KTM electric Freeride v 5 miles of hell trail ride

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

No sooner done that said...I think this is a 2-stroke, but the listing and pics both so poor it's difficult to tell.

https://www.completelymotorbikes.co.uk/ ... /49155.htm


Low miles, but the tyre's already taken a chunk out of the silencer.

I see KTM is knocking £1000 off new 4-stroke ones now...there's one at Gear4 if you fancy it.

[Asgard]

Thanks Richard, but i honestly did mean Cheap
I don't understand how these things hold such prices, maybe I'm living in the past, but I was hoping to find something of that age that needed a moderate/large amount of fixing for something like 2 grand

[Snaf MKII]

Thanks Richard, but i honestly did mean Cheap
I don't understand how these things hold such prices, maybe I'm living in the past, but I was hoping to find something of that age that needed a moderate/large amount of fixing for something like 2 grand

£2k will only get you late 90's early 00's KTM EXC, anything road legal at the moment is getting a lot of interest due to people not wanting to share commuting space. I was in a KTM dealer this week and their sales are good and the workshop is booked out for weeks.
I've just sold an ageing Honda XL, the interest was almost unmanageable and not one silly offer from dozens submitted.

[daveuprite]

Dave consumer available batteries havn't come far at all in the last 5 years, Lipo is still about the best Energy density wise, but need carefull handling to remain servicable (most have built in balance circuitry these days though)

We still need a big advance to get near the BTUs per LB of dead dinosaurs

P.S., you also need to factor in that as you burn petrol you lose the weight of the petrol burned, a battery still weighs the same when its run out

The advantages of electric still far outweigh the disadvantages, which at present is basically just range.

This is what I meant by how things have moved on. The KTM E-Freeeride was 20KW when it came out. Zero is now fitting 34KW batteries to its bikes 5 years later. Faster charge-up times and almost twice the range. It took Ford about 30 years to double the power output of its mainstream hot hatchback cars. As I've said, if only the big Jap bike makers would jump aboard (which they will have to by law to sell in the EU soon anyway), big improvements are inevitable, if for no other reason due to the sheer scale they can bring. Although it will always be harder to increase range on a motorbike compared to a car because of the higher proportion of mass taken up by the motor/battery in a bike.

Not every chemistry on this graph, but it is representative:




(Re. your last point, yes of course, you lose the weight of petrol burned during a ride on an ICE bike, but that's simply because you have thrown 10 kilos of pollutant emissions out into the environment. Again, the disadvantages of local pollution, health problems and climate change far outweigh the advantage of a slightly lighter bike at the end of a ride.)

As to the Freeride, I don't think I'd ever buy one - petrol or electric. The cycle parts are very spindly. In fact that's basically what they are - cycle parts. It feels like a cross between a trials bike and a mountain pedal bike. Nice and light, but there's a price to pay. A Beta X-Trainer is a better buy (just wish they'd stick a 120km range battery in it!).

[Hugh]

Greetings,

Your point, Dave, about Japanese manufacturers is that they probably have all got 'test' motorcycles. I heard the latest Honda advert on the radio committing to the production only of electric vehicles in the near future.

It is used to be that Honda and Suzuki would test ideas out on motorcycles and marine before totally committing to introducing them into car production.

I still don't want one

TTFN

Hugh.

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

Thanks Richard, but i honestly did mean Cheap
I don't understand how these things hold such prices, maybe I'm living in the past, but I was hoping to find something of that age that needed a moderate/large amount of fixing for something like 2 grand

These days, a bike that 'needs work' will end up costing you more than one that doesn't need work.

The market for used vehicles: motorbikes, cars, vans, trucks; is through the roof at the moment. New vehicles of all kinds are too expensive, complex and unreliable.

And try buying a bicycle!

[Asgard]

Luckily I already have 3 decent mountain bikes.
Dave, a cross between a mountain bike and a trials bike is exactly what I would like.

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

convert one to electric?

Not legal for street use in UK if that worries you

https://www.outsidepursuits.com/best-el ... rsion-kit/

Everyone I know who has had an electric bike says that a crank motor solution is best

[daveuprite]

Dave, a cross between a mountain bike and a trials bike is exactly what I would like.

Well that's great then. I agree completely - the lighter the better - but there are some minimum limits beneath which you are putting motorbike power on top of pedal bike parts, with consequences for durability. The Freeride got very close to those limits and maybe crossed them? Not sure; I've never owned one. I remember dribbling over one at a bike show when they came out. About 98kgs with a little 250 2T or a 350 4T engine, plus the electric option. What's not to like? Well durability is one issue and fuel range in the small tank is another, and in the case of the battery bike again it's range. If you could get hold of a pampered bike which hasn't been thrown at rock steps etc, it could be a great buy...

The e-Freeride was the perfect answer for people wanting a trail bike to use on their own private land with complaining neighbours, for an hour or so of fun. The neighbours wouldn't even know it was being ridden. But I don't think those criteria fit enough buyers to make it viable. Hopefully KTM will have learned from it and somewhere in Austria there is a design team getting its successor ready. It just needs to be as small and strong as a 350EXC, with similar performance / h.p. equivalence, but with about 4-5 hours of ride-time range and a quick charger lead, and under €10k new. It would sell well to open-minded folk who care about the future, and maybe persuade a few fossil-heads too.

[daveuprite]

Here's a 350 4T. High-ish hours, but sounds like it's well looked after, and that has to be a grand's worth of upgrades and recent new parts. If a real munter ever came up at £2k, which I doubt, you'd easily spend that getting it right.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/KTM-Freeride ... SwLmtfAFyA