I am in a lucky mood today because these guys from Endurofun have contacted THE PACK to test the Epure Race from Electric Motion. That’s an electric motortrial bike, by the way.

Epure Race (2020-model)

At the playground of Endurofun (in Geetbets) and after a coffee (very important in the morning) it was time to push the button. ON/OFF, I couldn’t be wrong about that. After choosing a riding map (I really liked these little bleep sounds when I scrolled between the different possibilities), off we went. I can’t help it but I love the less-is-more design principle and this bike is an example of it. It’s so pure (yeah right) and it looks almost like a design object. I don’t mind having this bike exposed in my living room.

I have done some amateur motortrial in an earlier life, so I was a bit excited but the first seconds on that bike, it felt so natural, so smooth and it gave me great confidence. The instant power (even in the first level – green modus) was enough for me to play in this “trial garden”. I only needed to focus on the obstacles … I didn’t have to think about gears because there aren’t any. No unexpected drops in the power delivery, you have instant torque, no heated parts, the throttle response is amazing and did I mention it is silent? So, twist and go!

Riding with the Epure Race

There are three modes (or maps) to choose from: green, blue and red. For safety reasons, I started in green modus and this was already impressive. I am 1m80 tall, my weight is +/- 80 kg (this varies per day, haha) and this light electric vehicle pulled me smoothly over all different shapes of obstacles. The instant power never ceases to amaze me. You can easily lift the front wheel and the suspensions are great. The blue mode is a little bit more aggressive but not disturbing and the red one … well, that’s for the more experienced riders. The Epure Race model is equipped with a diaphragm clutch with a hydraulic control, made for competition. In this easy riding area today, I didn’t need the clutch but I can imagine if you want to jump over a rock … you’ll need it. A lanyard on the left bar kills the power in case of emergency.

No doubt about it, this Epure Race model has been built for competition use. The other 2 models (Epure Lite and Epure Sport) are in fact more suitable for my level of riding. What I immediately noticed was that there is no “natural engine brake”. I had to use the (sometimes squeaky) rear brake quit often. I asked EM for a little explanation.

Jean Pena, Int’l Business Manager Electric Motion:

“Indeed, there is no “natural brake” because we’ve developed the Epure Race version for experienced riders with a certain level that prefer not to have a natural engine brake. But, we have an option called the FRB on the Epure Race: that is a Fixed Regenerative Brake. When you push that button, you have an engine brake that regenerates the battery.

We also have a standard equipment on the 2021 Epure Sport & 2021 Escape called the PRB, that is a Progressive Regenerative Brake located on the left lever. The PRB is an option on the 2021 Epure Lite & 2021 Escape Lite.

The 2021 Epure Race and 2021 Escape “R” have the mechanical clutch.

And there is even more … We also propose the “School Map” option. With this option, you can have 3 more extra maps lower than the standard one, that means a total of 6 road maps. This is ideal for a trial school or for people that share the bike with their kids to have less power. With this School Map you have more maps adapted to the level of the individual rider.”

Jean also noticed that I was riding the 2020 model … the 2021 model is even more powerful!

Advantages

• no maintenance (only clean your bike after the ride and lube the chain).
• no service interventions
• no petrol
• no oil
• no air-filter to clean
• no heat
• no complicated start procedures
• no waiting for a hot engine for full capacity
• no gears
• no noise
• no smell

… what are you waiting for?

Charging

You can charge the bike at a wall socket, no problem. I “played” from 10:30 until 15:00 (not constantly, of course) and when we got back, the bike had still 74% left of its battery. So, a day of fun in Bilstain is possible, hurray!

About Electric Motion

My first blogpost about Electric Motion dates back from February 2017. This electric motorcycle company owned by Philippe Arresten has constantly developed new technology which resulted in the new model 2021 range Epure and Escape. Last year, the company moved to a complete new factory at Vendargues in France. Located in a very beautiful business area, EM’s “fresh” factory provides their teams with much better and optimized conditions, with an area adapted to their activity and expandable when the time comes.

And we already have seen the results: the EM Trial Team is in a winning mood these days because rider Gaël Chatagno has won the French Championship Senior 1 Category in Auron (29 – 30 August 2020) and the 1st manche of the World E-Trial Championship in Isola 2000 (5-6 September 2020).

About Endurofun

Endurofun (Belgium), founded by Maja & Bart, organises various off-road motorcycle courses, road trips, travel tours and specific training courses. If you ever want to get acquainted with the offroad motorsport such as motortrial, enduro or just fun offroad, Endurofun has it all.

But everything evolves and Endurofun has decided to start with a new electric division to present “Electric Walks & Electric Trainings”. With these kind of electric motorcycles, you can ride again in nature with respect for other participants and the environment. No noise, no exhaust, no smell, … Conversations with forest rangers and nature associations are possible again to reopen closed areas for light electric vehicles.