ELECTRIFYING
At the cutting edge of the sport of motorcycle trials, the world championship rounds are where you will find out what’s changing. If you look closely at the machines you can probably find new components that are being tested. Nobody ever gives too much away and in some situations you are politely requested not to take pictures. I am sure you get the picture! I noticed the Electric Motion trials machines back in 2014 when I witnessed them in WTC action in Corsica for the European round. To be honest I was quite impressed but unfortunately they have remained off the radar since then until Allan Seedhouse became the face of the UK Electric Motion importers. Chris Pearson, of Splatshop fame, has campaigned on one in the British Trials Championship with some very encouraging results, but it was at the Great Britain round of the FIM World Championship that we witnessed first-hand what these machines were really capable of. Yes, it was — as John Travolta in the film Grease stated — ‘Electrifying’!
At some of
the 2016 FIM World rounds the antics of young French rider Bastian Hieyte on his Electric Motion certainly raised a few eyebrows. With a well-practised technique he paved a way through the tough hazards, much to the applause of the appreciative crowd. All of a sudden we began to believe they could compete on the world stage, albeit not in the premier TrialGP class. The fast-emerging electric machines were recognised by the FIM in a first for world trials with a dedicated class at the World round in Great Britain. Chris Pearson, Bastian Hieyte and Matthew Alpe, the three Electric Motion riders, were the only entrants in the class but Pearson recorded history with wins on both days. It was time for Trial Magazine to test them. The head of the UK Electric Motion importers is Allan Seedhouse, who Trial Magazine first met at the International Dirt Bike Show at the back end of 2015. Allan has kept us up to speed with the brand’s development, and we arranged to meet up with our Expert test rider Phil Disney and our new female test pilot Nicky Morson at the superb Inch Perfect training facility, fronted by its owner Matthew Alpe, in August. Matt is an avid fan of the electric trials revolution. Many of our readers will be familiar with Phil but Nicky is new to the trials game to give us a very much ‘first time’ impression of the Electric Motion machines.
The two machines we had on test were the EM Sport, which carries the blue aesthetics and the EM Sport ‘Plus’, which carries the red aesthetics. These are two very similar machines, with the only difference being that the EM Sport ‘Plus’ has a lighter weight battery pack. `Quality of components always gives a good first impression and the Tech branded aluminium 39mm Ø front forks jump out at you. On further investigation we found an Olle R16V shock absorber looking after the rear suspension. Both the front and rear suspension is fully adjustable to cater for each rider’s individual requirements. Tubular steel frames are used, as are aluminium swinging arms bringing them in line with the petrol aspirated trials models available on the market, together with disc brakes front and rear. All the other important dimensions are not dissimilar either from the petrol machines. The power comes from a Brushless DC electric air-cooled unit. Technically there’s not much more to tell you as we have no gears or a mechanical clutch. Full-size wheels are fitted, using quality Morad branded wheel rims fitted with Michelin X-Light tyres for optimum adhesion at all times.