Electricross Drift

[Bobby Glickman]

Originally Posted by Bobby Glickman

I bought an Electricross Drift electric dirt bike about a week ago. I am starting a thread to review and decribe it and answer any questions from anyone interested in this technology.

This is my 4th dirt bike over about 23 years. The rest were Kawi 2 strokes. The bike is unique and defies easy categorization. It weighs 110 pounds with the optional Lithium ion longer range battery or 140 pounds with the standard sealed lead acid battery. It feels about like a trials bike with a seat in terms of ergonomics and low center of gravity. It is very capable and comfortable on difficult trails and traction could not be better thanks to the electric motor.

The motor is made by Briggs and Stratton and rates about 18 hp.

The brakes are light hydraulic discs from the mountain bike world; they work very well even for my 200 pound buddy - but I only weigh 120.

The suspension is about 7 inches front travel and 8 inches rear travel. It is very effective even for a major hit like jumping across a bike eating concrete irrigation ditch (slamm).

The frame is a beautiful aluminum cradle. Excellent welds, protection and stout but light.

The seat is from the CRF450.

The bike is completely silent; even the chain is specially produced to eliminate noise. You can here the suspension working which is interesting because it works well enough that you rarely feel it.

The tight turning ability is outstanding and the bike is relatively stable up to its top speed of about 45mph with stock gearing.

There is no transmission or shifting...just throttle and two hand brakes...no foot controls.

Foot pegs are nice and wide and sturdy.

The wheels are 19/16 just like my 2004 KX100 but the tires are narrower to keep weight down and maintain range on the battery's charge. They seem to haul me up loose hills just fine. Many different tires are available including motocross, mountain bike, supermoto or trials.

I have not ridden long enough without recharging yet to determine the true range. Today I rode the hill behind my house (sadly off limits to a gas powered bike) for about an hour and used about half the battery charge.

The bike is a wheelie monster if you pin the throttle because of the impressive torque that electric motors produce from the very "bottom of their powerband" if you could call it that.

You can ride it in the bike lane thanks to a DMV provision for electric bicycles. The bike qualifies because the provision covers zero emmision electric "bikes" even without pedals which is nice because you can run around town a bit for fun or to explore nearby riding areas without loading up. Also, while trail riding you can always legally take the roads connecting trails or back to camp if you need to (especially useful if battery running low).

I don't think the battery will strand you if used correctly because it is not meant to be run dry. It is meant to be recharged before dropping below 36 volts. The maximum charge is about 47 volts and the motor can use 14,400 watts. So...as the battery tends toward the lower recommended limit of 36 volts you should not get stuck on the trail but you may shorten the life of the expensive battery if you wait longer to turn back than the battery meter would indicate.

The bike is made in Santa Cruz, CA by an engineer/inventor who wanted a high quality, high performance dirt bike that could be ridden around your home without police or neighbor problems. That dream appealed to me too and I am really enjoying the bike so far. I think this model is best for a smaller person but anyone who wants to could enjoy it.

It is expensive at $5500 with standard sealed lead acid battery. If you want the Lithium battery instead (saves weight and increases range) that's another $2950. For me, this bike was a super splurge, but it's a lot simpler than buying a house in the country so I can ride everyday from my garage if I want to.

For photos check out my garage or the company web site www.electricross.com

I'll post more as I learn more. Thanks for reading.

[Qqqqqqqqqqqq]

lets see some photos

[huskyfatman]

That's just kooky! I seem to remember years age, like the mid eighties a company out of Fontana Ca. called Eyeball Engeneering had an electric drag bike that hauled arse. Here's a link I found.

http://www.nedra.com/rannberg.html

[Bobby Glickman]

The photos are in my Thumpertalk garage or at www.electricross.com

[NumberCruncher]

Interesting post . . .

Except I stopped reading as the lack of a paragraph structure made it kind of hard to follow . . .

Greg the English teacher

[thillsam]

I want one of these so bad I can taste it, I just have too much money tied up in gas bikes to afford one.

I have to agree with the noiseless element - I raced DH mountainbikes for a while and the silence is so much fun, hearing the suspension work and the knobs on the tires grab the terrain - but the best part is that you can talk to your buddies while you ride! You can tell each other what your plans are and how to hit something, in real time.

THIS IS THE FUTURE, FOLKS! Imagine a Supercross race that is as quiet as a tennis match, and actually being able to hear the riders talk to each other and the announcer speak!

[thillsam]

[scottp111]

That bike is awsome! I wish I had a spare $8500 laying around.

[Bobby Glickman]

Thanks THILLSAM,

Done.

I appreciate all the replies. The bike is working beautifully and I'll update the thread when I figure out the range limits and performance potential more fully.

[Bobby Glickman]

I've gotten a lot more riding in on the Electricross Drift over the past two days.

I want to correct one mistaken idea that I had previously posted. When the battery runs out the bike is totally out of power. I had incorrectly thought the power would run down gradually but it pretty much performs uniformly until the end and then you have to push if you haven't heeded the battery gauge's warning.

As far as range I now have used the battery completely in two very different settings. The battery will last for a little over two hours of non-stop trail riding and hill climbing at Carnegie. Alternatively, the battery lasted for four runs on the TT/oval track at Sand Hill Ranch in Brentwood, CA. Each run was about 9 minutes.

The nature of the electric motor and its power usage favors tight technical single track and hill climbing over any type of wide open long distance riding. The bike also performs very well on motocross and TT/oval tracks.

At Carnegie, I was able to easily climb hills that I could never climb on my KX 100. I enjoyed climbing some hills to the surprise of other riders who would say..."I'd like to see you climb that hill"...and so forth as they did not think the bike could do it.

The bike has thus far held up to that type of abuse very well...no problems.

I,ve laid the bike down a few times and nothing broke.

I have always loved the sound of my two strokes but the silent operation on single track is very peaceful and enjoyable. It was somewhat helpful to be able to hear if the wheels were sliding so I could lighten up on the brakes before feeling the bike lose control on downhills.

At both riding areas the new bike was quite a conversation piece and a couple of CRF 450 R riders at Carnegie tested it out and really enjoyed it.

When comparing the Drift to my KX100 I realize that the bikes are so different that it is hard to make sense of the comparison but I'll try:

1) The supension on the KX 100 is much more plush but the stiffly sprung lighter weight Drift was actually easier to ride despite the better feel of the KX.

2) On the the Drift, the motor is always ready, always in the powerband at all speeds and there is no such thing a stalling. It can crawl or blast up the hills without hesitation and it is not fatiguing for the rider. The KX has a much higher top speed though when there is space to use it. Because the Drift is silent it can be deceptive though how fast it's actually running.

3) The handling of the Drift is much easier at low speeds, technical single track and on the hills. The KX felt much more stable at higher speeds on rocky fire roads and two-track trails.

4) The Drift was less tiring to ride (unless you have to push it back) because it is so light, requires no starting, can take off up a hill at the mid hill level without going back down for another run at it and because the power is so smooth.

5) I love my KX100 but I had even more fun on the Drift.

6) The range of the KX wit the IMS tank is probably 2-3 times longer than the Drift. The Drift is going to be my ride of choice for trails and hills when the distance is within its range.

[thillsam]

WOW great report, keep them coming and post some pics and vids if you can. The ones on their website are okay, but don't really have good enough sound quality to show how cool it is to be going that fast, silently.

As far as range I now have used the battery completely in two very different settings. The battery will last for a little over two hours of non-stop trail riding and hill climbing at Carnegie. Alternatively, the battery lasted for four runs on the TT/oval track at Sand Hill Ranch in Brentwood, CA. Each run was about 9 minutes.

SO would you say that you could run for as long, and as hard, on technical singletrack as you could on the stock KX100 tank?

.....

At Carnegie, I was able to easily climb hills that I could never climb on my KX 100.

.....

I have to beg to differ here. A KX100 has a lot more kW output than the Electricross, it's just a lot harder to ride because the motor is so peaky - this had to have been the factor that made it easy to hillclimb. I have logged enough time on a KX100 to say that even though the Electricross is probably plenty zippy, a properly ridden KX100 would surely smoke it in a dragrace up a hill with good traction.

.....

It was somewhat helpful to be able to hear if the wheels were sliding so I could lighten up on the brakes before feeling the bike lose control on downhills.

.....

This is the coolest factor of the silence of a DH MTB or electric motorcycle for me - you can hear each knob slide across a rock, and sideknbos grab the sides of a rut. The audio component lets you read what the bike is going to do even better than usual, and is an amazing advantage when you learn to use it.

Also, hearing the fork and shock cycle and oil squirt through the valving and such is really cool: for example, you can come in on the clickers and suddenly the oil sound through the shimstack is much louder - very cool!

You can also hear the slots in the disks when you really get on the binders: "BRRRRRrrrrrr".

And best of all, you can tell each other what jump to hit, where to wheelie, what side you're about to pass them on or be passed on, etc. It's sooo cool to be able to talk, whether they are freind or foe, they know it before you ever even show them a wheel.

6) The range of the KX wit the IMS tank is probably 2-3 times longer than the Drift. The Drift is going to be my ride of choice for trails and hills when the distance is within its range.

...sounds to me like I'd be saving my nickels and dimes for a Lithium battery pack(or two!)!

[v2comp]

How about this:

http://www.thunderstruck-ev.com/acbikes.htm

[Qqqqqqqqqqqq]

it's a very interesting option ...

but give my the sound of a CR 500 anyday

[gtsnowcrack]

sorry, girlfreinds login on accident...

[thillsam]

it's a very interesting option ...

but give my the sound of a CR 500 anyday

As a former longtime CR500 owner, I can say in some ways that I understand - at the DUNES, where no one cares how loud your bike is and the only people there do enjoy it.

On trails, at a track behind your house, or within earshot of me while I'm trying to do anything non-motorized, I feel a lot differently.

...as in, take your noisemaker somewhere else and quit pissing people off that can't and never will understand, but will remember it when it comes time to close off land and property to noise like you make.

Someday in the not-too distant future, electric stuff will flat ass smoke anything petrol powered, and you'll be able to dub in sound to some headphones that goes along with the throttle on your bike if you're so inclined.

[Hypersapien]

These bikes are entrepeneurs of the future of electric motorcycles. Bikes will become electric far sooner than automobiles because of their weight, battery technology is the only limiting factor of these awesome machines and the low weight of a bike makes that less of a problem. I would advise you to keep your Drift until one day it ends up in a museum as one of the bikes that sparked a revolution. There is no doubt in my mind that electric bikes will be hands down better in every way than fuel bikes... I personally cannot wait to get mine. Right now I have a drz400sm that could stand to be a lot lighter if only it were electric. Awesome thread.

[Bobby Glickman]

Again I really appreciate the great replies.

I would estimate the KX 100 with stock tank would go 50% farther than the Lithium ion battery powered Drift.

I agree that a more aggressive rider than me could blast up a hill very effectively on the KX 100. Still, you would be amazed how easily the Drift climbs pretty long steep hills thanks to the characterisitics of the Electric power delivery, light weight and lack of any possible stalling. There is much less wheelspin than the KX 100 produces at the high RPM's needed to tackle big hills.

I'll post more as I learn more.

[IrideVOR]

How about this:

http://www.thunderstruck-ev.com/acbikes.htm

Interesting thread. I was a fan of fourstrokes when they were the quiet ones. Now I ride a smoker because it's the quiet one. I like the concept of electric bikes, but I've yet to ride one. Take a look at the rear sprocket on the bike at the bottom of the quoted link.

[jksgvb]

Thanks for the thread.

I like the way the Drift is built from the ground up to be electric--rather than just a converted gasoline dirtbike. Obviously, it's much lighter that way.

Lead-acid is definitely the wrong type of battery technology for this use though. Lead-acid batteries like to be kept fully charged and deliver big amps for a short while. The Li-ion is the way to go. There's got to be a way to get them more cheaply--govt. subsidy maybe?

18hp ought to get a bike that light up to 70mph, I would think. I wonder if it would go that fast with the right gearing?

[Mork]

Thanks for a very interesting post Bobby!

Prior to this I was unaware of electric motorcycles.

You are a pioneer. You are supporting, and enjoying a

new approach. Electric vehicles could free us from: sending

mountains of money to people who hate us, increasing air

pollution, and stopping at crime ridden gas stations.

I don't mind the sound of a gas engine, but I would prefer

silence. I'm interested in the Thunder Struck Motors AC-Motard. The two main concerns are the price, ($7200) and the range, 15 to 20 miles. In a world where KLR 650s are $5000 new, I don't see why an electric bike is $7200.

I have sent an e-mail to Thunder Struck Motors, so maybe they will explain the price to me. I'm also concerned about service. The bikes are made in Calif, and I doubt I could get any help locally. My Dad says that electric motors last a long time, but this application is new. Your posts have taught me that batteries are expensive. I wonder how long

they will last in a bike. Selling an electric bike could take a long time, and the ave person would not even consider it inless the price was more like $1000.

The more I consider the down sides, the more I admire your courage. I hope your Drift is reliable, and enjoyable for

many years to come. Maybe someday it can be fitted with a fuel cell that will allow you enough range to ride all your favorite trails.