2019 / 2020 wish list

[leeo45]

My wife’s Volt has something like this. There is a max regen paddle on the back/left side of the steering wheel. We us it all the time on off-ramps, steep downhills, etc.

This is what I wish the center button on the left handgrip did. It would improve battery charge and also give you 'engine braking' without locking the rear wheel. Probably not of much use on the MX track, but would be nice for trail riding and great for dual sport riding where range is almost always an issue.

 

[Philip]

This is what I wish the center button on the left handgrip did. It would improve battery charge and also give you 'engine braking' without locking the rear wheel. Probably not of much use on the MX track, but would be nice for trail riding and great for dual sport riding where range is almost always an issue.

I think an on/off button will not make anyone happy. Some will complain that is too much engine braking, some will say it is too little, and even those who are okay with the amount will still have to cycle it on and off all the time in order to adjust their deceleration.

I had such a button on my Stealth electric bike, and it was of very little use.

Especially with the LHRB, it is not possible to use the left hand button and the heft hand rear brake, and modulate both of them intelligently.

IMO, rolling the throttle forward is the only way that I would use, on the street or at the track.

I hope the return spring is stiff enough so that I do not accidentally engage the regen fully when using the front brake. The amount of the regen and the stiffness of the return spring are the two things that will have to be fine-tuned. But controlling the throttle and dragging the front brake is something that most MX riders already do on a daily basis, so some of this motor skill is already developed.

 

[bluefxstc]

I guess the beauty of the electric/software based platform, is that it doesn't have to be an either or proposition. With a little extra code and use of switches that are already there, and presumably wired, Alta can give us all what we want. @Philip can have his rolling throttle, I can have lower power and higher regen through a custom map, @leeo45 can have his paddle regen and all of us can have reverse. Because it is software based it is extremely flexible, all we need is for Alta to see the value in giving us the options.

 

[Rob41]

A lot of great ideas in this thread. I know a lot of you ride at designated bike parks, but some ride in more remote areas. One thing I'd like to see is the ability to switch to a miser mode. Another switch or setting that would allow a rider who has become turned around or took the wrong trail and might not be able to get back range wise. Maybe a switch to have 1/3 or 1/2 of level one power and a top speed reduction.

 

[Philip]

Pushing a dead Alta is a chore. I want a neutral!

Just kidding. If it happens again, next time I will remove the chain.

 

[WoodsWeapon]

I ran out of battery in a hare scramble and had to do the walk of shame out of the woods. I found a quad guy and we pulled it back to my truck before my friend, whos also the promoter, could get a pic and plaster it all over the internet.

 

[Philip]

Modular batteries! If I want to ride for 4 hours or race for an hour, I would like to be able to add one or two 2 kWh 20 lbs $1,000 batteries and finish the ride/race.

 

[Philip]

Need a 12V outlet, and perhaps a USB outlet. It is a must-have for the enduro/adventure models, especially if the range increases.

 

[bluefxstc]

Modular batteries! If I want to ride for 4 hours or race for an hour, I would like to be able to add one or two 2 kWh 20 lbs $1,000 batteries and finish the ride/race.

I was thinking a small (0.5kw), snap in pack, that you could swap in seconds would be awesome. Place it in parallel with the main pack and in a ride like Ezberg you could just snap new pack in at every check point. Couple of seconds and you are on your way with an extra KW.

 

[Philip]

I was thinking a small (0.5kw), snap in pack, that you could swap in seconds would be awesome. Place it in parallel with the main pack and in a ride like Ezberg you could just snap new pack in at every check point. Couple of seconds and you are on your way with an extra KW.

Yes, just like that, only need to be bigger than 0.5 kWh. That small of a battery will last less than 3.5 minutes at Erzberg, you would have to swap about 10 - 20 of them to make it to the finish line without replacing the main battery.

Such a strategy is doable at Erzberg, maybe even not against the rules, but it would be a negative advertisement for Alta, if the word gets our that each rider had his batteries replaced 15 times. The joke of the day will be that Alta might as well make the bike corded, rather than cordless, so that it could race around a power outlet forever.

 

[Han377]

Bigger batterypack to get closer to motocross race times. And battery cooling to get the full moto length without overheating

 

[bluefxstc]

Yes, just like that, only need to be bigger than 0.5 kWh. That small of a battery will last less than 3.5 minutes at Erzberg, you would have to swap about 10 - 20 of them to make it to the finish line without replacing the main battery.

Such a strategy is doable at Erzberg, maybe even not against the rules, but it would be a negative advertisement for Alta, if the word gets our that each rider had his batteries replaced 15 times. The joke of the day will be that Alta might as well make the bike corded, rather than cordless, so that it could race around a power outlet forever.

I agree that a bigger battery is the best answer. Most of my dirt rides are in the 40-60 mile range making the current Alta battery, barely acceptable to not even close. If I could have a 8.7Kw pack (50% bigger) the Alta would cover 95% of my rides.

At Erzeberg, Alta didn't need much more battery, they made it past checkpoint 8 and I think were going to swap batteries at checkpoint 9. A small pack that snapped in would work well to give a little extra safety margin. Even if the extra pack was only 0.5kw total, if it was changed every checkpoint that would have been an extra 4Kw, or a 69% increase. It also could be designed to just snap in for a race bike with minimal circuitry. I am thinking something like snapping in a new cell phone battery. Just slip in and go so seconds to swap out. Snap it right on the side of the existing pack. As @Philip pointed out, not sure if the rules would allow it, but for a race bike it could be designed to be a fast boost charge option. The batteries will take the surge in a race situation. I wouldn't want to do it to my battery, but for a one time race bike, the pack only needs to last the race, not 1000 cycles. I have seen video of connecting an nearly empty Tesla pack directly to a full Tesla pack with minimal heating or apparent damage, so I don't think there is a problem technically.

As far as the "joke of the day", I don't think so. In my opinion it would demonstrate the flexibility of the platform and what is worse, snapping in quick charge throughout the race (if allowed in the rules) or not finishing because of a dead battery? In my opinion, having a the ability to give a quick boost and finish the race, is far superior to not finishing.

 

[Bloak]

My list:
Go to the standard 8MMS bolt heads instead of screw heads.

Redesign sub frame which does not need as many fasteners for number plates. Inner locking plastic with 1 or 2 holding bolts.
Don't worry about larger number plates, let aftermarket take care of it.

Brass inserts replaced with something more sturdy. Both sides for rear fender ripped out on my bike. Maybe they are to small? (No crashes, they worked themselves out, breaking the support plastic as they came out).

Rear brake could use a better/stronger spring

Charger, add indication if on 120 or 240.

 

[snydes]

Brass inserts replaced with something more sturdy. Both sides for rear fender ripped out on my bike. Maybe they are to small? (No crashes, they worked themselves out, breaking the support plastic as they came out).

Like this?

 

[Bloak]

Ya, that's what happened to mine.

 

[Alta_mxr]

 

[snydes]

Ya, that's what happened to mine.

No crashes here either. Just must be enough flex in the assembly that they work out. Rumor is Alta is aware those inserts don’t last and they have something else in mind, but that could be a long time till we see a revised part.

 

[Trialsman]

View attachment 854

Do you have any more information on this? Possibly a website as this looks like it could be retasked for an electronic clutch that I have been thinking of building.

 

[snydes]

Do you have any more information on this? Possibly a website as this looks like it could be retasked for an electronic clutch that I have been thinking of building.

Looks like it’s a feature on this bike...
ELECTRIC MOTION - 1st electric Trial & Trail bike Made in France

 

[strider]

I'm sure there is a story behind it, but I really wonder what prompted someone to go out of their way to say, upon startup, if this light has led level resistance, just disable it?

TONS of vehicles do this nowadays. Bikes and Cars, ICE and EV. I am speculating wildly here, but it could have to do with the vehicle's ability to know if a bulb has burned out and notify the driver/rider. Also since lights have to be DOT certified there may be regulations around preventing the end user from installing aftermarket lights, they just never had the control before recently. Pretty much everyone who sells aftermarket LEDs supplies resistors to fake out the computer so they work, blink at the correct rate (in the case of turn signals), etc. My Dad upgraded some of the bulbs on his BMW to LEDs and had to install resistors to get them to work. On my Corvette it was hit or miss. Things like the license plate lights and interior lights didn't need resistors but the turn signals did. That leads me to believe maybe there are regulations around it after all....