KTM's Freeride E SM

KTM is on a roll we all know but the Austrian bike maker has gone a step ahead and will be making a bold statement soon with the launch of its first road-going electric bike, the KTM Freeride E SM.

The European leader has seen a 20 per cent spike in its sales globally.

"The entire motorcycle industry is in a positive, forward-looking position," explains Arno Ebner, KTM's head of electronics. He puts KTM's success down to having: "The right product, at the right time in the right places -- on a high quality level and on a global scale."

The company has built its reputation on bikes that are the most powerful, fastest or most intimidating in their segments, and although Ebner says that in general, KTM owners are "performance oriented" the company is also at the forefront of the e-bike revolution.

KTM used extreme performance approach -- to launch its initial battery-powered bikes: the Freeride E range of competition-level dirt bikes whose batteries offer benefits, rather than limitations.

"Our electric motorcycles have really good performance in terms of the engine power and vehicle acceleration," says Ebner. "On proper off-road tracks it is possible to ride even faster with the KTM Freeride E SX than with comparable motorcycles with internal combustion engines."

They also offer greater control as there are no gear changes needed, there is less vibration and no distracting, tiring engine noise.

So much so that the company feels that the time is right for a road-going e-bike and is this year launching the Freeride E-SM, a motorcycle the company's head of R&D, Phillipp Habsburg calls: "a true sport motorcycle which makes a lot sense to be used as Sprint bike in urban areas -- and it should be the coolest bike in the parking spot."

The bike takes 90 minutes to charge (50 minutes for an 80 per cent charge), offers 22hp and 42Nm of torque, yet weighs just 108kg and in terms of range, KTM measures distance in time. The Freeride E-SM should offer even the keenest of riders an hour of power.