Motorcycles

Video: 56-horsepower Russian electric dirt bike goes underwater

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A trip to the bottom of the lake on a Russian electric dirt bike
Milandr
Electric freestyle: relaxing
Milandr
With 56 horsepower and 150 Nm, this thing is powerful and fast
Milandr
Backflip time on the Milandr SM-250
The power can really get away fro you
Milandr
The Milandr SM-250 electric motocross bike
Milandr
A trip to the bottom of the lake on a Russian electric dirt bike
Milandr
View gallery - 6 images

Electric powertrains require no air intake, and are completely weather-sealed, so many of them are capable of riding along underwater. Here's a video of a high-powered Russian motocross bike doing just that.

The Milandr SM-250 is a Moscow-built electric dirt bike with a feisty 42-kilowatt (56-horsepower), 150 Nm (111 lb-ft) mid-drive motor, and a 6.5 kilowatt-hour battery that we'd estimate would be good for a couple hours' worth of trail blasting or track shenanigans.

Its peak power level is around what you'd get from a 450cc KTM, and its 128 kg (282 lb) weight isn't far off what something like that weighs wet and fueled up. It's a big dirt bike, but not big enough to stop freestylers from backflipping the thing.

Backflip time on the Milandr SM-250

We've heard stories before of bikes like the Zero FX being ridden underwater, but this is the first time we've seen an electric machine deliberately submerged on video, just to make the combustion boys jealous. Mind you, it doesn't go particularly well at first for the rider in question, who ends up getting his back wheel clagged up with so much mud that he has to walk the bike out anyway.

But by the end of the video, it starts looking like a bunch of fun as he starts blasting into the water at speed, flinging himself off the bike in harmless crashes, then dragging it out and going for it again. Not a cylinder to be drained.

The power can really get away fro you
Milandr

Still, we're waiting to see a video of a dude in a scuba suit riding an electric bike across the ocean floor, shot with an underwater camera. Pointless? Sure. But it'll look cool! Check out the video below.

Source: Milandr SM

View gallery - 6 images
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3 comments
Paul Muad'Dib
Looks like it’s about the same as Alta Redshift MXR.
ljaques
Those look really fun to ride. 6.4kWh doesn't seem like it would last 2 hours through 54hp on single-track. Zero's FX ZF7.2 on a motor producing 46hp can only ride Range (mi): 91 city / 39 highway, so maybe 60 miles MX. Maybe they average the young boy racers with the little old men (like me) when they claim numbers. Anyway, I hope they do well. When will they be available in the US? Price? I can't read Russian websites.
Worzel
Had a moped, in Singapore that I did that with during a monsoon flood, water above set level. Just pedalled it out, took the plug out pedalled like hell, to blow the water out, replaced the plug, pedalled some more, and off I went! Not something i'd do for fun tho'!