Change in the way Alta is advertising torque

[snydes]

Any theories why they are making a change from advertising the torque rating at the countershaft (after gear reduction) to actual motor torque?

 

[Philip]

All other manufacturers report the torque at the motor. The max RPM is about 14K, just like on the 4-stroke 250. Why they initially decided to report the torque anywhere else is unclear.

 

[Philip]

Perhaps 42 ft-lbs of torque did not sound very impressive when the bike has only 1 gear? This is probably why someone decided to multiply it by 3.5.

But even with the 34 ft-lbs of crank torque my MX, which is also geared up 12/45, was still called a "Torque Monster" today by a B-level rider. He also added that it is more powerful than a 450. He almost looped out on a small jump, LOL.

 

[Mark911]

It doesn't matter what the motor is "rated" at, it's how they map the motor controller. The only way to determine that is on the dyno as Phil demonstrated.

 

[Honcho]

We used to publish torque at the countershaft because that was the best way to compare to direct-drive electrics. The reality is most of our customers are not cross-shopping Altas vs other electrics - they're shopping vs gas bikes. Gas bikes measure torque at the crank so measuring our torque at the rotor, upstream of the gear reduction, makes for a much more direct comparison that more accurately reflects the what the bike will feel like relative to a gas bike. So the difference is which side of the ~3.5:1 gear ratio you measure the torque.