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• New perspective for off-road sport?
• Slim, light and delicate
• The KTM Freeride E can do a good 60 things at level 3
• With amazing speed on the cross-piste
• Technical data KTM Freeride E (models SX and XC)

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Cheers for the e-bike: special test in the middle of the alpine mountains – only possible with an electric drive.

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There will also be a motocross and supermoto version parallel to the E-XC. A total of 1500 e-freerides will be built.

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How long does the juice last? The LED ring (green bars) documents the charge status of the battery, the digits in between show which mapping is selected.

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Refueling: The 28 kg battery (cell supplier: Samsung) is attached with four screws. A change takes less than two minutes.

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E-Werk: The 16 kW (22 hp), water-cooled electric motor is produced by KTM. Apart from the reduction (in the front in the picture) no gear is necessary.

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KTM Freeride E in the driving report

New perspective for off-road sport?

No noise, no emissions – after seven years of development, the first electric bike from KTM, the KTM Freeride E, could give off-road sport a whole new perspective.

The hikers on a mountain path above Saalbach-Hinterglemm seem disoriented. You see the group of enduro riders approaching you, but you don’t hear them. And before the hikers can return the cheerful hello from the enduro riders, the swarm is the KTM Freeride E disappeared around the next bend with a low whirring noise.

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KTM Freeride E in the driving report
New perspective for off-road sport?

Freeride E in the Austrian mountain bike and trekking stronghold. To show what is possible when noise and exhaust gases are left out. The KTM team had enough time to find a suitable location. The men in Mattighofen have been working on their e-motorcycle concept since 2007. After the crisis in 2009 made the financial ceiling thin, they even installed the 350 four-stroke and the 250 two-stroke enduro engine in the graceful e-bike chassis.

Slim, light and delicate

The Austrians have since recovered well and in the first half of 2014 they presented the best sales figures in the company’s history with 70,000 machines – and now also the KTM Freeride E. Like the two sister models with combustion engines, the e-bike is also there: slim, light, petite. Not a range hunter like the Brammo, but Playmobil. The battery has a capacity of 2.6 kWh, the water-cooled electric motor has an output of 16 kW (22 hp), and the E-XC enduro version (suitable for A1 driver’s license) weighs 110 kilograms..

Ignition key turned, starter button pressed briefly. Two rows of bars in the display in front of the bench nose document the charge level of the battery. In between, three driving modes can be selected via a push button: Level 1 with half power, levels 2 and 3 with full power, but with different spontaneous responses. Shift levers and footbrake levers do not exist, neither is a clutch lever. Braking is done with the handlebar controls on the right (front) and left (rear). All you need to do is turn the throttle, sorry power, of the KTM Freeride E to set off.

Electric

Driving report: KTM Freeride E

Off-road motorcycle with electric drive

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The KTM Freeride E can do a good 60 things at level 3

Only the moderate whistling of the primary drive (reduction ratio 1: 2.4) can be heard. In no time at all we screw our way up the farm roads. KTM specifies a top speed of 75 km / h for the KTM Freeride E. She manages a good 60 things at level 3 with an estimated seven percent gradient. Not bad. The torque strength of the electric motor, due to its design, makes it much easier to cope with tight bends at low speeds, and makes you forget the smooth hand on the clutch lever that is necessary in such situations with combustion engines.

However, not looking at the display of the KTM Freeride E. The charge level indicator quickly drops, making turning the throttle more hesitant. KTM proclaims a range of 50 kilometers. A realistic figure. Back in 2008, MOTORRAD determined a range of between 25 kilometers (motocross) and 55 kilometers (forest trails) for the Quantya E-Enduro, which is equipped with the same battery size but has since disappeared from the market..

With amazing speed on the cross-piste

In this respect, the bumpy hiking trail comes in handy. Gas off. Performance level 1 would be sufficient here. But with 11 PS remaining power and a timid response, the driving pleasure remains poorly restrained. With the know-how of the off-road forge, it goes without saying that the chassis of the KTM Freeride E casually sniffs up the jarring piste and steers and brakes in a first-class manner. Trial tires that are gentle on the ground instead of the competition tires would perhaps have the environmentally conscious character of the e-mobile concept still better to face.

So be it. A special test has been set out on an alpine pasture high above Hinterglemm. But before the KTM Freeride E can shine with amazing speed on the cross-piste, it is refueled. Folding up the seat, loosening four screws and implanting a fully charged battery takes less than two minutes. If you don’t have a replacement, you have to wait. 50 minutes until
80 percent of the battery capacity is restored, 80 minutes for a full charge. And: you need electricity.

An aspect that inevitably leads back to the fundamental discussion. Because the expensive battery technology drives the price of the basic Freeride E (including battery and charger) to a level that is difficult to digest at 11,545 euros. It is unrealistic to put a 28 kilo replacement battery in the backpack that costs 3205 euros. For the KTM Freeride E, despite all the enthusiasm for the silent ride through nature, the perspective remains as a fun mobile on the playground around the socket. A fact that could give off-road sports a real boom, for example with e-cross slopes in industrial areas – and KTM the respect for being one of the first manufacturers to pave the way there.

Technical data KTM Freeride E (models SX and XC)

KTM

The expensive battery technology drives the price of the basic Freeride E (including battery and charger) to a level that is difficult to digest at 11,545 euros.

Engine: Water-cooled permanent magnet synchronous motor, without automatic recuperation radio-
tion, 3 kW charger, lithium-ion battery, maximum battery capacity 2.6 kWh, 1 module, 360 cells, 10 Ah, battery voltage 260 V, clutch-free drive with chain.
Maximum output: 16 kW (22 hp) at 4500 rpm
Rated output: 11 kW (15 PS) at 5500 rpm
Max. Torque: 42 Nm, from 0 / min to 6600 / min

Landing gear: Composite frame made of steel and aluminum, upside-down fork, Ø 43 mm, adjustable spring base, rebound and compression damping, two-arm swing arm made of aluminum, central spring strut directly hinged, adjustable spring base, rebound and compression damping, front disc brake, Ø 260 mm, double-piston floating caliper , Rear disc brake, Ø 230 mm, single-piston floating caliper.
Aluminum spoked wheels: 1.60 x 21; 2.15 x 18
Tire: 2.75-21; 120 / 90-18

Dimensions + weights: Wheelbase 1418 mm, steering head angle 67 degrees, caster 102 mm, suspension travel f / r 250/260 mm, seat height 910 mm, weight 106 (XC: 110) kg, payload XC 170 kg.
Warranty (vehicle / battery): two / five years
Colors: orange / white
Price: 10,995 (XC: 11,295) euros
Additional costs: 250 euros

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