![]() ![]() Keep in mind that these estimates are based on riding trails so tight that it should take you four hours to cover 34 miles. You’ll get “up to” 60 miles in the city and 34 miles on the trails. Yes, the range is short if you’re comparing it to a motorcycle that runs on exploding liquid dinosaurs. But obviously parts such as the wheel bearings, Brembo brake pads, chains and sprockets, and suspension components will need regular servicing. It’s always ready to go as long as it’s charged, and the cost difference between the EXR and a 450 four-stroke can be made up in maintenance costs in the first year. There are some very strong arguments for this bike. To further emphasize the point, Alta even has a test mule with over 10,000 hours on it. Or, think of it this way, you’d be buying a new gas-powered bike due to the engine cases failing before the Alta even needed its first service. For comparison that’s roughly the equivalent of 10 two-stroke top end rebuilds, and most likely four bottom ends, conservatively speaking. Major service intervals? Well, they’re every 1,000 hours and all they consist of is having the engine coolant flushed and some data off/uploaded. At a standstill it will lift the front end, in a really rocky situation it will move forward without the threat of stalling, tight uphill 180-degree switchbacks require no clutch feathering, and nothing tractors up steep inclines like a bike that’s always in the right gear and makes more torque than a bulldozer. What I will take a stand on is that I would much rather have an EXR over a 250cc two-stroke when the going gets really tough. My best observation as to why this bike feels so low and unintimidating is the lack of a gas tank sloshing around, and no motor rumbling between your legs or forward mounted radiators gasping for air.īy the numbers the EXR competes really well against the 350cc four strokes. It carries its weight very low in the frame and the entire bike feels much lower than its 36.5-inch seat height. However, it feels like a 240 lbs., which is down from an equivalent bike around 450 lbs. People like to bring up battery weight when arguing against electric bikes and, yes, the Alta is a little heavy at 273 lbs. more of a you’ll-be-going-too-fast-for-your-own-good kind of way. It’s just too fast, but not in a lose-all-the-rear-traction kind of way. On the trails, I cannot picture running this bike in Mode 4. The motor looks unassuming until you realize it makes 42 lb-ft of torque from a dead stop and 50 hp once things get rolling. And remarkably, the 14-pound, three phase A/C electric motor can easily be palmed in one hand. Alta was a little vague (secretive) about this during our factory tour but that’s 5,000 times a second! The three founders of Alta Motors agreed over a whisky dinner on electric being the “future of fast,” but that all comes from the traction and tunable nature of electric motors. ![]() The Alta tunes itself for traction at a rate of 5,000 Hz. Speaking of the past, gas engines are tunable for traction often by starving them of fuel or retarding spark once every ignition cycle. I recognize this is not what the purists would call “motorcycling,” and that practicing without a clutch or a transmission will make lazier riders, but the future is going to be electric and one day clutches and gearboxes will be a thing of the past. With no gears, no clutch, no RPMs to worry about and no chance of stalling out, the rider can focus on moving through the terrain in the most efficient manner, focusing on body positioning and line choice over what gear. In the woods, the EXR has taken motorcycling down to its purest form. I did not do that and quickly wrote a check I couldn’t cash (as it happens, the Alta crashes very well, too!). The linear pull of the electric motor from 0 to 70+ mph can only be described as… well “electric.” With four rider modes, I strongly suggest you stay in the first two modes (with One being the softest, and Four being “overclocked”) for at least the first 30 minutes. The feel is familiar but unlike anything you’ve ever felt. So, what’s it like to ride? The sound of laughter erupts from inside the helmet of every person that twists the throttle of one of these bikes for the first time. ![]()
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