Yep I did it I finally got a big electric motorcycle again! 2 Years ago I had to part ways with my 2016 Victory Empulse TT because the battery had failed and Polaris couldn't fix it. So they bought it back.
RIP Empulse 139
Since then I've only had my small electric motorcycle my Sur Ron Light Bee. I've been browsing and browsing for electric motorcycles for months. I've been racing my Light Bee in the mini bike supermoto classes for the last couple years but I wanted a bigger bike so I can play with the bigger bikes on the track and I found this gem!
2018 Alta Redshift SM! Not getting any younger, I've always wanted one but could never afford it and I still couldn't afford it because I had to take out a small loan to buy this one. I saw this Redshift SM on craigslist for $9500. The dude was moving somewhere far away and couldn't take the bike with him. I oogled it for weeks. I saw the price start dropping. $8500 --- $7500. Not gonna lie I was throwin up the idea of buying another Empulse because I 've seen some for sale recently for around $5k-$6k. But I wanted a supermoto more. So it's within my price range now but I don't have the cash for it. I'm sure I could pay for it in a couple months but it might be gone by then. So I applied for a motorcycle loan with USAA and I got approved! So I contacted the seller and I offered him $6000. He said he couldn't do $6000. I told him I really wanted the bike but I have to take a loan as I don't have funds right now. So in the end we settled on $7000. I did some research on Redshifts and it seems their prices fluctuates A LOT from $6k to $13k. I don't think I've seen another SM also. The SM is actually the most expensive for the 2018 year because it's street legal. MSRP was $13,500. So I think I did pretty good half of the MSRP. It's 5 years old and only 3100 miles!
So the thing is the owner was already moving. He literally took off last week. Its also somewhat complicated getting a private party loan, than say doing it at a dealer. I needed to give my bank the bike information, pictures of the title, and the name of the seller. They want to make sure the bike doesn't have a loan on it and it didn't. Once they get everything the will mail me a check. I took a $5k loan and I paid the rest $2k in cash. They mail me the check and it has the sellers name on it. I go pick up the bike and title and give him the check and cash and transaction done. Except the dude has already left and is storing the bike at his buddies place. So I had to mead up at his buddies place and do the exchange.
The bike was in Santa Cruz also. This is the second bike I've bought in this area and guess what like my Super Cub it has some surface rust on it. Before we did the paperwork I fired the bike up and took it for a spin down the block with minimal gear on. Little did I know it was in mode 4 the fastest one and WOW it goes. Bike looks good I go back and handle the business and load it up on the trailer! There she is on the trailer!
I got some pitbull pit stands with it also. There are no spools on this bike though. I figure I could use it to put tire warmers on but it such a pain transporting these when you can just use a dirtbike stand. I got some other stuff like oil and coolant. This bike has a gear reduction box that requires oil so you don't need to run some monster sprocket/pulley like the Zero motorcycles. It's very similar to the Energica bikes. The motor is also water cooled.
The Redshift survived the journey home.
I got this cool box with the bike with some Alta Motors tools. It came with a spare key, spoke wrench, preloaded spanner, socket, and 2 screw bits. And a warranty card. Since Alta isn't around anymore and the bike is so old no warranty on this badboy.
Interesting thing to note is the Redshift SM is the only Alta model that came with an onboard charger. Nice to have if you are riding around town and need a charge. Not nice to have if you are going to race your bike. Because it has an onboard charger it is also the most heavy of the Alta models. About 30lbs heavier! Charging it is pretty easy just plug in an extension cord. I also got a charge cable which is basically a 12AWG extension cord. Pretty neat it even says Alta on it.
Footpeg going to have to find a way to attach a slider for track days.
The plastics on this bike are actually made by Acerbis
Rode it to AAA today and it's officially mine. Well not really the bank owns it for now. I plan to pay the loan off ASAP, it has a 9% interest rate on it! But it's not much I'm sure I will pay it off in a few months or the end of the year at the latest. Isn't it pretty! It reminds me of a KTM or Husqvarna supermoto. It even has a plastic subframe and WP suspension. Top grade components for sure.
This is also my first official ride with it since I got it. Got some Boba tea on the way home.
WP suspension. First thing I need to do is setup the suspension right. This is WAY too stiff. Any kind of bump I feel the bike is getting unbalanced. The funny thing is I never met the previous owner I have no idea how big the dude was or how heavy he was. I'm assuming he was probably bigger and heavier than I was because it is WAY too stiff for me. I guess on a smooth track it's fine but for supermoto racing I think a little softer will be better. Noticed the preload on the spring is nearly all the way at the bottom of the threads.
It's got a gameboy screen like my old Empulse. This one is even more bare bones. Also the screen seems to have some burn in, it's hard to see. The owner did warn me about it. I'm guess it was left out in the sun so long that it burned the screen. It's still visible though.
So the bike was a Santa Cruz bike and you can tell because there is surface rust in a couple places. This bike is not that old to be having this kind of rust. Nothing a scotchbrite pad or wire brush won't fix though =P The plastics however are in great shape.
So I took it out for it's first official ride and man it's GOES! I have to say in Mode 4 the acceleration is up there with a superbike. It's fast and doesn't want to go slow. It has a gearbox like an Energica it sounds very similar and feels very similar to riding an Energica. Like a very lightweight Energica. It's narrow and feels dirt bikey. This bike was definitely meant for performance before comfort.
So another thing about this bike is it's pretty much bone stock. Only 3100miles on it. It's a good example of a stock Redshift SM. Another thing that is kind of like I was destined to buy this bike is the last 2 digit on the VIN are 39. The last 2 digits on my Empulse were 39 also! Althought my Empulse was the 139th and this Redshift is the 39th SM. So this bike's number will be 39 just how like my Empulse was 139. 39 has some significance in Japan also. There are a couple ways you can write or pronounce 39 in a Japanese. One of them is mirai, which in English is future. So it's a bunch of interesting coincidences.
What's my plan with this bike? I plan to race supermoto with it. Unfortunately I've learned that converting this to a dirt bike is a little more difficult than I thought. It's not as easy as just swapping the wheels on the Light Bee. The front suspension is different than the MX model and a 21" wheel won't clear the monster brake caliper. So for now it's main purpose is to be a supermoto. I need to get all the track sliders on it for trackdays/races squared away. I've also gotta get the suspension setup for me, it's way too stiff right now. I'm going to try and get a second set of supermoto wheels to put slicks on for trackdays. Then I just swap wheels on and off the track. Not sure what class I will race it in I'm thinking I will start with 250 class first or maybe a vet class or open class. There's really no classes specifically for it since it doesn't have an engine displacement. It's definitely not a mini bike I won't be racing against minibikes with it like that dude that was racing his FX in the mad dog class.
Also this bike is kinda yesterdecades technology. It was the best of it's time but fastforward to now there are a number of electric motorcycles that are going to hit the market. I was throwing up the idea of getting an Ultra Bee but I've changed my mind. I've thrown so much money into my Light Bee that I'm just going to keep it as my mini bike. Soooo also I was thinking about a Sur Ron Storm Bee. It's similar to the Redshift. However I think I only want a street legal version and well the street legal version isn't going to be coming out anytime soon. If I'd gone with any those 2 options I would still have to throw money in it, especially to convert it to a supermoto. It's like a Storm Bee that cost as much as an Ultra Bee if I think about it. I was also kicking around the idea of getting another Empulse since I've been seeing them popup. But like I mentioned I wanted a larger supermoto bike and I think I chose the right one. The only downside to the SM is it has the onboard charger which is great for riding around town but not great for racing because it adds weight to the bike. I think the most ideal Redshift would be to get a MXR or EXR and convert it to supermoto. Oh well we'll see how it does!
