Dirtbikes

Taiwanese company Graft has launched a super-lightweight new electric off-road motorcycle – or is it a pedal-free ebike on steroids? The EO.12 puts out a meaty 20 kW, while weighing just 50 kg thanks to neat touches like carbon wheels.

Yamaha is sending a motocross racing team into battle this year equipped with prototype power steering systems that also act as steering dampers. It might look crazy at first glance, but there's fascinating implications for future motorcycle design.

Supercross racing made a modern stadium sport out of dirt bike racing in America, and now an Australian company is set to launch a truly international, FIM-endorsed supercross world championship, supported by an unprecedented financing deal.

Some electric dirtbikes hope to compete with gasoline-burners. The Stark Varg aims to dominate, destroy and humiliate them anywhere it's allowed to line up beside them. This is the most powerful, most extreme electric dirtbike we've ever seen.

There wouldn't be many motorcycling reprobates who haven't dreamed of testing their mettle in the storied Dakar Rally, piles of navigation instruments teetering atop their dash. Well, KTM's got the bike for you, if your pockets are deep enough.

With a fast-popping seat, mixed tires, plenty of suspension and a 14-kW electric powertrain, the Kuberg Ranger creates a category between dirt bike and scooter. Riders can kick up chunks of earth at 50 mph, sitting, standing or launching in the air.

Further details have dropped on quirky Kiwi company UBCO's lightweight electric dirtbike, the FRX1. At just 132 lb, it packs 15 kW of torquey grunt, and offers a range up to 62 miles – at a price that might make it a winner.

KTM has re-energized its drool-worthy enduro lineup for 2020, with a raft of updated EXC 2-strokes and EXC-F 4-strokes that make use of the company's new "Supertrax" suspension technology.

​Fans at the RedBull Straight Rhythm race next Sunday will see the Alta Motors Redshift MX lightweight torque monster go head-to-head with 250 cc gas bikes in a supercross-like event, but without the turns.

These two Italian off-road electrics bring some serious new chops to the table - for starters, 2WD for extra traction on hill climbs and loose surfaces. But perhaps more interestingly, they're the first motorcycles to ditch the standard dash and replace it with a rugged, waterproof smartphone.

The new Kuberg Freerider electric motorcycle serves up power and durability in a 79-lb (36-kg) package with a double cradle, powder-coated steel tube frame and a 48 V motor that can propel the bike to 34 mph (55 km/h).

Australian motorcycle daredevil Robbie Madison has dropped into a massive Tahitian wave and surfed it... On a lightly modified KTM dirt bike. This is one of the most supremely ridiculous and jaw-dropping things we've ever seen.