With no less than 4 x manufacturers seriously involved in this years Trial GP Trial-E class, a clear leap forward is now in progress for battery-powered electric Trials bikes. With the 2017 Trial-E cup been won by ex-world champ Marc Colomer on his Torot/ Gas-Gas drawing much attention, the 2018 Trial-E class has upped the prestige with many world-class riders competing in the 2 x rounds held in July in France and Belgium on consecutive week-ends. Here's a breif run down on the form guide-
Manufacturer- Electric Motion is represented by former pro class rider and former French champion Christophe Bruand teamed up with Takumi Narita from Japan, a world class rider from the 1990's. They will be riding the EM E-Pure prototype machines, building on the ten years of experience they allready have in E-power and E-torque!
Manufacturer- Yamaha is very serious about Trials again... If you were around Trials in the 70's or 90's you would have noticed them to be the choice of more than 75% of the riders. The TY-E is to be ridden by Kenichi Kuroyama in the Trial-E GP's, Kenny is a legend of the sport and there are some amazing videos on the interweb of him in training on the TY-E, riding some insane sized obstacles. Seeing these vids inspired me to write this article!
Manufacturer- Gas Gas is represented by GP Pro-Class rider France's Loris Gubian on his TX-E bike. The TX-E is a great example of the modern layout of an electric Trials bike. The conventional GG clutch and gearbox is retained because that's what us riders are used to. The mass centre of the electric motor, controller and battery are in the same place as the conventional petrol dinosaur machines. The Gas Gas also runs an 'idle' or minimum rpm I have noticed from studying videos of Colomer and Gubian. They touch the clutch and it goes zap,zap!
Manufacturer- Mecatecno is back with the Skywalker 2.0 model. The specs on the Mecatecno are to be released 'shortly', early reports claim a weight of 'under 60 kg'. The machine has been under development for 3 years and was ridden last year by Cesar Pannicot (2nd place) and Jordi Milla (Mecatecno boss) in the Trial-E cup.
After riding my EM Sport machines for 4 x years in Trial competition, I can only comment that they are easier to control, simpler to use but here is the big one- I can ride it almost anywhere. The future of riding off-road bikes is dependant on having places to ride them. Something to considder when you purchase your next bike.
Richard Kent
Info on EM? ph- 0405 631 655
e- richardkent@iinet.net.au