Alta La Vista Baby?

[backinthesaddle]

Word on the street says Alta shutting down.

Alta Motors Ceases Operations - Asphalt & Rubber

Hopefully not true or at least temporary. I wouldn’t buy electric due to range and price but they claimed it was a serious MX bike.

[MUZ720]

electric bikes are not for me, feels like your riding a toaster.. or something similar to that..

[typeone]

nnnoooooooooo! this hurts to read.

[breakdirt916]

Almost missed the point from the title...well done

But ya the article makes some positive points - they got noticed and proved they review well and there is a market

[nhbubba]

Sucks..

[Falko]

A little different angle on this, but I was always apprehensive of electric vehicles. And a lot of stemmed from my experiences with Prius models. Then a co-worker bought a Tesla S and took me for a ride. Electric is the way to go, and not just because of the huge power of the Tesla but just the drivability of the instant power when done right. I think full electric is only going to get better as battery technology improves. But I can completely see why electric is going main stream as fast as it is.

[Paul_E_D]

Someone will buy up what's left of Alta. They have a lot of R&D into the high performance end of electric.

[ducatirdr]

Harley had an opportunity to create some interesting stuff with a partnership with Alta. After 6 months they abandoned that partnership. Curious what the inside story was on that. It probably was the same thing HERO did to BUELL. H-D to Alta - Hey help us with cool designs and we will pay you. Then abrupt end of contract and no money flow.

I think that motorcycling in this country is on the outs. I think Indian may out live H-D this time and the FTR1200 might actually help. H-D is investing in outlandish bikes. Did you know that H-D dealers are being told by corporate to install an $80K charging station. That's even if they never plan on ordering a Livewire to sell. I talked to a smaller family owned H-D dealership and they would love to have someone buy the dealership from them but no reasonable offers have come their way.

An electric bike that would sell from Indian or H-D is NOT a street bike or a motorized bicycle. It is something in the vein of a Honda Grom but flat track styled. Small enough for teens to ride around the yard but big enough for an adult to want to buy two and race them in the back yard. Imagine having something like this that would compete in the same price point and power as a CRF150 or a GROM? I think most dads would buy these for their kids and it would establish brand loyalty while providing a gap filler between the toy grade RAZOR crap and a full on noisy, smelly, cop calling, mom scaring, internal combustion engine powered scoot. The style is just as important as function. If it looks like motorcycle it will breed motorcycle riders that will keep the hobby alive.



Hell I want one to rip around on in front of my house!

[csmutty]

Poor Jen. Hopefully she finds another gig soon!

[Paul_E_D]

Poor Jen. Hopefully she finds another gig soon!

I wonder if she knew the shutdown was coming?

[Kurlon]

I'm betting there were rumors swirling but upper management was saying business as usual until they day they said go home. Tends to be how things go from observation.

[aldend123]

Bummer, but seems somewhat typical with the evolution of new technologies. Takes a few 'attempts' to advance it and get the public on board. Slightly frustrating to see so much presumption, doubt, and knee-jerk opinions over a new option.

Hope the battery and charger supply stays relatively feasible for those who have one.

Saw one running sweep at a NETRA race this year. Not sure if he was running the complete count of laps though. I've yet to see any direct complaints from actual first-hand owners, but I'm not sure they've really been in the market long enough to see those show up yet.

[number9]

Bombardier have bought up some (most?) of the Alta assets: link

[Kurlon]

Scuttlebutt is they primarily got the tech, not the unsold inventory / parts. They were also VERY clear that Alta will not be relaunched.

[joshk1025]

Harley had an opportunity to create some interesting stuff with a partnership with Alta. After 6 months they abandoned that partnership. Curious what the inside story was on that. It probably was the same thing HERO did to BUELL. H-D to Alta - Hey help us with cool designs and we will pay you. Then abrupt end of contract and no money flow.

I think that motorcycling in this country is on the outs. I think Indian may out live H-D this time and the FTR1200 might actually help. H-D is investing in outlandish bikes. Did you know that H-D dealers are being told by corporate to install an $80K charging station. That's even if they never plan on ordering a Livewire to sell. I talked to a smaller family owned H-D dealership and they would love to have someone buy the dealership from them but no reasonable offers have come their way.

An electric bike that would sell from Indian or H-D is NOT a street bike or a motorized bicycle. It is something in the vein of a Honda Grom but flat track styled. Small enough for teens to ride around the yard but big enough for an adult to want to buy two and race them in the back yard. Imagine having something like this that would compete in the same price point and power as a CRF150 or a GROM? I think most dads would buy these for their kids and it would establish brand loyalty while providing a gap filler between the toy grade RAZOR crap and a full on noisy, smelly, cop calling, mom scaring, internal combustion engine powered scoot. The style is just as important as function. If it looks like motorcycle it will breed motorcycle riders that will keep the hobby alive.



Hell I want one to rip around on in front of my house!

I completely agree with you on this - I also think that something like this is a good idea to revitalize motorcycling as a whole. Not as many kids are growing up with dirt/pit bikes these days.