Do you dream of your dirt bike? Spend every spare day riding your dirt bike? Is there something about the sound of a 2-stroke that gets your ears perked?
However… can I ask if you’ve been looking at, dare I say, electric dirt bikes? Has the idea of ‘I would never….’ started shifting to ‘hmm, they do rip at the tracks…’ Are you starting to question your gas-powered loyalty?
Firstly, I understand! I’ve ridden gas-powered dirt bikes for my whole life. I’ve owned everything from a YZ125 to a WR450. We spend every weekend possible at the track as a family. In the past few years, electric dirt bikes have been joining our collection. Even my husband, a Yamaha dealer, has a soft spot for e-moto. Read his thoughts here
There are two main ways to go from here – do you sell your gas-powered bike to buy an e-moto, or do you add an e-moto to your collection? I’ll answer all your questions to see if it’s time for you to consider electric.
Who We Are
We design, engineer, and manufacture original parts under the GritShift and Heavy Hitter brands, handling everything from initial CAD modeling and stress testing to final assembly. Our store features only the most trustworthy, compelling brands that meet our rigorous quality standards. Driven by a team that runs the gamut from licensed road racers to off-road veterans and parents of future champions, we don’t just sell electric dirt bike parts; we push bikes until something breaks, then re-engineer them to be better.
Power
The very first thing that comes to mind when starting to look at electric is what acceleration is like and how fast it is. We know the top speed of a fully spec’d 450 can exceed 130mph and acceleration is pretty amazing. But did you know that our top-speed electric build can reach over 100mph?
We can’t talk just about top speed. Unless you’re wide open on a desert track it’s unlikely you’ll reach top speeds at the MX track. Acceleration and the throttle curve are just as, if not more important factors.
E-moto Acceleration
I’m sure we’ve all been there – slow speed through sand and selected a too-high gear. We’ve bogged down, and stuttered our way out. Don’t get me started about how neutral seems to appear at the wrong time! Anyway, electric dirt bikes don’t have that problem – no clutch, no gears. Just simply twist the throttle and you’re away.
I must admit, it was a bit strange at first jumping onto an e-moto and having no clutch. I felt I wasn’t really in control of the engine, kinda like I was cheating. However, I did find my skills increased significantly, and this showed back on my ICE bike. It also taught me way better throttle skills, you can’t hide any imperfections of jerky throttle movements with no clutch!
The acceleration on an e-moto is instant and very linear – if that’s what you select. There is no wasted time shifting gears, just super fast acceleration. Slowing down on a gas bike, on the other hand, has engine braking. On an e-moto, you can select your amount of ‘regen’. Regen is where you can re-group some of the power back into your battery from braking energy. More regen means more ‘engine’ braking.
Engine mapping vs tuning
The later model dirt bikes have the ability to change engine mapping via apps on your phone. You can select when ignition occurs and change your fuel/air mixture. You may even have your preferred settings for various tracks or conditions.
As opposed to gas dirt bikes, what happens in electric dirt bikes is you change the ‘tune’ – except you don’t have to visit a shop or do a dyno run to make it happen.
In a similar fashion – via an app on your phone – you can change parameters that affect the power output and how much power is released at a given time (wattage and amperage). Depending on the controller you have, you have access to change multiple functions, such as throttle response, dead band, acceleration curve, power output and more. The tune modifies the software in your e-moto. Pretty cool!
While we’re talking about power output – increasing the overall power output involves upgrading the battery, controller, or motor (or all three). You probably wouldn’t even consider upgrading your ICE dirt bike engine due to the time and cost involved, but with an e-moto, it’s as simple as plug and play. It would be like giving your 250 the power of a 450 with a few simple swaps.
Suspension
Suspension on electric dirt bikes has greatly improved since e-moto first came onto the scene. The big brands are now including good quality suspension on their e-motos, especially on their bigger electric dirt bikes.
One example we like to use is E Ride Pro, a brand that released their latest model, the SS 3.0, with high-quality Fastace suspension. This even keeps up with the demands we put on it, and it’s a far cry better than the mountain bike suspension found on smaller e-motos like Surron LBX and Talaria Sting. Check out our Youtube of what we put our bikes through!
Straight out of the box, the full E Ride Pro range has an awesome suspension with all the adjustments you’d expect. The rear suspension is very similar to your gas dirt bike – again, with similar adjustments. The smoothest transition from gas power to electric dirt bikes would be to get on a bike that’s similarly equipped, and that’s why we can’t recommend the E Ride Pro line enough. Check out their bikes here.
I found once you tune your suspension to how you like it, the suspension rides very similar to what you’d expect on any dirt bike. Of course, you can upgrade both your forks and shock. Fork upgrades are very similar, but upgrading your shock on an e-moto is much easier due to the placement of the spring and triangle linkage being better accessible.
This article explains the suspension in depth.
Riding Feel
Most e-motos are much smaller than your average dirt bike. The mid-sized e-motos like the E Ride Pro S, Surron LBX, or the Talaria Sting are smaller than the YZ125. Some riders describe how they feel as ‘toy-like’.
Weight:
- Surron LBX: 125lbs
- E Ride Pro SS: 138lbs
- Yamaha YZ125: 209lbs
- Kawasaki KX100: 170lbs
When you consider the weight vs power output, while the e-moto may feel ‘toy’ like, they’re not for the faint-hearted! And that’s with just the stock power numbers. Add in a bigger controller or battery and you can create an extremely efficient machine when it comes to power vs weight.
The toy-like feeling comes from the maneuverability, how ‘flickable’ it is, mixed with the size. Many riders start adding extra parts to their e-moto, such as seat risers and handlebar risers to create a bigger feeling. It’s all down to personal preference – these e-motos are in an exciting league of their own.
What does an e-moto compare to?
A comparison can be made between some of the larger e-motos, such as the Surron Ultra Bee or the E Ride Pro SR, and the YZ125. They are similar in size, but they are slightly lighter – and faster in some cases!
Battery and range
One of the most common questions is what is the range like? Here is a rundown of the most popular e-motos:
- Surron LBX: 46 miles @ 25mph
- E Ride Pro SS 3.0: 64 miles @25mph
- Talaria Sting R MX4: 53 miles @ 25mph
Keep in mind that these figures will change due to rider experience, weather conditions, road conditions, etc… But it is a good comparison to see what the range would be on a stock standard battery.
It isn’t as easy as taking an extra Jerry to the track to get extra range, but you could consider taking a spare battery. Swapping the batteries is simple, and works well if you have a set-up at a track.
If you’re exploring the countryside, you’ll need to be mindful of the range or have somewhere to recharge. Typically, recharging takes around 2-3 hours to at least 80%, depending on the e-moto.
You’ll get a dedicated charger with your e-moto, which works in any standard outlet.
However, unlike the gas-powered counterparts, it is really easy to upgrade the range. Even add some extra ‘octane’ to the mix, so to speak. Larger and more powerful batteries are an excellent upgrade, and relatively straightforward. For the nitty-gritty, check out this article as there are a few things to consider, but for the most part it is a straightforward upgrade.
Environmental
Whether you’re a greenie or not, you can’t argue with the fact that e-moto are way more environmentally friendly. No emissions issues, and no ongoing gas purchases. But the biggest thing for me on the environmental front is the noise pollution.
Ride (almost) anywhere you like without annoying your neighbors! We ride on friends’ private property, which wouldn’t be possible due to the proximity of neighbors’ houses on our ICE bikes. It opens up so many more areas to ride in.
Maintenance
Maintenance on a Surron, E Ride Pro, or Talaira is much easier than an ICE dirt bike. The motor looks after itself, you don’t need to do oil changes (on the vast majority of e-motos), and there are no filters to clean. Other maintenance you’d expect is the same – tires, chain tension, suspension – but overall a much easier bike to maintain. Most parts on an e-moto are easier to reach than on an ICE dirt bike.
Spare parts are readily available and the aftermarket industry for e-moto parts is huge, and only getting bigger. It could be because e-motos are so much easier to work on, as long as you have a slight knowledge and common sense, most riders can make their own upgrades.
Reliability and modding
E-moto has been around for some time now, Surron is the oldest brand – and the technology is advancing at a rapid rate. As long as the e-moto is looked after and ridden to within its capabilities, you won’t have any reliability troubles. Warranty, in general, is much longer than your standard ICE dirt race bike.
You might be thinking though, what are the capabilities of an e-moto, and why do we mention we try to break as many parts as possible on Instagram? Let me explain. A section of GritShift is the brand Heavy Hitter – the R&D side. Headed by pro Rusty who leads his team to design the most robust, lightest, best-est e-moto parts that will withstand anything.
As experienced riders and racers, we love pushing the limits of e-moto, and to do that, you need to beef up certain parts of the bike. This is where Rusty comes in, those weak points are replaced with his well-researched, and tested parts, and then we try to break those! If they pass all of this, then you get to see them on our website.
If you choose to not ride super hard and at times, case a triple, then the current stock bikes are what you need. If you are a rider who is prone to getting severely airborne and pushing both your limits and your bike’s, then I would suggest reading the article all about modding.Which gets us to what e-moto should you go for?
What do I buy?
Where do you want to ride, and how do you want to ride? Just like buying a new ICE dirt bike, each e-moto is made for something different. You’ll find the differences between brands such as Surron, Talaria and to some extent, and E Ride Pro is like comparing Yamaha, Honda, or Kawasaki. All great bikes, all capable of winning championships, but have a few little idiosyncrasies.
Then, like comparing your PW50 to YZ125, YZ250 or WR250 – each e-moto brand has its own range, some with mini pit bike style e-motos, slightly larger, larger again, and perhaps a road version.
After years of doing this, most of us here at GritShift personally own E Ride Pro – we’ve found they’re the best straight out of the box. Apart from a few things that need to be strengthened if you’re taking it around a supercross track, it’s almost perfect. Almost – as there is always something on any motorcycle that can be improved to fit the rider perfectly. And why not? E-moto are the best to mod – there’s nothing better than riding your own customized ride!
Check out E Ride Pro here, as you start learning more about e-moto, you’ll see why the E Ride Pro is the top of our pick. Hint: The 72V battery has something to do with it!
What do I do next?
The choice is yours – do you sell your ICE dirt bike to go electric, or do you add to your collection? If you’ve already got the setup, trailer or truck, tools, and places to ride – then it doesn’t matter which way you go, it will always be a heap of fun.
There are more and more sanctioned races starting to appear that hold an e-class category – and I don’t see this slowing down anytime soon.
Start doing your own research, have a look at the previous articles we’ve written to give yourself an understanding of how an e-moto works. Look at the different brands.
Make sure you also join our newsletter community so you receive all the latest tips and tricks, and how-to guides on everything e-moto. We also release videos on YouTube about all things e-moto, and feel free to join the convo on Instagram.
Glad you’re here. Welcome to the electric side 🙂
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