EM ePure Race

Acquisition

The ePure Race more or less just fell into my lap.  I was not planning to buy one.  The former owner, Chris, had already replaced it with a Scorpa 300 SC Factory saying, “It is definitely the way forward for me for now.”  But knowing my interest in electronics, Chris proposed that I take his EM for the winter to study it.  He said he could sell it in the spring.  We met at our club's practice grounds for the hand-off.  But after a day of riding, we both concluded it would be better for me to just buy the bike.  I'm glad I did. 

I have done much more with the bike as an owner than I would have as an investigator.  Overall the bike worked well for me, but I knew a few simple changes would improve it substantially for my riding style.

EM ePure Race Specifications

Top Speed: 43 mph

Range: 26.5 miles

Weight: 165.6 pounds (75.25 kg)

Battery: 56 volts, 37 Ah lithium-ion cells which store 1.875 kWh

Motor: Brushless DC, 6 kW nominal, 11 kW peak made in the UK by Dana TM4

Motor Controller: SiliXcon, manufactured in the Czech Republic (Unfortunately, the controller is “locked” which would make it extremely difficult/impossible to modify any operating parameters.)  

Power Modes: Green, Blue, and Red (Claimed to be roughly equivalent to 200cc, 250cc, and 300cc 2-strokes.)

MSRP: $10,299 USD in 2021 (the year the bike was introduced in the US)

Torque: 600 Nm (Very misleading - this is at the rear wheel, not at the motor.)

600 Newton-Meters of Torque!? 

That's over 440 pound-feet for the metric impaired.  Well, it may not be a lie, but it's not at the motor (where everyone else specifies torque) but rather at the rear wheel.  As you will see in the Motor section, the motor makes a peak torque of about 45 Nm from zero to 2250 rpm – which is still very impressive in its own right.  If you multiply motor torque by the overall gear reduction ratio of 14.39:1 (as speed decreases, torque increases) you get roughly 647 Nm.  This tells me that the controller is limiting peak torque to somewhat less than the 45 Nm of which the motor is capable.  So, possibly a future upgrade path?

Initial Observations

The ePure Race is a huge improvement over the 5.7.  I must commend EM for their commitment to constantly improving their products – every model year, and possibly within a year, changes are made.  But this is a double-edged sword – some important parts for the early bikes are no longer available.

The complete lack of vibration and minimal noise is really nice.  You can ride longer without getting fatigued.  You can also hear what the rear tire is doing when traction is elusive.  And as a longtime EM owner pointed out, “When you get back on an ICE bike you think something is seriously wrong with it, like a bad main bearing or something.”

The bike is really in its element climbing hills!