eco friendly dirt biking

[dakh]

I have been here for a while for the investment forum, but thought you fine folks in MY section would get a kick out of this:

It is an EM ePure Race with a stock MY hitch and an aluminum hitch carrier.

Some points of interest:
1. This doesn't seem to impact range that much, computer estimate was off by somewhere between 5 and 10%
2. No bueno on tailgate opening with the bike on there, not even close. I think that's fine, flip the rear seat down and get in there via the rear door, problem solved.
3. Anti-tilt gizmo that comes with this carrier doesn't fit in the plastic rear bumper surrounding the hitch. I have some items on order that might solve it, will report on my success there. This didn't seem to matter much but I'd rather solve it.
4. Of course rear proximity sensors were freaking out all the time
5. Back up camera was blocked and backing up was pretty uncomfortable because the car sucks in rear visibility to begin with.
6. Driving experience.. I don't think I'd be able to tell the bike is there if I didn't know.

Bike weights about 165lbs so well within hitch limits. I will test it with full-sized gas dirt bike later but other than reduced range I don't anticipate any issues.

Oh. I'm sure I'm not the first or last, but I wanna see what kind of intern designed the stupid hitch cover. Argh.

 

[Alan_F]

Bike weights about 165lbs so well within hitch limits. I will test it with full-sized gas dirt bike later but other than reduced range I don't anticipate any issues.]

Isn't this a 'vertical load' and subject to the weight limit of either 160 lbs or 120 lbs (which number is right has been a subject of debate on this forum). With 165 lbs of bike plus the rack you must be way over the limit.

 

[glide]

I have been here for a while for the investment forum, but thought you fine folks in MY section would get a kick out of this:


View attachment 638816


It is an EM ePure Race with a stock MY hitch and an aluminum hitch carrier.

Some points of interest:
1. This doesn't seem to impact range that much, computer estimate was off by somewhere between 5 and 10%
2. No bueno on tailgate opening with the bike on there, not even close. I think that's fine, flip the rear seat down and get in there via the rear door, problem solved.
3. Anti-tilt gizmo that comes with this carrier doesn't fit in the plastic rear bumper surrounding the hitch. I have some items on order that might solve it, will report on my success there. This didn't seem to matter much but I'd rather solve it.
4. Of course rear proximity sensors were freaking out all the time
5. Back up camera was blocked and backing up was pretty uncomfortable because the car sucks in rear visibility to begin with.
6. Driving experience.. I don't think I'd be able to tell the bike is there if I didn't know.

Bike weights about 165lbs so well within hitch limits. I will test it with full-sized gas dirt bike later but other than reduced range I don't anticipate any issues.

Oh. I'm sure I'm not the first or last, but I wanna see what kind of intern designed the stupid hitch cover. Argh.

You’re way over the “hitch limits” if the bike alone is 165 lbs.

Vertical limit on the hitch is 160 lbs.

 

[Flybuddy]

The hitch limit issue is baffling and somewhat unusual. Only reason I can see for variation from tongue weight is that many cargo carriers place the weight further from the hitch than where the ball would hook on a trailer. In this case the motorcycle is fairly close to the normal hitch point and doesn't seem to be unsafe.

 

[dakh]

Isn't this a 'vertical load' and subject to the weight limit of either 160 lbs or 120 lbs (which number is right has been a subject of debate on this forum). With 165 lbs of bike plus the rack you must be way over the limit.

Wow thanks for bringing this to my attention -- I just looked up the towing spec and tongue weight. Actually if you're installing an aftermarket hitch it will not have anything but tongue weight and tow limit. Vertical load is really a strange way to do this, because it doesn't specify what leverage the 120/160lbs can be hanging off of. I'm feeling Ok with my 165lbs bike but now I'll think twice before I put a 230lbs full sized dirt bike up there. It would be well within the tongue weight even with the hitch carrier but definitely not kosher by the "vertical load" measure.

It kind of sucks really, I don't think I'd pay the $1K for this factory hitch if I knew I can't have more than 2 mountain bikes on a hitch carrier without exceeding the official load spec.

 

[dakh]

Model X/Y Hitch Rack

this says 120lbs, yet they sell a 4-bike rack that itself weights 40lbs. You'd have to have a set of very expensive carbon bikes to have all for under 20lbs each.

 

[Watts_Up]

Wow thanks for bringing this to my attention -- I just looked up the towing spec and tongue weight. Actually if you're installing an aftermarket hitch it will not have anything but tongue weight and tow limit. Vertical load is really a strange way to do this, because it doesn't specify what leverage the 120/160lbs can be hanging off of. I'm feeling Ok with my 165lbs bike but now I'll think twice before I put a 230lbs full sized dirt bike up there. It would be well within the tongue weight even with the hitch carrier but definitely not kosher by the "vertical load" measure.

It kind of sucks really, I don't think I'd pay the $1K for this factory hitch if I knew I can't have more than 2 mountain bikes on a hitch carrier without exceeding the official load spec.

How do you raise the bike to put it into the carrier? Do you use a ramp?

I wonder if you could easily remove the 1.9 kWh battery?

On the User Manual (page 41) under the paragraph 12.1 Clutch oil maintenance,
there is a mention of removing the battery to change the clutch oil after 40 hours.
But there is no description on how to remove the battery?​

 

[Srad600Volt]

Very cool! I've been considering getting the tow hitch and a Kendon to take my daughter to the trails. She's been watching Supercross with me and has been begging to get a motorcycle. To go fully EV, I might sell my Husky and get a Cake Kalk (CAKE the kalk series - high performance electric off-road motorcycles (ridecake.com)) for myself and a Stacyc IRONe16 for my daughter (STACYC Stability Cycle). I wish I could get my hands on a gently used Alta EXR...

 

[dakh]

How do you raise the bike to put it into the carrier? Do you use a ramp?

I wonder if you could easily remove the 1.9 kWh battery?

On the User Manual (page 41) under the paragraph 12.1 Clutch oil maintenance,
there is a mention of removing the battery to change the clutch oil after 40 hours.
But there is no description on how to remove the battery?​

Man you're on it with doing due diligence. Yeah the battery can be removed but I'm not gonna do it every time I go riding just so I'm closer to hitch weight limit. Which at least on the link I posted for the Tesla bike carrier is only 120lbs anyway so I got no chance to squeeze this beast in. If it ain't easy I just take the truck. There's a little ramp thingy the carrier comes with but it is easy enough to just wheelie the front wheel on and then lift the rear on there by hand.

I suspect the 120lbs limit is coming from the forces that a good sized bump at a high speed could create with a big lever.

 

[dakh]

Very cool! I've been considering getting the tow hitch and a Kendon to take my daughter to the trails. She's been watching Supercross with me and has been begging to get a motorcycle. To go fully EV, I might sell my Husky and get a Cake Kalk (CAKE the kalk series - high performance electric off-road motorcycles (ridecake.com)) for myself and a Stacyc IRONe16 for my daughter (STACYC Stability Cycle). I wish I could get my hands on a gently used Alta EXR...

Consider getting a small Oset also for the kid. They're awesome, and you can pony up some $$ for an upgraded battery that lasts a very long time.

SurRon started making what looks like a worthy Alta replacement, but they're not yet sold in US and the only US dealer (Luna) explicitly decided not to get into selling those. I'm trying to get my local boutique dirt bike dealer to become a dealer.. Might be worth a wait until that is sorted, they have excellent more bicycle like models so I expect this one to also be pretty rad.

 

[Srad600Volt]

That Storm Bee (or storm) looks to be the business. I've seen a few different reviews on it and they are all very positive. If David Knight endorses it...must be good! (Ha). The E Osets are nice, but in a different league from the Stacyc, both in terms of performance and price. I'd rather go cheap until I'm sure this is something the kiddos will keep up with over time, then get them something nice. Spend the extra money on good gear.

What would be really cool is if there was a portable solar panel setup I could take to the trails and power the bikes/car as we ride.