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ferg722
7/24/2017 11:50am
7/24/2017 11:50am
Edited Date/Time
7/25/2017 8:53am
Much room to speculate and make heads spin.. But, whatever the clause might be I'm curious to see what possibly transpires.. Even if it's just an awesome edit of him shreddin Zaca on an Alta
Oh well, it will still be a fantastic video none-the-less. I can't wait for Alta's battery tech to advance to the point of being able to finish a full-length harescramble!
The Shop
Yeah, I know...I know...
It would be a total embarrassment. They would be in the 250 class AND get smoked. Literally.
But he filmed his part for the next TWMX 2 stroke video (Premix?) at Zaca a few weeks ago. They probably just had him spin some laps on the Alta while there. Hopefully it makes the cut in the video
The future is coming folks and it's coming fast.
Pit Row
And that's where the AMA classifying the Alta might be difficult. Displacement is a very tangible and measurable thing. Electric motors are typically measured in Kilowatts. Kilowatts can be converted to HP. Alta claims about 30KW or about 40 HP, about the same as a stock 250F. But there's no easy or verifiable way to measure this; it's all about motor type, motor geometry, windings, magnets, field control, voltage, current, and a hundred other variables that are easily changed but almost impossible to spot. What ONE or two MEASURABLE quantities would the AMA use to insure a level playing field (as level as current rules anyway)?
Taking a lesson from Formula E, almost anything is allowable except the battery packs are all the same. So it's a race to see who can use the same amount of energy and get to the finish line first. But it's still E against E and not in the same vein as the division between MX2 and MX classes. I don't know of any sanctioned series where E goes head to head with ICE, probably because it's so hard to make things fair, at least by our old ways of thinking.
Admittedly, power today may not be as important as the old days. Let's face it, the 250s many times are turning faster laps than the 450s. So maybe something other than displacement, like weight, should dictate what bikes race against each other. But I digress.
Bottom line, I don't see the AMA coming up with any definitive measuring stick soon. Maybe the old rule that let Henry race the original prototype Yamaha will be allowed. Of course, that was the era of 125/250s and would probably land the Alta in the MX class. Anyway, until then its just wishful thinking.
Lithium-polymer has not reached the end of it's life cycle, There is nothing ready to replace it on the consumer level. Just like Moore's Law in computing, there is a measure of predictability in power density of evolving chemistry. Unfortunately, the last 20% of a battery chemistry's life cycle can extend (chronologically) longer than the first 80%, and that last 20% can contribute to less than 1% of its power density increase over it's lifecycle.
My point is, power density for Li-Po is at or near its maximum and has been for some time. Now, 40 minutes at race pace is probably well within reach of Alta with the next generation of their platform. Thats great for motocrossers... The problem is with the rest of dirtbiking world, the guys that, regardless of what type of dirtbike they have, don't ride on closed circuits. Those guys happen to make up a staggering % of the dirtbike population.
Until there are electric bikes capable of 2 hour trail rides at race pace, they will remain a novelty. ...essentially you need to triple the power density of lithium chemistry, or 300%. Since it birth in the 1970's, lithium chemistry has never even doubled it's power density...
James not here man
This conversation is about professional competition. The future of an electric motorcycle competing against and beating an internal combustion engine is here. That's pretty exciting as far as I'm concerned. The rest will follow.
I don't see the AMA allowing Alta to compete against combustion engines any time soon. I assume the current manufacturers aren't just going to let that fly.
So, until the current manufacturers offer competitive e-bikes, I dont think it's going to happen. ...and back to my original point, I dont see the major manufacturers (save maybe KTM) showing serious interest in e-bikes until they can be used as a platform for all of their fullsize off-road bikes. That wont happen until the run time is drastically increased.
I'm not saying e-bikes aren't the future, I'm just saying that if motocross racing is currently the only market for electric bikes, then their immediate future isn't as bright as it may appear for consumers.
Alta is in a good position either way, because they have somewhat proven tech, which can be adapted to any type of electric vehicle, especially commuter motorcycles, where this technology is essentially ready for mass consumption and a surefire market. I haven't looked into it, but Alta appears to be a design and engineering conglomerate that commissions their designs to third party manufacturers - and I'm not talking about sourcing cycle parts...I mean everything else, including all of their electronics, power units, frame, and everything in between, with only final fitment occurring at their assembly plant.. This allows them the ability to pivot to almost any type of business strategy or direction the company chooses to go. ...note that I am only speculating about this, based on observations of mine.
waiting for the next batch of christian craig updates...
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