Owner's Review 2019 Alta EXR Ride Review: Midnight ride under the stars.


GT-117

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Marysville, OH
On Friday, July 6, mxengineer1 (a friend and colleague) texted me a photo of an Alta EXR that he was about to purchase from Jeff at Action Extreme Cycles in New Philadelphia, Ohio. I noticed that there was another EXR behind his. I contacted Jeff. We worked out some numbers, and my family and I loaded up and headed to New Philly to pick it up.

We finally arrived home at midnight. I decide to take the bike for a test ride in the yard. My wife and daughter go into the house, and I start riding around our property (just over 4 acres) with several passes close to our bedroom. It was one of those rare cool Ohio skies in which you could see a ton of stars and the bands of the Milky Way, a great riding experience! I rode in modes 1 & 2 for a half hour, put the bike away, and went inside to see how noisy the bike was. They were asleep. The next morning, my wife asked if I really rode that late at night, which I did.

A couple of days later, I was riding in my yard when I noticed my neighbor mowing his yard. He stopped his zero turn and watched me for a while, then he waved me over to his property. "What the (blank) is that?" he asked. I told him it was an electric bike, and asked if the noise bothered him. "I can't here a thing!", he said. Anyway, he invited me to ride the trails in the back woods of his property, due to the quietness of the bike. Less sound does equal more ground!

Range: Last Friday I rode to and from work (20.6 miles round trip, Mode 1 at 55 MPH). In the evening I rode into town and back, then starting riding laps in the yard (various Modes). When the EXR would not exceed a top speed 8 MPH, I stopped. Total mileage for the day was 35.8 miles. This was from a full charge in the morning.

On the road: The EXR doesn't have bead locks, which makes it smoother on the road. The Metzler knobbies wonder a bit, but this is expected. Most of my road riding has been in Mode 1.

Versatility: I'm finding myself using this vehicle to haul things around the property. Since you don't have to use a clutch, this frees up your left hand. I can now carry my weed eater, take the garbage can to and from the street (~400 foot driveway), get the mail, and haul watering pails for my wife's flowers,

Concerns: The rear brake pedal feels sticky. I disassembled the brake arm pivot, and wiped away what appeared to be a thick, white lithium grease, and applied Honda Spray White Lithium Grease, which appears thinner. I lowered the pedal and added some play, works well for me now. I also lost one of the M5X12mm fasteners that holds the rear fender extension to the fender.

I'm coming off a '17 Husqvarna TX300 that I sold a few months back. I have a MX background, but opted for the EXR due to its versatility of being road capable. I haven't taken the EXR to a moto track yet, but hope to do so soon.

So far I've been really pleased with the bike, and have ridden it every day since purchase. In fact, I think I will go out now for a quick ride before bed!
 

Philip

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Lake Havasu City, AZ
Very cool! I too started riding this bike at every opportunity. I never enjoyed trail riding, but with this bike it became as pleasant and relaxing as meditation.

Say hi to Forrest from me. I am glad he finally bought his. And now he has a riding buddy! (y)
 

snydes

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Versatility: I'm finding myself using this vehicle to haul things around the property. Since you don't have to use a clutch, this frees up your left hand. I can now carry my weed eater, take the garbage can to and from the street (~400 foot driveway), get the mail, and haul watering pails for my wife's flowers,

I've done the same, I have a couple acres with a lot of trees which are forever dropping limbs, and now I can ride around, grab a hold of one and drag them to my burn piles.

I'm being productive, see... totally worth it!
 

GT-117

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Marysville, OH
Thanks for all of the positive feedback everyone!

I had another great ride this evening. Rode for about and hour in the yard, switching between Modes 1 & 2. Battery at 75% when I finished. Topped it off with a gorgeous sunset.

This is what I call riding off into the sunset, electric style!

IMG_4700 (1).jpg
 

GT-117

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Marysville, OH
First Firmware Update Complete!

About a week ago, Chase from Action Extreme Sports notified me that my EXR required a Firmware Update. From my understanding, the update is in regards to a fault code some owners were getting when charging. I never received the fault, but Alta wanted the update done as soon as reasonably possible. It was OK to keep riding and charging the bike, which I did.

Unfortunately at this time, Alta will not allow owners to perform updates. It has to be performed by a trained Technician using their laptop. A WiFi connection is also required. Also, Action Extreme Sports is just over 2 hours away, making it even more inconvenient.

Thanks to Chase for offering to meet myself and mxengineer1 (who also needed the update on his EXR) somewhere halfway. Briarcliff MX Track was open over the weekend, which is a halfway point, so we decided to all meet there. Mxengineer1 asked Jeremy (Briarcliff MX Track Owner) if we could use his WiFi near his house, and he agreed. Thanks again Jeremy!

We were all to meet at Briarcliff MX at 2 PM on Saturday. I arrived a bit late, as Chase was performing the update to mxengineer1's EXR. Both bikes were complete by 3:30PM. The update didn't take but a few minutes per bike, but we started talking and asking questions and time slipped away. We did learn that to perform an update, the seat has to be removed and then a plug is removed that is located under the front seat. This is where the cable is connected from the bike to PC. The plug has an o-ring seal, and Chase stressed how important it was to keep water out of the connection port.

The track closed at 4 PM that day (usually open until 5 PM), so by the time I got my gear on, I would have probably had 10-15 minutes to ride. Both mxengineer1 and myself decided not to ride that day, so I still haven't taken my EXR on a proper MX track yet.

I did remove my rear taillight / license plate / turn signal assembly for the MX Track. It is held to the rear fender with (5) M5x0.8x12mm Screws that connect to 5 knurled threaded inserts that are in the rear fender. Mxengineer1 has had one of these inserts pull out of the fender from MX Track riding. I weighed the assembly with my Ohio Tag on, and it is 2.4 lbs. I'll try to describe the removal / installation in another post, but the wire harness from the taillight assembly has one connection with is near the top of the battery and very easy to access and disconnect with the seat removed. Rear fender removal is also required (10 M5X0.8x12mm screws, phillips head). If you own an EXR and plan on removing these screws, I highly recommend using a magnetic screw driver. 4 of the screws under the fender have loose steel compression limiters that are easy to lose if dropped. Yes, I lost one. I did not use a magnetic screw driver.
 

Oded

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Israel
Great report, thanks. I agree about everything you wrote about the rear fender installation. It is the same on my EX. Use a magnetic screw driver!!!
 

GT-117

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Marysville, OH
Hello everyone,

I just wanted to give an update on my EXR. As of this post, the bike has 611.7 miles and 36.2 hours on it. I love this bike!

Here is a list of the maintenance items that I've performed:
- Changed Gear Oil at 21 hours. Very easy to do. I drained 100cc, so I put in 100cc of Mobil 1 75W-90.
- Adjusted the chain once.
- Threaded insert pulled out of fender where the rear tail light assembly attaches. I re-inserted with a soldering iron and have not had any more issues.
- Lost one of the Alta M5x0.8 Fasteners that hold on the rear tail light assembly to the rear fender. Replaced with a Honda fastener.

I finally made it to Briarcliff MX on 09/23/18. I had concerns that the EXR's suspension was going to be too soft. I'm 47 years old, 6'2" tall, 175 lbs, and a Vet B rider, with my background mainly in motocross. The Alta exceeded my expectations. Here are some of my observations:
- The suspension felt really good to me, especially over the small bumps. Track was very rutted with lots of braking bumps, soil moisture like play dough. Even landing over the bigger jumps, the suspension didn't blow throw the stroke and come to a harsh stop.
- Total riding at the track: 21.0 miles, 1.1 hours.
- I used Mode 4 most of the time, used Mode 3 occasionally.
- I do not feel the extra weight of this bike on the track, or in the air.
- Some turns were deep ruts. The Alta is very good at these, by lifting the front tire slightly and accelerating through the turn.
- There were 2 other Altas there: Mxengineer's EXR and a MXR (Sam from Marietta).
- I did require more juice. Thanks to Sam who let me use his generator and fast charger while he was on the track. I'm considering a generator and my 120V Charger if I frequent the track more often.
- I wanted to remove my rear tail light assembly for the track, but didn't have time. I thought it would loosen some fasteners or pull out another threaded insert(s), but this did not happen.
- I hadn't been on an MX track in a while, and I did not feel as tired afterwards as I did after my last ride there on my previous bike, '17 Husky TX300.
- I did allow a few test rides, riders came back with positive opinions. Many others were coming up to strike up conversations about the bike.
- To me, this is reminiscent of when 4-Strokes started to invade the 2-Stroke dominated MX scene. I expect to see more and more electric bikes at the track in the coming years.

Final thoughts:
- This bike accelerates quickly. It makes my '13 BMW R1200GS feel somewhat lethargic.
- I don't miss the clutch at all. In fact, when I ride the BMW now, I find myself wishing I didn't have to mess with clutch and shifter.
- Charging the bike at home spoils you. It now feels like a big inconvenience when I need to go to the gas station to refuel a vehicle or gas bike.

Take care,

GT
 

mxengineer1

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Columbus, Ohio
I was having fun riding my 19 CRF450 Works Edition at Briarcliff MX when my buddy GT-117 blew past me on his Alta EXR...license plate and all! GT-117 was more than holding his own around Briarcliff MX on his stock EXR! Check out my GoPro as he passes me and I try to keep up with him.....
 

Philip

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Lake Havasu City, AZ
Actually, I once considered taking my KTM 1190R on a MX track and jumping a few table tops. Glad I didn't because this heavy and clumsy pig would have probably bent its upper shock mount and frame. So, this is the first time I saw a plated bike on a MX track.
 

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