My 2017 Alta Redshift MX...

Well, last week the Alta Motors Northeast Sales Manager emailed me, saying that Alta finally had two dealers signed up in the Northeast. He also said my option was to wait until a dealer was set up in Western NY, or did I want one of the bikes that was being delivered to Town and Country Cycle Center in New Jersey?

I was a little hesitant, as I wasn't sure I wanted to be on the bleeding edge of technology, but I decided to pull the trigger. I checked, and Town and Country Cycle Center was 4.5 hours from me, not too bad. A couple phone calls later, and I was good to go for Thursday. I left the house Thursday morning at 5am, got to the dealer at 9:30am, and I was headed home by 10:15am with my brand new Alta!


Me (on the left) at the dealership with my new Alta.

On a side note, Town and Country Cycle Center is a great dealer. I have never seen a dealer with so many mx and offroad motorcycles in stock. I came close to leaving not only with an Alta but a 2017 KTM FE 450 SXF...

It was funny, when I was talking to the sales manager, he gave me a small box with a quick start guide and a few tools in it. I said that it wasn't quite the same as the KTM briefcase, and he reaches under his desk and brings out hard exterior lockable briefcase that has the Alta charger in it. Oops, nevermind!


The Alta briefcase - heavy duty!

I also like it that the dealer worker who explained the Alta to me was a serious racer, a pro MXer and AA offroad guy. I have bought MX bikes at dealers before where I know more about the bike than they do, and I point stuff out to them.

So, hats off to Town and Country Cycle Center fro being a great dealership, and I now consider them one of my sponsors, after throwing in 2 t-shirts and bike numbers. I will add them to my current sponsor list, which includes:

[insert sound of ocean waves here...]

I get home, and ride the Alta up and down the driveway. Holy Shih Tzu this thing is impressive! I put my race number on it, and then ride it over to my friend's practice track, which is next door. We are out in the country, but we have had some noise issues over the years. Several years ago We fought the town, and since then there is an agreement in place where we can ride Tuesdays and Thursdays 5-7pm), and Saturdays (1-3pm). Ridiculous but we have adhered to it.


Numbered up.


OK, back to the Alta. Damn, this thing rips! It is the coolest thing to come out of a corner and roll the throttle on. Traction is unbelievable and it literally pulls forever. Like all of the reviews, the only noises you hear are the tires scrubbing on the ground, the engine motor whining a little bit, and the suspension topping out here and there. It feels heavy getting it off the stand, but when you ride it the heaviness goes away. I was doing jumps I normally do on my 2016 YZ450F with no problem right away.

I let two of my friends try it, and they were both very impressed. One of them is an A-level mx/hare scramble guy, and he said he wouldn't hesitate to race it as is. He loved the handling and the power. I rode his 2017 KTM 350 SXF while he rode the Alta, and I thought the Alta was more responsive and felt lighter! His 350 felt like a tank and seemed tall.

So, the next day is Friday, and I decide to do a moto at 10:30am in the morning, because, well, I now can! I did it on my own track, which is a slower, tight, technical track, with a lot of hills. I did a 37 minute moto, and the Alta worked great! And no one knew I was out there, which was the best part. I also wanted to see what the battery life was, because I was planning on racing it on Sunday! I used a little more that half the battery for my 37 minute moto.

I did some errands, and then Friday evening, I decide to get in another moto, just because I now can! I did another 35 minutes or so, and I am still deeply in love with this bike!

OK, Saturday comes around, and normally I would take it off because of the race on Sunday, and just get the bikes ready, but I can't help it; I want to ride the Alta and do some lap-time comparisons. I ride my 2014 KTM 300 XC-W over to my friend's track, and bust out 3 laps, while I get timed. I then ride home, grab the Alta, and do the same thing. I am about 1 second faster per lap on the Alta! And a lot quieter!

OK, now it is time to get ready for the race on Sunday. It is the Palmyra XO race, which is a take-off on the JDay races. You have two 30 minute motos on a course that is half moto and half flowing woods. I decided to do one class on the Alta and one class on the KTM, so I could compare the two under race conditions.

I washed the KTM, changed the oil, cleaned the air filter, and then it was ready. With the Alta, I washed it, and then I just stared at it, wondering what do next. Oil? Nope. Filter? Nope. So I put a couple stickers on it and called it ready.

Sunday came, and so did the rain. It rained, and then rained, and then rained some more. It rained steadily from the time I got there, 8am, until the time I left, around 1pm. But, as they say, there is no such thing as bad weather; just bad attitudes. Well, my attitude was getting to be poor.


Rain day, I mean race day.


I signed up for +35B. I am 51 years old, and I was originally planning on racing +35B and the +50 class in the afternoon, but the weather put a damper on that. The turnout was very light because of the rain; 3 +35 A riders, 6 +35B riders, and maybe 10 +35C riders.

I did my first moto on the Alta. It is a dead engine start. The starter points his flag at everyone, then drops it to the ground, and then raises it, and everyone starts their bike and goes. The magic-button KTM guys usually get off the line pretty well, but of course I got the holeshot! I led for a little, and then hesitated going into a woods section and got passed. I then had a brain fade on my second lap, going the long (and wrong) way, avoiding an endurocross-like section, that was pretty easy. It literally added about 1-2 minutes to my lap time, which is hard to make up in a 25-30 minute race!

All in all, the Alta is very competitive as-is, and I am beyond happy with it. A lot of people checked it out at the race, and everyone was impressed. I have a whole bunch of bikes and this one impresses me the most, and puts the biggest smile on my face. It makes me want to ride almost every day, and now I can.

More to follow, as I plan on racing MX with it this Sunday, after putting several motos on it during the week!