Dumbfounded Alta is no more

[Bionicman]

I took my EXR to Tahuya WA for a polar bear new year day run today.
Must say I’m utterly shocked that Alta went under. These bikes have the performance & range to go the distance! Also taken aback by the general riding public’s ignorance on the electrics?
Several guys on the latest 2 smoke 250-300 KTMs prevalent in this area of goat trail heaven/hell were mid ride asking questions About the bike some utterly amazed “that motor” looks weird? “Its electric?”

I’m getting my monies out of my bike. Thankful I bought my 2019 EXR.

 

[Philip]

As someone summarized it very well, each of us owns a $70,000 dollar bike.

 

[TCMB371]

Yeah, I've pretty much exhausted my efforts defending the bike and brand on VitalMX and other media outlets. I've come to the conclusion that the majority of the dirtbike community is ignorant, arrogant, uneducated, and in denial.

 

[bluefxstc]

Yeah, I've pretty much exhausted my efforts defending the bike and brand on VitalMX and other media outlets. I've come to the conclusion that the majority of the dirtbike community is ignorant, arrogant, uneducated, and in denial.

No different than the general public on EVs, but they are coming around. It is inevitable that we will transition away from petroleum for general transportation, the only question is when or how soon.

 

[strider]

Yeah, I've pretty much exhausted my efforts defending the bike and brand on VitalMX and other media outlets. I've come to the conclusion that the majority of the dirtbike community is ignorant, arrogant, uneducated, and in denial.

I haven't had much interaction with the public yet, but the few folks I have talked to (my instructor and his son) are initially skeptical until they ride it. Then they are blown away and only complain about cost (because they have nothing else to complain about).

When talking about EVs, I like to frame them as the ultimate flex-fuel vehicle. It can use power from whatever is available locally. Here in OK we have a ton of Nat Gas, so your EV is powered by that. Up north you could use hydro. Other places could be nuclear, coal, oil, you name it. We use gas generators at the track. This gets the conversation away from the "green" business and lets you talk about how much better the drivetrain is (no stalling, no shifting, etc).

 

[CookieMonster]

I found here in New England young 20s and 30s year olds were excited about the Alta and had tons of question about it. It was the older 2-stroke crowd that were less interested.

 

[TCMB371]

I found here in New England young 20s and 30s year olds were excited about the Alta and had tons of question about it. It was the older 2-stroke crowd that were less interested.

I'm finding a mixture of interest. The little kids think its the coolest thing. The 20's and 30's guys are a mixture of skepticism and interest. The older guys love the bike. Generally everyone i've met in person for the most part shows a lot of interest and is excited about it. Its the forum trolls that have a lot of negativity towards the bike.

 

[Philip]

Its the forum trolls that have a lot of negativity towards the bike.

Those forum trolls won't come to you and tell you to your face that they do not like your bike, but they love-love-love posting their valuable opinions on the internet.

Some of these guys are purists, who think motocross bikes should remain the exact same as they were when they started riding, most often two-strokes.

Some are concerned that newer, faster, and more expensive bikes would turn motocross into a rich man's sport, like auto racing, where "cubic dollars" rule the competition and the most expensive car usually wins.

Some consider these bikes as evidence that the eco-nazis are winning, and everyone who rides dirt bikes hates the eco-nazis.

But I think most just haven't had enough or any of the seat time on these bikes, and they have nothing better to do with their day than to troll on forums.

 

[Rocketz152]

Literally every person that I have let ride my bike is blown away (they love it)... The biggest problem (in my opinion) is that humans are very tribalistic and anything “new” or “different” isn’t always well received or accepted... I think in 10 years things will be very different with more people buying electric vehicles... Tesla has almost went under a few times and they’re the gold standard for EV’s... Alta was just around a little too soon... like I said in 10 years I’m willing to bet that all the brands will have their own electric mx bike...

 

[strider]

Some of these guys are purists, who think motocross bikes should remain the exact same as they were when they started riding, most often two-strokes.

I used to tangle with these folks related to EV cars. My line of questioning was around all of the other modern things that current cars had. For example, radial tires, fuel injection, traction control, disc brakes, etc, etc. If you're going to be pure, to pure. Heck, if you were a "real man" you would be driving a steam-powered car, and on and on. Then you get the whole "sound thing". Except that every ICE manufacturer is now playing mp3 of engine sounds inside the cabins of their cars so there's that too.

It's obviously not to that level in dirt bikes but they have changed a lot over the years too. Even 2 strokes are "modern" now as you don't need pre-mix and such.

Just remember to only do it for fun and not get wrapped up in it. You're not going to change someone's mind until they're ready to change it.

 

[bluefxstc]

I used to tangle with these folks related to EV cars. My line of questioning was around all of the other modern things that current cars had. For example, radial tires, fuel injection, traction control, disc brakes, etc, etc. If you're going to be pure, to pure. Heck, if you were a "real man" you would be driving a steam-powered car, and on and on. Then you get the whole "sound thing". Except that every ICE manufacturer is now playing mp3 of engine sounds inside the cabins of their cars so there's that too.

It's obviously not to that level in dirt bikes but they have changed a lot over the years too. Even 2 strokes are "modern" now as you don't need pre-mix and such.

Just remember to only do it for fun and not get wrapped up in it. You're not going to change someone's mind until they're ready to change it.

If you want to be truly pure, you should drive steam, then hydrogen, then electric and then gas. The first electric cars were developed in the 1828-1835 range where the gas powered car wasn't until 1885-1886 although they did have 3 wheeled gas powered vehicles as early as 1861. Gas was the last to catch on, and it really only became popular after the invention of the electric starter. Prior to that you had to hand crank cars to start them and that was pretty dangerous so people, especially women or smaller men, didn't want to/couldn't do it. Up until about 1910-1920 (can't remember the exact date) there was a pretty even mix of steam, electric and gas powered cars produced and sold. Kind of ironic, what killed the first electric cars, was the electric starter for gas powered cars.

 

[Philip]

You are a true purist only if you follow the traditions that you know. Else you are either a futurist or a retro fan.

 

[Speedkills]

I love my Alta, so much I bought two of them but do you really see no downsides? I wanted to ride it to a Meetup 30 miles away tonight, but couldn't because there would be no way to charge it there and get home. I literally couldn't have finished any of the 20 or so rides I did over the past couple of years at Gifford Pinchot National Forest, not a single one of those rides was under 50 miles of singletrack. That's a lot of good memories to lose out on. For rides it can finish it's the best bike I've ever owned, but it wouldn't have finished 75% of the rides I have done in my life. Does everyone else just ride 30 miles and head back to the parking lot? Me, I'm keeping my eye out for a second EXR but also going to pick up an ICE bike with an oversized tank again, and a couple of fuel bottles to stick in my backpack.

 

[Philip]

Before Alta, I could count the number of times that I went trail riding on the fingers of one hand. If I go out and ride for 2 hours and cover 30 miles, that's a lot for me! And on an Alta I can do that every day, riding it right from my house. No driving to the trail is needed. Best dirt bike ever for me.

 

[Speedkills]

I wondered if many of us here were Moto riders. I actually think the range is great for an MXR but on the SM and EXR it leaves me wanting every time. It's sure good while it lasts though.

 

[Redwolf]

I find the range on my EXR is just long enough to get into the groove, and time to head back to the charger...

 

[bluefxstc]

The older I get, the shorter my rides get so for 75% of my rides the bike is fits the need. For the longer rides I take the ICE bike.

 

[strider]

I'm new to dirt riding so I'm worn out before the bike. I'm hoping to start doing cross country races next year and the Oklahoma CC racing group does 1.5 hour races. So, until I get a lot faster the Alta will have plenty of range to do that. Just last week I was able to pin the throttle out of a corner in Map 1

 

[Redwolf]

I'm new to dirt riding so I'm worn out before the bike. I'm hoping to start doing cross country races next year and the Oklahoma CC racing group does 1.5 hour races. So, until I get a lot faster the Alta will have plenty of range to do that. Just last week I was able to pin the throttle out of a corner in Map 1

Keep practicing, before long you will be comfortable with map 3 and complaining about range like the rest of us!!

 

[Rocketz152]

I'm new to dirt riding so I'm worn out before the bike. I'm hoping to start doing cross country races next year and the Oklahoma CC racing group does 1.5 hour races. So, until I get a lot faster the Alta will have plenty of range to do that. Just last week I was able to pin the throttle out of a corner in Map 1

It gets really bad when you’re going through roughly 1/2 battery in a 15 minute Moto (running map 4) I generally practice in map 3 but for some of the bigger jumps that are right off of the corner map 4 is required to clear them.