Electric Future

With riding areas becoming harder and harder to find close to capital cities around Australia, greenies frowning upon dirty, noisy motorcycles and neighbours not enjoying the loud exhaust, it’s hard not to argue that one-day, the long–term future of trail riding will be silent – just not yet thanks! We love nothing more than a crisp two-banger in the morning and will be doing it for a long-time yet but, if it was a quiet electric powered motorcycle, or taking up tennis, you know which we’d chose. KTM’s latest offering to the electric market won’t be hitting Australia at this stage, however, E-Parks in Europe are already frothing over the newest electric bike.

WHAT’S THE DEAL?
The European Emissions laws are tough, and getting tougher. So it’s no surprise KTM are at the front foot with the KTM Freeride–E. Featuring no emission, no noise pollution and a powerful state-of-the-art electric drive. The electric concept has been brought into production after four years of development to contribute to a better environment. She pumps out around 22hp too and 42Nm of torque.

Your right wrist action is converted into controllable power, while three different ride modes, Economy, Enduro and Cross, are set to control your style of power and riding.

It’s powered by a KTM PowerPack, 260 Volts, 2.6kWh at 28kg. This will last around an hour of riding, depending on what kind of riding you are doing. Then it can be swapped for a fresh battery, no word on the price of these yet. In 80 minutes you have a fully charged battery.

There’s no shifting gears here, the high-torque electric motor allows for a fi xed-ratio transmission and no clutch to start. Both brakes can be operated on the handlebars, just like a mountain bike. It’s also water and dust proof – luckily, otherwise it’d be a very limited market!

The Electric motor pumps out peak power of 22hp and is designed to supply 15hp continuously. When the going gets hot, the motor’s liquid cooling system will keep the motor at optimum temperate without losing power.

The Freeride composite frame design has been further refi ned for the E-models to house the electric power unit. The frame on the E-models is designed to be open at the bottom, using the motor as a load bearing element along with a solid aluminium base plate. The sub frame is plastic with a grab hole.

In conjunction with CNC-machined triple clamps, the 43-mm WP upside-down fork boasts 250mm of suspension travel. Matched with the fork, the rear features a PDS WP shock.

The Freeride–E is designed for practicality in a range of environments offering an open and easy to move cockpit, featuring a slender and flat seat. Like other KTM models, the graphics are mostly in-mould for long lasting life.

With Giant alloy wheels on all models with CNC-machined hubs, you won’t be busting wheels. A 21-inch wheels sits up front and an 18-inch rear.

IS THIS THE FUTURE?
Electric motorcycles will one day be a popular mode of transport, however, KTM doesn’t believe that the electrically powered motorcycle will replace the traditional combustion engine in the near future. However, in the long-term, the Freeride-E is at the forefront of motorcycle technology as well as the benefi ts for the environment.

“We’re really excited to finally see this ultra-innovative bike head into the market. The feedback from our E–parks, situated around Europe, has been really positive and this is a quality product, which we hope to see on many tracks and trails in the near future,” says Thomas Kuttruf, KTM’s PR Manager. “KTM is completely committed to this project and, while the Freeride–E is already a very established bike, this is really just the beginning of our involvement in E-mobility.”