Hello from Finland,
At the age of 53 and having ridden motored two wheelers for 45 years I finally fulfilled my childhood dream and bought a trials bike - an EM57.... I must say I utterly love it.
Although this is my first trials bike, I've done quite a bit of dirt riding in the past. Even injured myself permanently almost 20 years ago so that my daily ride is a dual clutch Honda NCX DCT.... my left leg is missing a number of muscles, the knee is in a rather bad condition as are a few other joints etc.... I have an old 1986 VFR too, but it gets ridden very little for obvious reasons.
Having no gears to shift is a game changer for me, the lack of noise makes it possible to ride at our own property w/o having even to think of what the neighbors might think .
I have reserved app an acre of very versatile terrain for this purpose alone - 15m of elevation difference means great inclines. There's soft undergrowth and challenging rocky sections too. I have started to thin out the trees.... most of the arm thick spruces will have to go .
Though I have approached all this with an extremely humble attitude, riding a trials bike is far more challenging I ever imagined. Having said that the learning curve is also steeper than I had imagined. The EM makes all this possible for me, a conventionally powered and geared bike might not have been possible or at least not a good choice for me.
Battery charge is more than adequate for me - I run out of juice much faster than the bike. Four hours of riding at my skill level does not drain it. Usually I can ride the whole weekend with just one charge. I have the 10A charger and it takes app 2 hours to fully charge an almost empty battery.
The bike has more than enough punch for me - I have only just started to use the more powerful "map 2".... and the power is very easy to control just with the throttle. The 2016 "Lite" does not have the electric clutch as standard - it's an option. I have seen (on an Aussie site) a left hand rear brake conversion using a hydraulic clutch master cylinder. Just to be able to concentrate learning to steer with my feet (balancing weight on the pegs) I might go this route. It's a cheap and easy mod.
Just thought I'd say hello and let you guys know what I think of the EM !
Kind regards from Finland,
Tapani