Motorcycles .pdf

More documents

Recommendations

Info

KTM FREERIDE E-XC BIKESThe silent E-XCis a giant leapfor the futureacceptance ofoff-roadingThree modesadjust powerand rangeand immobiliser to make it roadworthy. It also has aslightly higher seat height but, other than that, bothbikes are the same.Both are powered by a 260-volt powerpack that’s goodfor up to one hour’s riding in economy mode. If youwant a more sporty (but shorter) ride you can choosethe Standard or Advanced modes. The battery can becharged by just plugging it into a normal householdsocket – it takes 50 minutes for an 80 per cent charge, or90 minutes for a 100 per cent charge. You can even buy aspare battery (for a hefty £2900) and swap packs over inminutes by just lifting the seat and removing four bolts.But as a newcomer to off-road riding, I found that myown batteries ran out long before the Freeride’s did. Ihad no idea it was so physical, but if you’ve never triedoff-roading the Freeride is the perfect place to start. It’sridiculously light at just 110kg, so the effort needed isgreatly reduced. That light weight also means the bikestops very easily with the help of a radially mounted,four-piston front brake caliper.Every control for the Freeride is on the handlebars,which means your feet are free to be stuck out ahead ofyou and used as stabilisers through the turns. The frontbrake is where you’d expect it, but the rear is on the leftbar just like a mountain bike – and that’s nocoincidence: KTM hope to attract non-motorcyclists tothe Freeride E, so the idea that it’s essentially a hi-techmountain bike with a motor will have an appeal there.There’s no clutch or gearchanges to worry about,either, and it’s a good job too – at least for noviceoff-roaders - because there’s so much new stuff to learnthat your brain will already be fully occupied. Mine wasso occupied with learning a new, alien riding position(almost sitting where the fuel tank would be on aThe E’s motoris liquid-cooled.Seems you canmix electricitywith water…E-XC is road legal, but heavily compromisedWhat’s it like on the road?The strengths of the Freeride E-XC as an off-roadbike become weaknesses on the road. The seat isuncomfortable, the knobbly tyres make it feelsquirmy, and its light weight and tiny dimensions(it’s equivalent in size to a 125cc KTM) make it feelskittish and slightly unstable. That said, thetorque – especially in Advanced mode – is stillimpressive. If you only had an urban commute inmind, the Freeride could be a viable option. Itsnimble handling suits traffic-dodging in citycentres, but its 45mph top speed is going toleave you wanting on the open road.To be fair, KTM never intended the E-XC tobe used as a road bike for long runs. Owning theroad-legal version simply means you can ride ita short distance to an off-road track, take it onlegal green lanes, or use it as an urban commuter.The E-XC is, however, suitable for the A1 licencecategory, so it could make an unusual (and veryexpensive) first bike for eco-minded 17-year-olds.SEPTEMBER 2015 | 77
BIKES KTM FREERIDE E-XCnormal bike), remembering to stand up over jumps formore control and added suspension, and rememberingto put my leg out through turns to dab the ground andright the bike should I start to lose it, that I barely evenregistered that the E-XC didn’t make any noise.The lack of noise has been one of the major reasonsthat bikers can’t get excited about electric motorcycles,and that’s understandable with road bikes. But withoff-roaders, there are so many advantages to silentrunning that they outweigh the negatives. The E-Scapefacility would never have been given planningpermission had it been to run noisy petrol-poweredmotorcycles – there were still more than 100 complaintsabout the running of silent bikes. There are no sounds tolet you know there are bikes being run here. Suddenly,after years of protests about greenlaning and off-roading,we have the potential to ride bikes pretty muchwherever we like, without the neighbours spoiling ourfun – and that has to be a good thing.If you think that electric bikes will never be able toproduce enough power to satisfy you, then you really doneed to try a Freeride E in an off-road environment.Even in Standard mode it was still more than enough forme (a sportsbike rider for 18 years). The same can’t besaid for riding it on the road (see previous page) but ondirt, it has plenty of poke. Right from the surrealmoment of twisting the throttle and magically movingforward, the torque is astonishing. The Freeride offers allof its 31lb.ft of torque from the first twist of the throttle,and that makes it ideal for squirting over the manyjumps at the E-Scape facility.If my time at E-Scape proved anything, it’s that ridingelectric motorcycles can be fun. No question. But it’sgoing to take work to get that message across. TheFreeride currently tops the year-to-date figures forelectric bikes, with just 13 registrations – including demobikes. It’s clear there’s a long way to go before we seeelectric bikes gaining acceptance within themotorcycling community. Perhaps if there were moreplaces like E-Scape dotted across the country,acceptance would come quicker. E-Scape owner StuartRutter is looking to set up a mobile version of hisbusiness so he can take a fleet of Freerides to locationsaround the country and spread the message. But whilebattery power makes sense in a controlled environment,it still doesn’t lend itself as well to road bikes, whererange is far more important. And until that issue can beresolved, e-bikes – at least in terms of road use – looklikely to be little more than a sideshow.The E-Scapefacility makes thebest case yet forelectric bikeshaving a purposeUntil you can dothis, you reallycan’t say electricbikes are boring…Digitalspeedo helpsmake the E-XCroad legalRadiallymounted rearbrake caliperis a neat touchSPEC KTM Freeride E-XCPrice £10,299 Engine 260V electricmotor, l/c Power 21bhp Torque 31lb.ftTransmission 1-speed, chainChassis steel/aluminium compositeBrakes discs Tyres 2.75-21, 120/90-18Wheelbase 1418mm Rake 23° Seatheight 870mm Kerb weight 108kg78 | SEPTEMBER 2015
Page 2: BMW S1000XR: in ayear of massive ne
Page 5 and 6: ‘It’s easily the most civilised
Page 7 and 8: CRUISE MISSILES(Left) Gone is the p
Page 9 and 10: CRUISE MISSILESSPECIFICATIONS DUCAT
Page 16 and 17: ULTIMATE GARAGEQ John (left) keeps
Page 18 and 19: BIKES KTM FREERIDE E-XCPlugplay &RO

Motorcycles .pdf

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?