KTM Freeride E-SM test

Menus

• The city as a playground
• After the E-SX and E-XC versions, the Austrian giant continues to offer its electric range with an urban supermoto version, which we were able to discover in the vicinity of Madrid. Encounter of the third kind with a nuclear toy !
• Presentation
• In the saddle
• City
• Departmental
• Highway…. peripheral !
• Braking
• Practical aspects
• Balance sheet
• Practical information

The city as a playground

After the E-SX and E-XC versions, the Austrian giant continues to offer its electric range with an urban supermoto version, which we were able to discover in the vicinity of Madrid. Encounter of the third kind with a nuclear toy !

Talking about a giant when it comes to KTM is not an empty word. With 158,760 motorcycles sold in 2014, an increase of 28.2% compared to 2013 and a status of leading European manufacturer, "the ogre of Mattighoffen" continues to grow, like a beanstalk. The association with Bajaj is no stranger to this. Even if the Indian produces 3.5 million two wheels per year, which places it second world manufacturer behind Honda (!), It does not eat KTM for all that. Only the "small" engines 125, 200 and 390 are manufactured there. The distribution of production remains stable: 2/3 in Austria, 1/3 in India. But let’s come to the Freeride range.

Presentation

On a common basis, KTM has developed five models. Two are thermal, a 350 4-stroke and a 250 2-stroke, the other three are electric: E-SX, E-XC and E-SM. These five machines have in common their cycle part, a guarantee of high quality. The three electric versions share their batteries, electronic management and propellant, an alternating current motor and permanent magnets..

With an efficiency of up to 92%, it delivers 42 Nm of torque from 0 rpm and 11 kw continuously, which makes the Freeride SM accessible to A1 license holders. Owners will however benefit from a peak power of 16 kW, or almost 22 horsepower. Lucky guys! The 2.6 Kwh Battery consists of 360 Samsung cells. It is removable and weighs 28 kg.

For the rest, the motorcycle, particularly stripped to be as light as possible, 110 kg, benefits from a finish and a remarkable manufacturing quality. Very intelligently designed, it has quality fittings, both in terms of brakes and suspensions. Beautiful work then. But it must be said that at 11,825 € a piece, that’s all we can expect, even if we know that Lithium ion batteries are very expensive and that the production volumes of such models have nothing to compare with those of thermal motorcycles. KTM is indeed aiming for 1,500 electric sales, all models combined for 2015.

In the saddle

God it is high! It is better not to be too short on legs to step over the E-SM. Perched at 900 mm high, it cannot be approached easily, but once seated on it, thanks to the sagging of the suspensions, a pilot of less than one meter 70 places almost both feet flat on the ground. An option – 25mm is available. Note, however, that the bike is so thin, that the "rope" which connects the two sides to the ground is ultimately much shorter than it appears. And this is where the shoe pinches precisely, because the saddle is so narrow that the seating comfort is deplorable, despite the quality of the foam and the efficiency of the suspensions at large travel (250 mm). We are dealing with a real TT saddle, the same as on the SX and XC, a sport that is practiced standing and requires a narrow saddle precisely, for better mobility of the pilot. It is not meant to be seated and it was not designed to. And if you persist in seeing a motorcycle there to be seated, the contact pressure will very quickly become disturbing and clearly sensitive or even annoying after twenty kilometers..

The driving position, however, is very natural. In the absence of clutch and gearbox, all the controls are on the handlebars, including the rear brake, scooter style, which poses no problem for bikers, quite the contrary. Small digital dashboard shows speed, readable and has two trips in addition to total mileage, average speed and ride time.

Behind the steering column, another display indicates the battery level via colored LEDs. The 3 green represent 20% each, then when the level drops below 40%. The low orange LED takes over. At 20% it turns solid red, then flashing red at 10%. Around 5% of residual capacity, the power decreases significantly to allow you to return to idle. In the center of this display three red leds indicate the chosen operating mode.

The first, which can be described as economical, delivers reduced power with low acceleration and a maximum speed of around 65 km / h. The second and third provide maximum power, however with a different intermediate response from the throttle grip (in the absence of gas!). Mode 3 is the liveliest. Here, you know everything, we take off?

City

With the ignition on, on the side of the headlight, the instrument panel lights up, but to wake up the engine, the starter button must be pressed once more, in order to avoid any inadvertent false maneuver. In the absence of noise, we could indeed turn the handle and see the motorcycle leave by surprise. We take off smoothly and in relative silence. At around 35/40 km / h, transmission noise and other whistling are relatively high.

At a red light, however, there is total silence, the liquid cooling is not heard at all. When it turns green and we turn the handle frankly, the acceleration is lively. 42 Nm is the torque of a 400 four-stroke! We don’t have to worry about getting into the traffic. The performance is that of a 125 scooter, with better liveliness.

When stopping on a hill, however, we regret the absence of a foot brake, or a hand brake by locking the levers. The rider is therefore obliged to keep one hand on the handlebars at all times while pulling the brake, to prevent the motorcycle from moving forward or backward..

In addition, the controls are soft and the motorcycle very light. We sneak around easily, the handlebars are not too wide, the mirrors are efficient. Sitting high up we dominate the situation. Pedestrians can hear you coming more or less, depending on whether you accelerate or not. Caution remains in order, with cars too. But overall, everything is fine, the bike steers short and we easily jump the sidewalks, even more if affinity!

She can do it, so can I; but I’m scared. That said, the quality of the WP suspensions allows many fantasies.

Departmental

On small roads, the small SM is just as comfortable. With its extended gear compared to the TT siblings, it exceeds 90 km / h (92 announced). In a slight descent, the odometer read 98 km / h, the 100 must be possible…. with the wind at your back. But it is in the winding portions that we enjoy the most of its agility, its liveliness, jumping from one curve to another with the noise that recalls that of an unbridled 50 cm3 2 stroke, in many cases. more muffled. The engine picks up at 6,600 rpm, but to hearing it feels like it’s more and it’s really nice. The Pirelli diablo Rosso II offer good grip and you can really enjoy it…. as much as we can, because at this rate, the autonomy melts like snow in the sun.

Highway…. peripheral !

With its maximum speed of 92, the E-SM will take you on the periphery, without worries, even on an interurban highway, for a jump of chip while being careful with the trucks…. and autonomy.

Braking

Here no ABS, on the contrary, the rear blocks easily and we take the opportunity to put the bike across, entering a bend, provided you have mastered the art … the room for improvisation remains wide, as the bike is light and manoeuvrable. A toy we tell you! The handlebar control instead of the clutch is very natural, you adapt to it immediately. The front brake is adjustable, but from 80/90 km / h you start to find it lacking in bite. In fact, it is the same as in TT and if in this function it allows a perfect dosage without too much risk of blocking the front on the ground, on the road, with the wheel of 17, it lacks a little nerve in sporty driving. On the other hand, to play and do tricks at low speed, it fulfills its role perfectly..

The small 4 piston caliper is superb, but the disc a little too small. It lacks bite.

Practical aspects

We have already talked about the comfort of the saddle, but autonomy is another annoying subject. In fairly intensive use, with 6 km of memorable fluff at full speed on a small departmental road, our bike only displayed a residual capacity of 20% after 30 km traveled. That means we had about 7 km to go before we ran out of fuel. Of course, this figure should be put into perspective, because more than with a heat engine, autonomy varies enormously with speed and type of use. So if we have fun driving at maximum speed, using the 11 kw of the engine to the full, the 2.6 kwh of the battery will be consumed in 14 minutes, or a distance of about 21 km. But in current use, taking care to remain economical, we will of course go much further. KTM advertises between 30 minutes and 1.5 hours of autonomy, but in any case, never expect more than 70 km of autonomy, even in the city without passing the 50 and accelerating gently.

As an indication, a basic Zero motorcycle has a battery of 8.3 kwh, or even 11, or 13.5 and a charger integrated in the motorcycle. The weight is felt, it varies between 171 and 205 kg. That’s almost double the KTM. The price is between 13,990 and 18,390 €, with a cycle part, which despite clear progress is not up to KTM standards. This is also to be taken into account. A very different approach in the end from the American manufacturer.

With the E freeride SM, you can still get to work, but forget about wheelies and 80 km / h or more…. Especially since you will have to remember to go back!, Because here, the charger supplied with the motorcycle is neither integrated nor transportable. This means that with E-SM you have to think back and forth when it comes to autonomy. It limits the radius of action! The solution of a replacement battery at € 3,270 including VAT (and 28 kg) is hardly possible.

On the other hand, in 50 minutes of recharging, we find 80% of the autonomy on a 10 amp socket. To reach 100% charge, count 1 hour 20 minutes. Note also that after 700 charge / discharge cycles (approximately 25,000 km!) The residual battery capacity will be reduced by 20%. It will then be necessary to deal with an average range that has dropped from 45 ‘to 36’… .. This is the main weak point of this bike, which limits it to urban leisure use. As for shopping with it, or taking a passenger, don’t count ….

Last practical detail. With a price of around 13 cts per KWh (taking into account the subscription), 1 hour of motorbike costs you around 40 cts. In the maintenance chapter, you will only have the tires, the chain kit, as well as the transmission oil (15 cl every 50 h). No engine to redo, valves to adjust, no spark plug, no air filter and of course no gasoline! ….

Balance sheet

Available from May 2015, against 11,825 €, the KTM E-Freeride SM clearly amused us. It is a fabulous toy, for sliding, jumping, zouave in a skate park, on a karting circuit, or in an industrial area…. In silence and smoke-free! But its capabilities are limited to pure leisure, it has no other vocation than to please you. Its field of action, like its radius of action, is limited. You have to integrate it. If its capabilities meet your needs or your desires, it won’t disappoint, as long as you have a well-tanned butt, or wear cycling shorts! With this E freeride SM, KTM continues to develop ‘E-mobility’ and obviously it’s not over. It’s a safe bet that we will soon see the concept of the KTM E-Speed ​​sporty electric scooter appear, presented at the Tokyo Motor Show 2013 and supposed to go into production in…. 2015! In Barcelona, ​​the message was clear, KTM’s DNA is sport and no question of releasing purely utilitarian products. But nothing prevents a ‘bleeding’ scooter…

Station ! By dint of playing the zouave, trouble ends up happening ….

Strong points

• Very playful behavior
• Nice finish
• Quality of suspensions
• No vibration
• Very little noise, no smoke

Weak points

• Autonomy
• Saddle
• Outdoor charger
• Price

The Freeride technical sheet

Practical information

Prices for motorbike + battery + charger

• Freeride E-SM: € 11,825 incl.VAT, recommended customer
• Additional battery: 3,270 € incl.VAT recommended customer
• Additional charger: 800 € TTC recommended customer

Motorcycles will be available at the end of May.

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