Yamaha developed electric motocross bike unveiled
Yamaha is pushing further into the electric motorcycle arena as a new motocross bike it has partly developed is announced
YAMAHA could be moving nearer to an electric future as a motocross bike the company has partly developed breaks cover.
The news comes just days after Yamaha announced it was taking orders and estimates for a range of electric drivetrains it has developed, although it isn’t clear if those units are a feature of the machine.
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The bike has been developed by Dutch firms Dohms Spike Technologies, with Yamaha providing the chassis and possibly some knowhow for the drivetrain, batteries, and controllers. The new bike is also gaining input from the Dutch motorcycle riders' association KNMV.
The bike is reported to be on a par with current 250cc bike which, if we go by YZ250F stats (which this machine shares chassis components with), means it’ll produce around 40bhp although it’ll likely have much more torque. That should be a big advantage to the machine if indeed it is allowed to race against 250cc class bikes, as it could produce torque figures closer to those of bigger and heavier 450cc machines. The higher torque could pay real dividends, although possibly only on certain tracks.
The electric motocross bike is an interesting proposition, unlike roadgoing electric bikes, range and recharge times aren’t so important, and the bike is only really required to complete a race distance. With those smaller batteries, the bike should be much lighter than a roadgoing electric bike, although it’ll likely outweigh a conventional petrol-powered machine. Whether or not the extra torque could make up for that, only time will tell.
Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
