Despite Alta Motors closing shop in October, 2018, electric motocrossers have been on the rise recently. In January, 2022, Stark Future reported that its Stark Varg electric dirt bike model reached 1,000 pre-sale orders in a 24-hour period. The FIM E-Xplorer World Cup will also commence in Q3 2022, pushing manufacturers and developers to continue evolving the technology.
In preparation for the new race series, development specialists Dohms partnered with electric mobility brand Eleo to produce a new electric powertrain based on Yamaha’s YZ-250F. The project will also receive support from Yamaha Europe and the Royal Dutch Motorcycle Association (KNMV).
While the Dohms and Eleo will develop the prototype as a 250cc-equivalent e-motocrosser, the project will also cater to newer off-road riders.
"In this way, the performance can easily be matched to the level of an 85cc or a 125cc machine," explained EMX Powertrain Founder Elmar Dohms. "It transforms the EMX into a dirt bike on big wheels that should appeal to a broad target group: young beginners can gain experience with less power and reduced speed and later the power can be increased according to the riding ability."
The team will continue to develop the platform as the first round of the FIM E-Xplorer World Cup approaches. Mugen recently announced its E-Xplorer entry with the EV-MX E-REX, taking many cues from Honda’s electric CR prototype revealed in March, 2019. While the Eleo and Dohms project has yielded encouraging results thus far, the Netherlands-based team will continue improving the electric dirt bike before the season begins.
"We had to adjust our plans a little because of the Corona crisis,” added Eleo engineer Laurens Kusters. “We have not yet been able to take part in international circuit tests, which were carried out by the KNMV, for example. We were still able to develop a lot on the motorcycle. We will carry out the first tests on a sandy track very soon.
