a crossover bike. By crossover, I mean it is not a fully spec’d dirt bike but more of a trialstrail bike hybrid with, for starters, a shorter seat height, shorter wheelbase and 43 mm instead of 48 mm fork, and a less powerful output motor. The bike debuted in 2011 and here we are in 2021. Still no full-size electric dirt bike from any of the major OEMs. So, what will this FIM E-Xplorer World Cup series be about? Apparently, the series will consist of 10 teams and 20 riders with equal male and female competitors which means it will be a male and female rider on each team. There will be head-tohead racing as well as time trial stages. For 2022, there will be five global events, but there are no details on exact locations and venues. What is also unknown is what kind of bikes will be allowed to enter in the series. Will this be purely for production bikes or prototypes and early developThe all-electric FIM E-Xplorer series is set to debut in 2022. ith the FIM announcement of the all-electric motorcycle off-road race series, the FIM E-Xplorer World Cup, scheduled to take place in 2022, I might have to change my column name to “On the Electrons.” That is a quality dad joke right there. With other motorsports already having electric vehicle racing championships like the Formula E (single seater racing for electric cars) or Extreme E (off-road racing series for electric SUVs à la Dakar), it is not surprising that it is finally coming to the off-road two-wheel world and frankly I’m shocked it took this long. At the same time, I’m not shocked as electric off-road motorcycles have not been the focus in development for the manufacturers worldwide. Let’s step back a bit and go over the most recent history of electric off-road focused motorcycle models. Yes, there are electric scooters, street bikes and trials bikes out there currently, but the pure high-performance motocross or off-road electric bikes have been sluggish in development. In the early 2000s Zero Motorcycles did come out with an off-road version of their street bike, but it wasn’t close to the performance of the ICE (internal combustion engine) off-road motorcycles and it was mostly a dual sport bike. The most promising project
14 Inside Motorcycles
ment models? Based on the limited press from the FIM, this series is being marketed as a test bed for electric two-wheel technology so my guess is that prototypes will be allowed. One thing that has me intrigued is that Eric Peronnard is involved in the venture. If there is one promoter that came make this racing series successful, it is him. The man behind Endurocross and other niche motorsport events like Redbull Straight Rhythm, Peronnard has a passion for motorcycles and know-how to market and grow any event from scratch. Virtually every event that he was associated with was successful. If the management team including Peronnard can somehow incentivize the major brands to enter into the series with full size motocross and enduro electric models, I think that would be a huge step forward. But I truly don’t see any brands being ready in the short-term to unveil anything before the 2022 season at least. I envision that this series will be comprised of bikes like the KTM Freeride E, modified Zero bikes, SurRon, a converted electric bicycle or a product from a new niche e-bike manufacturer. I hope the series is a success but I have my reservations. I’m always a ‘cup half-full’ kind of guy but I think the “On the Pipe” column name is here to stay for a bit longer. In my opinion, we are quite a way from full spec electric off-road motorcycles if history is anything to go by but I sure hope I’m wrong. Battery technology development is getting better and better every year. For off-road motorcycles, the power source is the main obstacle, as it needs to provide enough range and fast charging at low weight to make attractive electric alternatives to ICE. We are losing riding areas at an alarming rate, so I would welcome electric off-road motorcycles if it means we still get to twist the throttle in the backcountry. Let’s hope this FIM racing series is more than fluff, and it will make a positive shift in bringing viable alternatives to market soon. IM
