Motorcycles

Alta unleashes 50-horsepower, street-legal Redshift EXR

Alta unleashes 50-horsepower, street-legal Redshift EXR
Alta Redshift EXR: 50-horsepower electric with performance similar to a 350 race bike
Alta Redshift EXR: 50-horsepower electric with performance similar to a 350 race bike
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Alta Redshift EXR: 273-pounds weight ready to ride
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Alta Redshift EXR: 273-pounds weight ready to ride
Alta Redshift EXR: front/rear view
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Alta Redshift EXR: front/rear view
Alta Redshift EXR: Warp 9 wheels and Metzeler tires
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Alta Redshift EXR: Warp 9 wheels and Metzeler tires
Alta Redshift EXR: built for short city commutes and trail blasting
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Alta Redshift EXR: built for short city commutes and trail blasting
Alta Redshift EXR: special design WP shock
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Alta Redshift EXR: special design WP shock
Alta Redshift EXR: 50-horsepower electric motor
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Alta Redshift EXR: 50-horsepower electric motor
Alta Redshift EXR: seat and bars
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Alta Redshift EXR: seat and bars
Alta Redshift EXR: front three-quarter view
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Alta Redshift EXR: front three-quarter view
Alta Redshift EXR: stealthy road/trail blasting
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Alta Redshift EXR: stealthy road/trail blasting
Alta Redshift EXR: the Redshift bikes have shown serious promise in racing
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Alta Redshift EXR: the Redshift bikes have shown serious promise in racing
Alta Redshift EXR: 50-horsepower electric with performance similar to a 350 race bike
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Alta Redshift EXR: 50-horsepower electric with performance similar to a 350 race bike
Alta Redshift EXR: 4-plus hours of trail riding per charge
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Alta Redshift EXR: 4-plus hours of trail riding per charge
Alta Redshift EXR: charges in 1.5 hours
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Alta Redshift EXR: charges in 1.5 hours
Alta Redshift EXR: custom designed WP XPlor 48 forks
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Alta Redshift EXR: custom designed WP XPlor 48 forks
Alta Redshift EXR: silent bush blasting is on the menu
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Alta Redshift EXR: silent bush blasting is on the menu
View gallery - 15 images

Alta Motors has expanded its electric dirt bike range with the road legal Redshift EXR. Beefed up to 50 horses and packing upgraded WP suspension and a 4-hour trail riding range out of a 1.5 hour charge, the EXR looks like serious sideways fun in a zero-emissions, near-silent package.

Fresh from a historic appearance at the famous Erzberg Rodeo – even if it ended up being a learning experience rather than a triumph – Alta Motors has announced its latest model for 2019.

The EXR is a street-legal road/trail bike designed for short to medium length trail blasting and the odd city commute. Its 5.8 kilowatt-hour battery is good for around 50 miles of road riding, four and a bit hours of zooming around in the bush, or three 25-minute flat-out backyard moto heats.

Alta Redshift EXR: 273-pounds weight ready to ride
Alta Redshift EXR: 273-pounds weight ready to ride

Four power levels let you balance things between outright power and efficiency, with the top "Overclocked" mode giving access to horsepower beyond the motor's rated continuous output. That means you get a fair bit of extra kick, but if you flog it too hard, the bike might need to thermally limit itself until it cools down again.

The motor steps up from the 2018 EX's 42-horsepower job to a full 50 ponies with 42 lb-ft of torque available at all times, albeit through a single speed direct drive. Performance in Sport mode is comparable to something in a 350cc race bike, Alta claims.

Also new for 2019 is upgraded suspension from WP – XPlor 48 forks with the adjustable damping split between them – 30 clicks of compression on the left, 30 clicks of rebound on the right. The new suspension was developed specifically for the Redshift bikes. There's Brembo brakes, Warp 9 wheels and Metzeler enduro tires, as well as Acerbis bodywork.

Alta Redshift EXR: charges in 1.5 hours
Alta Redshift EXR: charges in 1.5 hours

At a list price of US$12,495, the EXR is nearly US$2,000 more expensive than, for example, the KTM 350 EXC-F enduro machine. Of course, you can easily make up that money in fuel, air filters, servicing, oil and piston rings if you put the miles on it, not to mention saving yourself a bunch of time in the shed.

As prices on these electrics continue to drop, it becomes more and more a personal decision whether you're willing to sacrifice all-day range for zero maintenance and near-silent stealth. We're gonna need a new term for "braaaap" one of these days, though!

Check out a video below.

Source: Alta Motors

Meet The EXR

View gallery - 15 images
6 comments
6 comments
BrianK56
Havn't ridden a dirt bike since I was a teenager, this one sounds like a good start. Especially when the price comes down.
jd_dunerider
These bikes are getting more and more tempting. I feel like I could almost get away with riding one, but I would sure hate to run out of juice on a long singletrack ride.
ljaques
Knock that price in half and I'll go into hock for one. I hope Alta and Zero get into price wars so we all win. But, hurry, guys! Month after month, MC fever hits me harder and harder, and I'm torn between a $10k Zero FX, a $12z Alta, and a sub-$2k Chiwanese Hawk 250 Enduro while my Social Security check laughs at me. (The tax rebates don't apply to me. <sigh>)
Loz, you're right about braaaaap. Having heard both a Zero and a KLM run, it's more like a "zzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZzzzzz", but there's nothing sleepy at all about their acceleration, so we'll have to find another term. How about ZzzzzAh? Sort of a zip to speed and then an ah, or the last portion of the word "huzzah". (shrug)
ljaques
(Oops, that's KTM, not KLM.)
Daishi
Electric motorcycles are improving but still a little niche but electric bicycles are seeing a lot of growth currently. All the major ebike companies (Juiced, Rad Power, Luna etc.) are struggling to keep bikes in stock. Rad Power bikes saw their revenue go from $7 to $30 million from 2016 to 2017. A 750 watt ebike motor only works out to about 1 HP but something like the Juiced RipCurrent S has a top speed of about 30 MPH and a range of 40-100 miles. That's nothing close to this beast but they are < $2k and bike trail legal. RadRover is pretty similar. My ebike makes about 2 HP peak which is still a lot of fun in the woods and on trails. For just casually strolling through the woods a 50HP machine is overkill anyway. You can do 30 MPH (48 kph) through the woods on an electric mountain bike for 1/6th or 1/8th of the cost of these. The performance of electric mountain bikes is approaching the point where they are becoming a viable alternative to a proper dirt bike. The $3500 Luna Sur Ron with a 6000 watt (8 hp) motor is another example of a top end ebike that's "good enough" on dirt trails for people that don't want to drop $13k on something that's really more for balls out racing.
guzmanchinky
Gawd I would LOVE one of these. But I do regularly spend more than 4 hours out in the woods, and then I still have hours of more fuel in my WR250R with a 3 gallon tank in case something goes wrong (getting lost or a dead end trail). And if I run out, I have a small siphon hose where I could borrow some fuel from another rider. I really can't wait for battery tech to get to the point where a bike this size can go 300 miles on a charge. My other problem is a ride for a long weekend and I can't see how this could be charged in the woods or using the truck I carry the bike around on (whereas I can fuel the bike at any gas station or with a small jerry can strapped to the back of the truck. But I SOOO want an electric dual sport! The power! The silence!