KTM FREERIDE: official info, images

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Looks like KTM just decided to drop all the KTM FREERIDE info and images after everything leaked earlier this week. I’m on a plane with 3 minutes of battery time left, so I’ll just upload everything and let you analyze it yourself. Also check our previous article for plenty of my opinions. >

  • Ray

    Wes, You gave us all the press releases in the Issuu menu with that one. Are we seeing too much of the little man behind the curtain operating the machinery?

    • http://hellforleathermagazine.com Wes Siler

      Not sure what you mean, looks like the Issuu menu shows other stuff tagged “motorcycle,” but yeah, we’ve uploaded a few press releases there, we’ve published them all before though.

  • johnny

    I’m not 100% sold on the motard’s bicycle forks,but I’ll bet it looks amazing in the flesh. I love the crosser.KTM rocks

  • brettvegas

    300v! The went the high-voltage/low-amperage route. Totally different than any of the bikes out there. 75amps@300v=22kw.
    Very weird, not easy to do, the controller is likely purpose built.
    Do not put your tongue on those terminals.
    Would have liked to have seen then do more power, after losses 22kw=~22hp, at the wheel. That isn’t enough to go beat up on 250s.

    High voltage is cool though,much ,much easier to get to those higher power levels.

  • Sid

    I am gathering from the single fork tube and subliminal messages on the side of the fairing like (barspin) that KTM hopes that the Supermoto will be ridden creatively. I think that is pretty cool.

  • Willing to keep an open mind

    What we’ve been thinking was a SuperMoto is actually an Urban Freestyle bike designed for trick riding. They’re creating a new market segment modeled on bicycle motocross “BMX” freestyle. You’ll see these things ridden at skate parks on half pipes. They’ve always promoted a sub-culture around their brand, this is shrewd marketing from the Hapsburg Hipsters- Mattighoffen Madmen.

    So brettvegas, what’s the affect of having high voltage low amperage? How do you think this bike will ride as opposed to the others on the market because of this?

    • Sid

      As a “retired” freestyle BMXer in his 30s I can think of all kinds of fun I would have on this thing. It looks like they have it rigged if you can disconnect the rear break lever and spin the bars. I don’t know why they wouldn’t just mount a traditional foot lever. Either way that is cool. The more I think about this the more I want one.

      • Woody

        Probably too much possibility of accidentally hitting the rear brake?

        • sidw@madras.net

          Yeah, I thought about that too as soon as I posted it. One could just go old school and just add a long enough cable to get on spin out of the bars. Ha.

  • Mike

    @willing: The high voltage approach means reduced IR (power) losses in the controller and wiring; they can be smaller and dissipate less heat (all other things being equal) than a lower voltage, higher current setup.

    On the flipside, the motor will have more, thinner windings. This means that whilst I (current) is less, R (resistance) is more and so power loss tradeoffs here depend a great deal on the motor design.

    In and of itself, it’s not going to change the way the bike rides. The key factor in that equation is the software in the controller, combined with the throttle sensor and the specific characteristics of their motor.

  • Brett Vegas

    Lower ‘low-end’ torque, but better mid-range and top-end power delivery. Low voltage motors fall on their face at around 60-70% motor revs. High voltage should stay consistent all the way through the powerband. That is scary high-voltage though, it’s the way to go, but a hell of alot more dangerous(here, hold these wires, HAW-HA!). Still, it isn’t significantly more power than any of the other bikes, they need to take that 75amp number and double it. It would be brief ride, but glorious.

  • Willing to keep an open mind

    So we shouldn’t be doing any river crossings then.

    Do you believe their claim of a 90 minute recharge time?

  • Brett Vegas

    ‘Do you believe their claim of a 90 minute recharge time?’

    I dunno, it depends how large a pack it is. It is sorta doable, we were doing 20min recharge on our old bikes(much smaller batt,0.8kwh). If the batt is 3kw, it is possable to pull 2kw off a standard outlet(20a@110v/EU-10a@220v).
    It is just a matter of $$$.
    They get another thumbs up from me if they did, charging fast is one of those things that EV companies chickenout on.

    I am sure KTM sealed everything, I’d bet you could submerge most of the bike, just don’t go jamming yur screwdriver down in that pack. There are six kinds of warning stickers under that seat,
    and clever Teutonic safety mechanisms.
    Realy though hi-voltage isn’t a big deal, it is like the difference between a bb gun and big honkin’ revolver. You obey the rules, nobody gets hurt. I am a little surprised they went hi-voltage though, the liability IS higher.
    48-72v hurts, 300v will put you on your ass.
    Treat that pack like a sore peter, don’t f*uck with it…

  • Am*dam

    Any info on the Gyro system, is it really a hydrolic system as it seems to be one..?

  • MTGR

    I am trying my best to stay positive regarding electrics, but every time I read comments about all the new places we are going to ride these new electrics I have to laugh – now people are saying in Skate Board Parks!

    Sorry to say it, but you people are dreaming. They won’t even let bicycles into our Skate Park, the cops come and kick bmxers out.

    Skate Boards only, they even get pissed when little kids come out with their Razor Push-Style Scooters and you think they will let an electric motorcycle out there?

  • Willing to keep an open mind

    Most of the antics will happen in alleyways and on grungy industrial streets, using abandoned cars as ramps. The entire urban hardscape will become one giant riding park.

    The press release says the intention is to move motorsports back into the urban environment. All it will take is a couple of knuckle head stunts posted on youtube and everyone will want in on the act.

    • http://hellforleathermagazine.com Wes Siler

      I think what KTM is talking about with “Motorsports returning to the urban environment” is the end of motocross tracks and supermoto races being banished from anywhere that’s built up. With electrics, you could have legitimate motorcycle racing without the noise or emissions complaints.

  • brettvegas

    I have ridden in a couple of skate parks around here. The big one is ‘boards only’, but there are two smaller one that run bikes.
    That said, the bigger bike didn’t work all that great in the park.
    The REALY old bikes i helped build(Denali)were 115lbs/9hp, and short wheelbase. On a more MX type bike you get lost in a skate park, though doing roundy-round-round is still fun. You can get away with almost any thing on an electric, It ain’y making noise AND it’s f*cking green, how much more responsible can you get? Burn huge doughnuts for cops, nobody blinks an eye.

    One neat thing about electrics, you don’t need a huge venue.
    You can run on a tiny track. BMX tracks are perfect. I know, I know, I was hoping KTM would come up with something to go chase down 250s with, but the batts are still limiting. If they had come up with something that had more power, you would end up with something with a 20min run time. 3kwh(batt size)=about 1/2 gallon of gas, after losses. It just ain’t very much energy, sure is better that what we were doing with lead acid though. You can ‘double up’ but it starts getting heavy. It is very much engineering on the knife’s edge.

    And hell, who knows, maybe that thing can chase down 250s, hard to say just looking at pretty pictures.

  • PJ

    Is noise-free, smell-free motocross what we want? I know it’s what THEY want, but is it really what WE want?

    And enough of the “it’s green” malarkey please.

  • Brett Vegas

    No, torque(and horsepower) is what ‘WE’ want, everything else is just how you get there. I like my beat up DR400, but being smelly and loud doesn’t make it go faster. I admit liking the thumper growl, but after an hour or so my ears hurt(and vibration sucks). The green thing IS bullshit, but in the case of an EV dirtbike it’s bullshit in your favor.

    • PJ

      how’s the noise and vibration going to be on the electric bike after an hour? Oh, wait….

      Did I read $13,500 for the freeride??

  • Willing to keep an open mind

    BMX tracks, brilliant, I hadn’t considered that. Inflate some air fences in the parking lot and you’ve got a supermoto track.

    I’m not disappointed if they don’t make the power of a 250F, truth be known most people can’t ride a 250F to its potential anyway. Have you noticed the trend of people riding incredibly difficult trails on “playbikes”. It’s because big power is unnecessary on black diamond single track. These things would be perfect for that.

    But it’s this freestyle bike that’s most intriguing. Read the inscriptions on the cowling, it says exactly what they have in mind for this bike. It is an entirely new class of riding- they are channeling Bob Haro.

    • Sid

      Bob Haro……respect.

  • Brett Vegas

    BMX tracks are realy fun, when you don’t have to work your ass off turning a crank with your legs.
    Groomed hardpack lets you get the most out of batts.

    I won’t discount zero’s accomplishments, they have sold more bikes than anybody else, but the race they won had to be on a track that favored the electric. Toss the current breed of bikes onto a track like glen helen(or any ‘normal’ MX mudfest), and the tears will flow.
    Gas bikes make great horsepower, it cannot be denied. Until we see specs like 40kw peak power, an electric will be at a disadvantage. The zero has better torque specs than the KTM, and for some reason the KTM has a low top speed(I am guessing the MX zero is 50mph+), but the zero is 18kw, and the KTM is 22kw. A side by side ride critique will be interesting.

    Yeah, I know a couple of people that have traded ‘down’ their 450′s for xr200′s or xr400′s, just because of the maintenance. It stops being fun after the second or third valve job.

  • TeeJay
  • Dave

    43 mph top speed? is that for the street version as well? That certainly is not going to cut it. Too bad because I really want it – but not if I am getting passed by scooters getting 90 mpg.

  • brett vegas

    Yeah, that is too slow. It probably gets to 40mph in under 3 seconds, but it is still slow. I’d bet they undergear it, to get more range.

    I am sorta waiting for somebody to build something better than what I was building TEN years ago. The high voltage is interesting, but I don’t think its quite time to push the DR in a ditch and empty out the bank account.

    You gotta wonder what is going on in the honda boardroom, their big announcement was an electric Cub, with, like 2 or 3 HP.

  • http://bubblevisor.blogspot.com/ lenny

    in japan ktm said you can recharge it in 90 minutes..!
    sporty riding style 45 minutes.
    that’s cool

    it’s for sale in fall 2011.
    they say it is comparable with a 125 2stroke engine in power.

    see the presentation in japan here

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEowmtH6le8&feature=related

  • http://www.tokyojrock.com Jason Fullington

    After speaking with Mr. Schano (CEO of KTM Japan) at TMCS, it seems like a great bike! 1.5 hours of use and only 1.5 to charge it from zero to full via a regular electric outlet. And he said the power is greater than their 125cc 2 stroke. It was cool to check out up close and personal on Saturday. Boxer and I were also told we would be able to ride the demo versions soon!

  • Brett Vegas

    I shouldn’t have been quite so harsh in my last post, the bikes have gotten better in the last ten years, you can ride 4x longer. Power hasn’t gotten much better. I got bored with 20kw, really want to see 30-40kw peak power on a bike.

    I am still interested in the KTM, the high voltage thing is something no small manufacturer could pull off. That might be an AC motor also, much better than DC stuff.

    The power thing is sorta weird, it is measured as power applied to the motor, not output(you have to dyno it to see output). At higher voltage it should have better efficiency, thus better ‘real’ horsepower. I do not disbelieve the KTM makes a better holeshot than a 125-two-stroke, hell if it is anything like the bikes I rode, it can holeshot(or stay with) a 450-4/s. Up to a certain point, that point being 3ed gear. Which is why I want to see 30kw+…

    • http://hellforleathermagazine.com Wes Siler

      Hey Brett, I sent you an email. Get it?

  • http://www.tokyojrock.com Jason Fullington
  • DS

    Has anyone else fantasied about sticking KTM’s 150 2T in that supermoto chassis? I get “electric” sounds green and great, but batteries are all toxic landfill sooner rather than later. Clean injection tech+low cost 2T production and maintenance=green. Loud, yes, but who has perfect?

  • Eric

    I NEED the streetbike version! That’s what an e-bike should look like. It looks like the seat/top cover assembly is hinged on the streetbike, suggesting that the battery pack would be easily removed for hot swapping/chargine in one’s apartment. If this is true, that would be a big improvement for people who don’t live in houses – city dwellers, for example. One could also possibly pull the battery pack and lug it into your office for recharging on the company dime. I like that! :)

    I just hope they aren’t TOO expensive; they should be price competitive with Brammo or Zero, in my opinion.

  • http://www.sverified.com Jason Martir

    this is a laugh for you from me :)
    Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you’re a mile away and you have their shoes. :)