MCN guide: choosing an electric dirt bike in the UK

While the motorcycle world at large is taking its time to warm to electric alternatives to petrol, there’s one category that’s embracing the tech with open arms in the UK: electric dirt bikes.

Lightweight, unlikely to break down, torquey and with barely any servicing to worry about, UK electric dirt bikes are fast becoming a genuine alternative to petrol models. This is especially the case at the intersection between electric bicycles, electric motorcycles and electric mopeds.

If you’re using your bike for competitions or on private land (with the owner’s permission) then you don’t need to worry about the legal side of things. But if you want to use your electric dirt bike on the road or public byways then there are a few things you need to know.

Electronically assisted pedal cycles (EAPCs) can be ridden everywhere a bicycle can by anyone aged 14 or over without a licence as long as they adhere to the following rules.

• An EAPC must have pedals that can be used to propel it.
• It must show either the power output or the manufacturer of the motor.
• It must also show either the battery’s voltage or the maximum speed of the bike.
• Its electric motor must have a maximum power output of 250 watts and should not be able to propel the bike when it’s travelling more than 15.5mph.
• An EAPC can have more than 2 wheels (for example, a tricycle).

Any electric bike that doesn’t meet the above rules counts as an electric motorcycle or electric moped and must be registered and taxed. You can only ride it on the road if you can the relevant licence and you must wear a helmet.

Road-legal electric dirt bikes for sale in the UK

Sur-ron L1E

A 50kg crossover between a bicycle and a motorcycle with 8bhp and 28lb.ft of torque on tap and a 60 mile range. Not to be confused with the cheaper and non-road-legal X model, the L1E costs £4995 and requires at least a CBT licence to ride.

Cake Kalk&

The Kalk& (Kalk And) is the first road-legal model from Swedish fans of awkward bike names, Cake. The bike weighs 69kg and has a power rating of 13.5bhp meaning a top speed of 56mph. It’s much costlier than the Sur-ron with a price tag of £12,500 and you’ll need at least a CBT to ride it.

Read the Cake Kalk& review here.

Competition only electric dirt bikes

Stark VARG motocross racer

Meet the Stark VARG: An all-new electric motocross racer claiming to outperform its combustion-engined rivals in every way.

Developed over the last two years on the outskirts of Barcelona, the Stark VARG (‘strong wolf’ in Swedish) weighs a claimed 110kg ready to race, with a suggested power figure of circa 78.9bhp.

Said to be more powerful than its 450cc petrol-powered competition, the bike has been developed alongside Stark Future by former AMA Motocross champion Sébastien Tortelli and AMA Supercross race winner Josh Hill.

This performance is then delivered in a range of customisable power settings, with maps to mimic a 125 two-stroke, up to a 650 four-stroke – controlled via a smartphone app, which also doubles up as a dashboard for the bike. There are over 100 riding modes in total.

Housing that motor is a lightweight chassis, which uses the unit as a stressed component and features a carbon fibre sub section to help keep the weight down.

Providing the energy is a compact sub-32kg 6kWh battery, which claims to offer both full Gran Prix intensity or up to six hours of gentle trail riding – a performance they claim is similar to a 450 four-stroke with a full tank of fuel. Expect between one and two hours to recharge it.

On top of that, other quality touches include Pirelli MX32 tyres and KYB suspension with 310mm of front and rear travel.

If you’re interested, the Stark VARG is available to order online now for €11,900 – around £10,170 to you and me. Visit www.starkfuture.com

EAPC

Ducati MIG-RR eMTB

Ducati paired up with eMTB specialists Thok to create the MIG-RR. Costing £5412, the MIG can be ridden anywhere a bicycle can with no licence requirement.

That’s because it’s an electric mountain bike rather than a dirt bike, but it’s still available to buy in the UK.