Armotia Due twins could be electric-powered 2WD supermoto and enduro bike for the near future. (more…)
Who says electric power isn’t fun? Acclaimed French trials bike rider and Red Bull athlete Julien Dupont has proven so after releasing a video of him stunting and flipping the all-electric KTM Freeride E dirt bike.
Officially launched sometime last year, the KTM Freeride E sees the famed Austrian motorcycle manufacturer injecting a more extreme and dirt-busting flavour into the zero-emissions arms race.
Based on the brand’s venerable Freeride series of dirt bikes, the Freeride E adopts a liquid-cooled electric motor instead of a thumpy single-cylinder petrol engine, with the electric system able to generate up to 16kW or 22hp and 22Nm of peak torque. The system draws power from a removable lithium ion battery pack rated at 2600Wh, and can be fully charged in just 80 minutes.
Back to the video and you can see that the electric-powered dirt buster is capable of performing just as well as its petrol-powered siblings when in the right hands. The video not only sees Julien taking the Freeride E off-roading, he even goes to the extent of performing a backflip with the electric bike.
The video above again proves that you can have copious amounts of fun whilst being green and eco-friendly. You can check out more on the KTM Freeride E via its dedicated microsite, ktmfreeride-e.com. You can also check out Julien and his exploits via his official Facebook page as well.
BMW Motorrad has unveiled a very interesting model recently – an electric superbike called the eRR.
Using the same chassis as the S1000RR, BMW said that it created the eRR to unite the high-speed performance of the S1000RR with the the quick acceleration of the c-Evolution scooter, which is able to go from standstill to 50km/h in under three seconds.
Stephan Schaller, Head of BMW Motorrad, said, “Since it’s market launch, the RR is giving the creeps to motorsport athletes. Regardless of whether it is acceleration, handling or top speed – the RR is setting standards.”
“However, if acceleration on the first metres, up to 50 or 60km/h, is the point, the RR’s 199 bhp has to admit defeat by another BMW product: the C evolution with its electric drive.”
BMW Motorrad added that the motivation behind the eRR ‘experimental vehicle’ was to find out what happens when a sports bike gets an electric drive, and also to produce a bike with zero emission.
Revealed at a corporate news announcement, BMW Motorrad has not revealed any technical details on the eRR, yet.
As part of the brand’s technological tour-de-force in the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show, the Yamaha PES2 and PED2 concept bikes stand as the Japanese brand’s vision of zero-emissions two-wheeling, with Yamaha further promising its arrival into its line up sometime in the future.
Yamaha PES2 concept
As an evolutionary successor of the PES1 concept from 2013, the Yamaha PES2 concept looks more production ready than the bike it replaces. Underneath, the electric bike is powered using the Yamaha Smart Power Module unit, which is a removable battery pack that doubles as a structural element of the motorcycle frame, thus granting the PES2 with a monocoque frame design.
Interestingly, the PES2 concept also features a hub motor in its front wheel, effectively making it s 2WD electric bike. With that, Yamaha states that the PES2 concept was designed to new performance boundaries and experience levels too. Another innovative feature is the PES2’s unique single-sided front fork-leg suspension setup.
Yamaha PED2 concept
Evolving from the PED1 concept, the PED2 concept stands as the Yamaha brand’s take of an electric-powered fun dirt machine for the future. Like the PES2, the PED2 concept looks more production ready than the PED1 ever was, with Yamaha envisioning it to have as much power as a regular petrol-fuelled 125cc- or 500cc-sized dirtbike.
Tipping the scales below 100kg, the featherweight concept utilises the same Yamaha Smart Power Module unit as the PES2, resulting in its adoption of a monocoque frame design yet again.
When exactly will we see production versions of either concept? Well, Yamaha has already planned to introduce an electric-powered model as early as 2016, so we could perhaps see either by then.
Victory Motorcycles has unveiled its first full production electric bike model called the Empulse TT.
The bike, which is a revised version of the Brammo Empulse R, will only be sold in the US, until Victory completes a ‘process of determining global demand’.
Sharing the same DNA with the Empulse R, the Victory Empuse TT now has a longer recharge time and shorter combined range than the Brammo Empluse R.
The Victory Empulse TT is capable of top speeds over 160 kmh and it has a high-capacity 10.4kWh battery. The bike has a built-in battery charger and an easily accessible SAE J1772 plug atop the bodywork to the front of the seat.
The bike’s Brammo Power Lithium Ion battery fully charges up in just under four hours using a Stage 2 charger (available as an accessory utilising a 240V outlet).
In typical riding, the Empulse TT battery provides riders with a range of about 65 miles and a range of 100 miles is possible with throttle management and use of the bike’s regenerative charging. In preliminary testing, the bike demonstrated a Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) city range of 94 miles. The bike delivered an MIC “combined 70 mph highway and city range” of 57 miles.
Riders can make the most efficient use of the battery’s 10.4kWh of electricity by using the six-speed gearbox. Shifting and downshifting helps to create regenerative power (when the bike is under deceleration) and also produces a feeling similar to the compression braking that riders experience on petrol-powered motorcycles.
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