Why Stealth Bomber?

[SamTexas]

First let's me be clear that I'm not criticizing the Bomber or its owners.

But I'm at a loss! What can the Bomber do that a regular dirt bike cannot? Even at less than 1/2 the Bomber price, a CRF150 can outdo the Bomber in every category, range, acceleration, speed, suspension and reliability.

The only advantage to the Bomber that I can detect is noise. One might also argue about the lightness of the Bomber, but I think it would not be correct. If the Bomber were to match the CRF150 in all above categories, it would probably weight the same and even more outrageously expensive.

OK, what did I miss?

Edit to add: Next door to Australia, a New Zealand company makes a 9hp dirt bike that weights only 57kg (4 more than the stock Bomber)
http://www.fxbikes.com/fxproducts.html

 

[AussieJester]

First let's me be clear that I'm not criticizing the Bomber or its owners.

But I'm at a loss! What can the Bomber do that a regular dirt bike cannot? Even at less than 1/2 the Bomber price, a CRF150 can outdo the Bomber in every category, range, acceleration, speed, suspension and reliability.

The only advantage to the Bomber that I can detect is noise. One might also argue about the lightness of the Bomber, but I think it would not be correct. If the Bomber were to match the CRF150 in all above categories, it would probably weight the same and even more outrageously expensive.

OK, what did I miss?

Think you pretty much covered it.... :lol: The bomber is more than a e-bicycle (being ~52 kilo and all LoL) and less than a e-motorcycle
Motoped is another comparable ICE bike unlike the FX Mountain Moto though, it has pedals
is ~same weight as the Bomber and is legal in many countries to ride on the road under current laws unlike the Stealth Bomber.

KiM

 

[spinningmagnets]

The first thing they taught me back at Ninja school is that, when you are avenging the death of your master by the hand of his life-long arch-enemy....you gotta sneak up on the hench-men reeeeeeeeeeal quiet-like at night in the dark. And the lair is always off in the boonies somewhere, so you definitely have to have to use an off-road bike.

Stealth is only selling these to the public to off-set the development costs, since Ninja business-expense subsidies have been cut waaaaaay back with the economy the way it is now. This tax-year, the IRS won't allow me to deduct the cost of dry-cleaning the blood out of my work-Gi, which is clearly different from my personal going-to-the-mall Gi's. Its getting so a Ninja can't make a buck anymore these days.

And don't get me started on those Ronin assholes, and their fancy Russian laid-off-from-the-KGB mobster partners, always underbidding me on those Yakuza jobs...

But for everything else, yeah, the gassers work pretty good...

 

[Hyena]

haha well said master spinning magnets!

I agree it's ALL about the noise, or the lack there of. The reason I got into playing with high powered ebikes is because there's no where within an hours drive of where I live that I can legally ride a dirt bike. On an ebike though I can ride in any of the local parks and bushland and no one is disturbed or any the wiser. 5 minutes out there on a dirt bike though and you're headed off by the police and/or rangers (the nearby residents must have them on speed dial)

I have a little 160cc dirt bike which I haven't ridden in over a year as it's been at a mates place but I decided to take it for a quick spin when he dropped it around to me last week. It's fun, yeah, but noisy as hell. I went for a quick ride down the street and into the bush land behind my house and I felt like a jew riding a bicycle through Berlin in 1942!

As their slogan says - "fly under the radar"
The bombers are heavy, granted, but I believe they're working on that.

 

[SamTexas]

The reason I got into playing with high powered ebikes is because there's no where within an hours drive of where I live that I can legally ride a dirt bike...

Yeah, but my understanding is the Bomber is not legal either, right? Whether you're or aren't caught riding it is another story.

 

[full-throttle]

All the new Bombers power up in 200W (or 750W for the US) mode and can be switched into a 'race' mode at a press of a button.

Neat!


Its 'ICE vs electric' that you're debating, right?
Have a look at the cars - its cheaper to buy a petrol one, its cheaper to run an electric one, etc..

 

[oldpiper]

Stealth is only selling these to the public to off-set the development costs, since Ninja business-expense subsidies have been cut waaaaaay back with the economy the way it is now. This tax-year, the IRS won't allow me to deduct the cost of dry-cleaning the blood out of my work-Gi, which is clearly different from my personal going-to-the-mall Gi's.

Use peanut butter, it's cheap. ... No, that's for chewing gum. Um, hairspray. ... no, that's ink. WD-40 ... no, crayon. Toothpaste. ... no, that's for brass and silver cleaning. Hmmm ... Well, you could always get a maroon work-Gi and only take cases that allow you to work around brick buildings.

Cameron

 

[Jeremy Harris]

There are a lot of places around the world that are banning ICE powered dirt bikes in rural areas, on grounds of noise and pollution. The trials bike world is getting quite tuned in to this, because a lot of trials areas are in, or close to, rural areas that are sensitive to noise/pollution. I think it won't be long before trials riding becomes dominated by electric bikes, partly for this reason. Electric dirt bikes/trials bikes will allow people to ride places they can't go on an ICE powered machine, plus will help to reduce the number of complaints from the general public about noise etc.

Around where I live there are miles of byways and green lanes used by dirt bikers and 4x4 drivers. There is a growing movement trying to get both banned from using wide areas around here, because some view the noise and smell as being unacceptable in a rural area. Switching to electric power, even though it's more costly, removes a great deal of ammunition from the "anti's" and may help keep access to these tracks open for recreational riding.

The price will come down as volume sales go up; at the moment electric dirt bikes are a specialist niche product, hand built to order pretty much. A hand built ICE dirt bike would probably cost a great deal more than the mass produced bikes from the big manufacturers, so it's probably unfair to compare the hand-built Stealth Bomber with the mass produced CRF150, especially as they are aimed at different markets.

Jeremy

 

[full-throttle]

Good point about volume.

When the disc brakes came out I (foolishly) paid $700 a pair. And they were POS. Later I got some Hope Tech for $500. An end! Man there were good. Now a pair of brakes is < $200 and they work better, but still not as good as dirt bike brakes that cost $50. Other examples:
Marzocchi 888 WC fork > $2k
CaneCreek DB rear shock $1200
Ti spring to suit $250
Intense M6 frame ??? $3-4k? perhaps it comes with a shock
RaceFace crankset $800
ProTaper bars $270
Thompson seatpost $100
CrisKing headset $130!! For a couple of bearings
decent rim >$100 ea
and on, and on..

One thing I def don't get is Blacktrail

 

[SamTexas]

One thing I def don't get is Blacktrail

Oh no, another one! The Bomber now looks reasonable and somewhat pretty next to the Black Trail. It's all relative, I guess.

 

[dogman dan]

Noise and possibly stink of the dirtbikes is an issue. While it may still be illegal to ride em in the park or whatever, you fly under the radar on the E bike. So you don't tend to have the cops on you so much, if at all.

Where I live, I could ride a gasser all I want a block from home, with nobody complaining, or if they did, no cop caring since it's legal.

But I sure enjoy the quiet riding on the ebike a LOT more than the dirt bikes I've owned in the past. Back then they handled so bad, my ebike seems great to me. No motorcycle I ever owned was sub 80 pounds.

 

[full-throttle]

One thing I def don't get is Blacktrail

Oh no, another one! The Bomber now looks reasonable and somewhat pretty next to the Black Trail. It's all relative, I guess.

Yeah, I just opened a can of worms with this one, didn't I

Well Sam, without referring to it as some form of art or some other BS, what is your personal view on the pricetag of PG BT?

 

[SamTexas]

Well Sam, without referring to it as some form of art or some other BS, what is your personal view on the pricetag of PG BT?

Well, I look at it the same way I do a Rolex watch. It's just as functional as something that costs at most 1% of its price tag. But then I earn every penny of my money. If I didn't have to, may be both the Rolex and the PG BT are worth their price. Better stop now before I get into trouble

 

[oldpiper]

One thing I def don't get is Blacktrail

Me neither! One for the Lycra set with the handlebars below the seat. :x If I'm going to spend $80K on an ebike, it at least had better be comfortable. These things are made in Germany, didn't they learn anything from Mercedes? (BTW, did anyone see "The Cape" last night [NBC, US TV, it's on the web now], that was a gorgeous M-B gullwing that the equally gorgeous co-hero was driving around).

Well, when I win the lottery, I'm going to talk to the folks at Tesla about converting my 11-year old M-B E430 to electric. That's perfect (well, it really could use a second cupholder in the front seat) .

As to their description (back to the Black Trail), what exactly could "because of the avant-garde design, the bike is the roadster between all two-wheelers" mean? I get an image of a car pushing its way in between two bikes side-by-side and pi**ing the riders off.

Cameron