Hey dads, KTM is comin' for your kids!

[ThumperTalk]

Us long-time gas burning dirt bike dads might have something against electric dirt bikes, but will your kids share the same bias? While we're not sure that growing up with an iPad in their hands has been all good, we can't say that the latest gen of electric dirt bikes are such a bad thing.  Sure, the smell of premix in the morning is intoxicating and the sound of an FMF pipe is music to our ears, but is that the only way a dirt bike can be enjoyed?

Enter the KTM SX-E 5 Mini Electric dirt bike... Sure seems like KTM (and Husqvarna) is betting on your kids wanting one. What's what with the 2020 SX-E F?

The KTM SX-E 5 has been engineered with a lot of adjustability given how fast kids seem to grow. It's standard seat height is 27.5", but can easily be dropped as low as 25.7". There's also adjustment to be had via a KTM hard parts lowering kit, taking the seat heat all the way down to just 22".

All sounds great, but what's the battery range? KTM says the SX-E 5 battery will dole out 25 minutes with a fast rider flogging it pretty good. Of course, that's going to vary based upon conditions, but there are 6 different power modes if the rider needs more range and different power delivery characteristics.  Beginner mode is good for around 2 hours.

Next important question: How long does it take to recharge the battery pack that contains 84 lithium ion cells? KTM says an hour and 10 minutes @ 100% and 45 minutes @ 80%. The 5kW motor is pretty much maintenance free and is both water and dust proof.

The chassis is much like the KTM 50 SX, just tweaked to accommodate the electric motor and battery pack. Suspension consists of an air-spring Xact 35 fork out front and PDS Xact shock in the rear. Other goodies include wave rotors, Maxxis tires, Neken taperwall handlebars and SX-F inspired bodywork and graphics.

Price $5,049, $700 more than the 2-stroke 50 SX and $1,200 more than the 50 SX Mini.
 

What do you think of the KTM SX-E 5? Serious bike? Just a play toy? Is the range enough for how most riders will use it? Will you be plunkin' down your hard-earned cash anytime soon? 

 

[mixxer]

The song of internal combustion engines is music to my soul...

The complexities of tuning thumpers and 2 smokers is one of my favorite games in life.... From hot rods to dirt bikes to chainsaws....

The connection goes all the way to my DNA....  I didn't ask for it... I didn't try to love engines... I just do... From the core...

I'm well versed in most things electric... And I don't deny the instant torque and cleaner air... Nor any of the potential of electric locomotion...

But to me it's the same feeling as kissing a boy... I'm not born with it... It isn't for me... Some however find it to be just their cup of tea...

It certainly is where things are moving... But it feels like all the challenge and personality of making internal combustion engines really get it on... Has faded to white on white...

Power pulses... Pre-Mix... Pipes.... Cams ... Porting ... Pistons... And the thump and howl of a racing engine just make my heart pump and my skin bump....

It is what it is... And it always was...

 

[Johnny Depp]

2 hours ago, mixxer said:

But to me it's the same feeling as kissing a boy... I'm not born with it... It isn't for me... Some however find it to be just their cup of tea...

 That's just wrong calling people who like electric bikes LGBTQ.  Nice try though, you can't stop it.

 

Good luck to Team Austria and congratulations on the new E-bike, but $5k? You could by 2 Beta's for that, or a Beta and a Sur Ron to follow the little guys.

Edited October 25, 2019 by Johnny Depp

[mixxer]

Johnny...

First off, you spelled Dripp wrong...

I didn't say anything negative about anything...

Said it was greener... Instant torque... Blah blah... Only that its not for me...

A lot of dads have taught their sons and daughters about tools and machined expressly because of mini bikes/ dirt bikes... I did with all 4 of mine...

Changing oil... Cleaning filters... Putting in fresh pistons... Adjusting valves.... 

Learning tools and machinery....

Sorry to see that go... 

But if you don't know tools or machinery, then what would you miss? Or pass on?

"Dad I plugged it into the charger!"

Just doesn't feel the same to me as when my kids spun some wrenches and got stuff right...

I'm not trying to stop anything... But I can say the romance is dead with electric dirt bikes for me personally..

[somethingnuw]

I don’t mind the idea of an E bike ...it’s run times I worry about...trail rides even with my 6 year old can go a couple of hours...lots of us live in areas with vast areas of public lands...unless technology takes a serious jump or we elect a green communist government I can’t see how e dirt bikes will ever gain popularity in the off road communities...Mx....different story obviously...

Edited October 25, 2019 by somethingnuw

[pomoco]

I bought a battery powered leaf blower from Stihl and it sucks. Short battery life and poor power. Most of my experiences with rechargeable stuff has not been good. A new cell phone battery is great when you first get it, two years later and it won't go half a day. I've got a bucket full o chargers for stuff that no longer works. Let any battery powered anything set for a year without use and you might as well junk it

[shrubitup]

13 minutes ago, pomoco said:

I bought a battery powered leaf blower from Stihl and it sucks. Short battery life and poor power. Most of my experiences with rechargeable stuff has not been good. A new cell phone battery is great when you first get it, two years later and it won't go half a day. I've got a bucket full o chargers for stuff that no longer works. Let any battery powered anything set for a year without use and you might as well junk it

Bro, time to upgrade! 32:1 interceptor - runs great all day long. 
 

 

[Singletrack_rider]

I can see KTMs strategy here. Get the kids riding a e-bike at a young age. It will seem the norm not something strange and to be afraid of. Then in 10 years when the technology has advanced to have good working full sized e-bikes you will have buyers for them. It's all about money and profit that's all that matters.

[dyrtmon]

I say right on. E bikes aren't for everyone, but when I rode an Alta it changed my life, as well as the first time I rode an E mtn bike. Having said that, I own neither, but where I live having an E motorcycle would find me on certain trails waay after dark......an e mtn bike is a whole nether discussion for this long time mtn biker who will have one sooner than later.

[yz250f 78]

So you start your son on a gas pw50 then it’s time to move up and you buy the ktm E50 then it’s time to move up again so you go back to a gas 65.   And you wonder why the upcoming moto kids are soft

[William1]

Does the KTM price include the charger? What voltage and amperage circuit does it require to fast charge? Is the battery quick change? Cost for a replacement battery pack?

I have a cordless leaf blower and a cordless hedge trimmer. 56V EGO The leaf blower runs 20 to 35 minutes on a change. It does not compare to my gas back pack blower. Then again, if I want to clear off the deck while the grill is heating up or blow the leaves off of the roof by just leaning out a window, it is perfect. The hedge trimmer will last on a single charge (90 minutes) longer than my arms will. No noise, no cord to cut (I cut the old trimmer cord at least a dozen times of the years.). I have four batteries and two tools, I have yet to be stranded with four dead batteries. Battery stuff is pretty good with reasonable expectations.

A small electric bike looks like a great thing for a kid. No starting issues, no fouled plugs, no kid having wrangle a heavy fuel can. Able to ride around and around in a yard and not piss off the neighbors. They just need a app so the kid can hear engine sounds in his earbuds.

[Turboloader]

55 minutes ago, William1 said:

Does the KTM price include the charger? What voltage and amperage circuit does it require to fast charge? Is the battery quick change? Cost for a replacement battery pack?

I have a cordless leaf blower and a cordless hedge trimmer. 56V EGO The leaf blower runs 20 to 35 minutes on a change. It does not compare to my gas back pack blower. Then again, if I want to clear off the deck while the grill is heating up or blow the leaves off of the roof by just leaning out a window, it is perfect. The hedge trimmer will last on a single charge (90 minutes) longer than my arms will. No noise, no cord to cut (I cut the old trimmer cord at least a dozen times of the years.). I have four batteries and two tools, I have yet to be stranded with four dead batteries. Battery stuff is pretty good with reasonable expectations.

A small electric bike looks like a great thing for a kid. No starting issues, no fouled plugs, no kid having wrangle a heavy fuel can. Able to ride around and around in a yard and not piss off the neighbors. They just need a app so the kid can hear engine sounds in his earbuds.

Or take a baseball card, tape it to the fork and the swing arm, and let the card hit the spokes, presto engine sounds...

[William1]

5 minutes ago, M E T A L A C I D said:

Or take a baseball card, tape it to the fork and the swing arm, and let the card hit the spokes, presto engine sounds...

LOL, the idea is no one hears the bike, ear buds with real life engine sounds. When I was a little kid, there was a plastic 'engine' I had for my bicycle. You had a (I think)  twist grip to 'rev the engine up' Grrr....Grrrrrrrr! All electric, a forerunner and way ahead of its' time.

[BOAB]

The world is still many years away from embracing electric vehicles of any sort except golf carts.

[stupidmoto]

KTM is late on this idea, but everyone is acting like they're paving the way, how typical. The Beta has been available for a while now and it's MSRP is $1800, so you could buy almost three Betas for the price of one KTM lol. The Beta does use lead acid batteries but I'm sure someone could figure out how to switch it to swappable e-bike lithium batteries. Hopefully every bike is electric one day. We'll all look back and reminisce about how we would clean air filters like a bunch of cavemen 

[Turboloader]

2 hours ago, William1 said:

LOL, the idea is no one hears the bike, ear buds with real life engine sounds. When I was a little kid, there was a plastic 'engine' I had for my bicycle. You had a (I think)  twist grip to 'rev the engine up' Grrr....Grrrrrrrr! All electric, a forerunner and way ahead of its' time.

Now that's a cool bike, I dig it!

[kgmkgm]

Pretty cool tech. Let the kids ride in the yard way more in the suburbs and stuff too.

[EarthCruzn]

If they want to build it ................go ahead,.......you want to buy it......... ., go ahead.

BUT

Do Not Stop others from making and enjoying the same way of life they were raised on as where their fathers before them................

Yes the ones that built the "dirt bike"...................... after they built the dirt bike, they did not crush the bicycle did they.............

The kids never understood why they called it "Horsepower"............ until they rode one ? (try plugging that emotion in)

Kill a what? ...... OH ,,  Kilowatt

......... but they really mean is, .. Kill a horsepower.........

time to plug in your toy 

 

 

[Korbraap]

Love the passion and rationale coming from mixxer. Well said brother.
I like to think there’s a place for both versions for some time to come, so bring on the tech, and keep advancing it I say. Remember the first cell phones connected to the big battery pack you slung over your shoulder? Now my 1”x1” watch does the same thing and lasts probably 10x longer. Same change in video tech (VHS?). These e-bike batteries will mature with similar speed no doubt, and their occasional application out of the bull pen has enormous merit even for die-hard fossil fuelers. Personally, I’d grab one just for short, unnoticed blasts in the woods around home, to keep the nosey nellies from whining about the sweet sounds of my 2Ts.
But I’d sure enough buy William1’s app to trick my brain into thinking I’m keeping it “real”.

[zig06]

Spoke with my KTM dealership yesterday, he thinks that this is an awesome thing because there's big problem with little bikes and these solve those plus deliver a few bonuses.  

1.  Mini bike owners tend to be new to the industry and don't understand how to maintain them.

2.  Mini bike riders have a super hard time understanding how to use the clutch and shifter (I was one and so were you...).

3.  Being electric they could ride around all day in your neighbors back yard and you'd never know it.

4.  Near zero maintenance.

If I was 10 years old or small enough to ride one I'd be all over it!!

Thank you KTM!