Modern Buddy

Spotted at SF Scooter Center in San Francisco. Is KTM coming out with a new scooter? A KTMbretta? This beast has a 300cc 2-stroke water cooled engine that is tuned to make around 50HP with a suspension that can handle it. Top speed is almost 120MPH. Five speed manual transmission. It will toast anything on the street and make Harley riders cry.

No, unfortunately. This is a one-off special that was custom made in England for the tune of US$30K. Race tuned KTM 300 engine in a custom frame with custom suspension. Bodywork is mostly Lambretta. If I remember correctly, the engine is from a KTM competition motocrosser. Original owner rode it once then eventually sold it to Barry of SF Scooter Center. Barry has ridden it several times in scooter rallies. How the hell he was able to get it registered in California, I have no idea. Would I like one? Yes, please.

Very cool!

Now you can see why I'm so anxiously awaiting the supposedly arriving this summer Scomadi 400! Not quite as radical as this guy, but nevertheless in the same vein.

The arrival of the Scomadli 400 is NEWS to me. I haven't heard anything about it.

That KTM 300 sure would win the Scooter Cannonball with that handicap!

want!

300cc 2T? GIMMIE!

the gatorade bottle with a orange cap is a nice touch

RoaringTodd wrote:The arrival of the Scomadli 400 is NEWS to me. I haven't heard anything about it.

My bad. I just double checked the email they sent me back in January, and at the earliest, they were only estimating to start production of the 400 by the end of 2018:

"The 400cc is not scheduled for production until at least the end of this year and it is our intention to bring it to the US market."

That's about in line with a recent article that I saw:

https://www.scooterlab.uk/scomadi-400-1 ... ad-test-2/

KTM did in fact announce they would start making scooters. But there were no other details. I think I posted the announcement on Modern Buddy previously.

That scoot' has been there a while and is quite interesting. The owner of the shop told me he'd have to get ~$15K to let it go.

Looks like the Scomadi.

Point37 wrote:the gatorade bottle with a orange cap is a nice touch

It's actually one of those "teddy bear" bottles that honey comes in.

From the CEO of KTM last week:

"KTM has even more plans for the future. A complete line up of electric bikes are planned that will include; minis, scooters and possibly a bicycle."

k1dude wrote:From the CEO of KTM last week:

"KTM has even more plans for the future. A complete line up of electric bikes are planned that will include; minis, scooters and possibly a bicycle."

...the key word in that statement...so you will have a range and not be able to quickly fill up a tank and keep riding...maybe they will make cheap replaceable batteries that you can switch out though

Point37 wrote:

k1dude wrote:From the CEO of KTM last week:

"KTM has even more plans for the future. A complete line up of electric bikes are planned that will include; minis, scooters and possibly a bicycle."

...the key word in that statement...so you will have a range and not be able to quickly fill up a tank and keep riding...maybe they will make cheap replaceable batteries that you can switch out though

KTM unveiled the all electric E-Speed scooter back in 2015, but didn't put it into production despite widespread public interest, because dealers were upset that KTM dared release anything that wasn't big and powerful. They feared it would damage KTM's reputation for making tough dirt bikes and powerful street bikes.

Since then, KTM has continued to improve their electric technology on the Freeride-E. So much so that they're now considering releasing all variety of new electric vehicles to become dominant players in that segment. They see the writing on the wall and decided to be one of the first to change to the new paradigm. That also means ignoring their dealers concerns about reputation and moving forward with all sorts of all electric designs and products.

Keep in mind that scooters are usually short range city vehicles, so electric makes sense. Go to any city in China and you'll see electric scooters dominate over gas scooters. It's the future, like it or not.

Personally I prefer gas. But I also recognize we're in a transitional period which may make people like me an anachronism in the future.

I think KTM has already released at least one e-mountainbike because I recall reading a review of it a while back.

don't get me wrong i'm not against electric vehicles but i don't think the battery technology is there yet for certain types of vehicles...but i think if ktm can produce a lightweight and fast charging battery that can run for the amount of time that a tank of fuel lasts in an equivalent sized gas bike while romping on the throttle and maybe a way to charge an extra battery while riding using the spinning of the wheels or something then i'd be all for it since there is no where to charge a specialized battery like that when you're on the run unlike how there are gas stations on every corner around the country...no one wants to be stranded or have to worry about running out of charge...i mean there are still people who run actually out of gas when the cars now tell you an approximate number of miles till your tank is empty...this is why electric vehicles won't catch on until the battery technology catches up and there are universal fast charging stations everywhere...it's coming but it's still a long way away i feel...unless we run low on oil and it becomes so costly that there is an immediate need for electric vehicles

Point37 wrote:don't get me wrong i'm not against electric vehicles but i don't think the battery technology is there yet for certain types of vehicles...but i think if ktm can produce a lightweight and fast charging battery that can run for the amount of time that a tank of fuel lasts in an equivalent sized gas bike while romping on the throttle and maybe a way to charge an extra battery while riding using the spinning of the wheels or something then i'd be all for it since there is no where to charge a specialized battery like that when you're on the run unlike how there are gas stations on every corner around the country...no one wants to be stranded or have to worry about running out of charge...i mean there are still people who run actually out of gas when the cars now tell you an approximate number of miles till your tank is empty...this is why electric vehicles won't catch on until the battery technology catches up and there are universal fast charging stations everywhere...it's coming but it's still a long way away i feel...unless we run low on oil and it becomes so costly that there is an immediate need for electric vehicles

I think what you're asking for is perpetual motion and I'm pretty sure that technology is a fair ways off. I currently have a stand up scooter and an e-mountain bike and for me range is not too much of an issue. My wish is for lighter and less expensive batteries.