ChrisCH

US Dollar prices for the States on their W3 now: https://www.electricmotion-usa.com/2025-models Plus the spec in Imperial measures.

Many many years ago I did a wheelbuilding course for MTB wheels. The guy who taught me said he had investigated motorbike wheels but they never needed rebuilding and there was no money to be made. Since then virtually all cycle wheels are now machine built and are so good off the production line they need no attention. My spoke keys are untouched for the last decade. A quick internet search suggest that there is an issue with KTM wheels but that is about it. (I have two friends with KTM enduro bikes but never heard any feedback). The MTB course taught to "tune" the spokes by ear and the tighter the better. No torque settings were ever mentioned. (I had to google the torque wrench - never seen one). The big issue with cycle wheels was alloy nipples which broke as they were not strong enough. Traditional brass nipples were trouble free. As part of the course you built a wheel - bring your own components and make a wheel for yourself. I built a back wheel for the missus Orange and the build outlasted the hub (Hope). I do remember the instruction "the tighter the better". I would - based on my experience - therefore not worry about spokes being "too tight".

Test ride if you are in the north of England. https://experience.inchperfecttrials.co.uk/em-festival-7th-july/

True. Highly misleading if that is the case. The size thing is a big odd as well as they still use 2.75 and 4.00 as widths when radial are more often metric. The Michelins use both sizes one for the trial comp and the other for X-Lite. One day, maybe, in the far distant future I might be nearly good enough to notice the difference 😁

Bias is the more common type for tubed applications. Since trials is tubed at the front this is going to be the likely format of the casings. Since very few of the manufacturers' web sites and so on really make much of the bias/radial issue I would think there really isn't much in it. For road bikes and high speed applications it is more important. There is a lot of debate on the other forums where they cover the wider dirt bike applications, but nothing very informative. IRC list both as radial https://ircmoto.com/products/trial-winner-tr-011

Sondre Haga making progress with the factory model now. Some of it in action (sorry it is in Spanish)

Most off road bike tyres are bias belted and the eBay listing for this brand/model shows it as a bias belted (the Dunlop site shows nothing - it is pretty useless). You can run bias front, radial rear but not the other way round. I couldn't see a good enoigh picture either so maybe is the answer on the kiss of death stamp.

I fitted Galfer pads to the missus' Evo (having read on here how good they are). I did not notice any improvement. I fitted a Galfer disc and the brakes worked (unusual for a Beta 😁) I also replaced the M/C with a Braktec (as per the factory bike). The bike was improved by a huge amount and once the pads bedded in it was as good as my TRS. Sadly the missus wanted an EM so the Evo got sold off for the E-Pure. I have wondered if the Galfer pads are really all they are cracked up to be? My TRS took a while to bed in and the brakes at first were not as good as the old 2017 I traded in for it (new one is '23). Couple of mates had a go on the new bike and also commented that the brakes were not as good as they expected. Now it locks up with little effort on a single finger pull. I assume they are the OE pads. Like you I am uncofortable with the 'heat them up and boil them' idea....

Some info here: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0457/0886/9800/files/MANUAL-EXTENSION-SETTINGS.pdf?v=1660508694

I think the new EM has a Tech rear shock. It is an Italian company and has a range of products but their website is not that great and what the products might fit is not listed. Mostly the front forks in trials but some of the other stuff looks pretty good: https://www.rideformula.com/cat/motorcycle/

I am sorry to say the only "sensible" thing to do is collect motorcycles. My wife does not understand this, but it is the truth ☺️ I have had an "itch" for a very long time since some little scumbag stole my old Honda XL250 (pinched in '89). I never found a suitable replacement - the XT350 and DR350 were the ideal bikes but just a tiny bit out of budget. For a very long time I have not had a trail bike, just a road bike and since back in the UK a trials bike as well. I have found the solution to the itch and now have a CRF250L as well. Is three bikes enough? Hmmmm.... Well.... Maybe. Sort of. Perhaps. I like the idea of a twinshock to be honest....... (PS the wife likes the new Honda so all is going well so far - she is enjoying riding "my" bike)

True, but my TRS is hard to start on burgers.

Yes, very much so. Most industrial products like paint and so on have (or their ingredients) been tested on animals at some point. Which is much more unpleasant than just eating them.

Oil and its derivatives (petrol diesel etc) is plant based.

The EM has traction control on most the new models. https://trialworld.es/tienda-trial/en/productos-trial/2702-electric-motion-escape-2022-traction-control.html

By a strange coincidence we bumped into a friend last night at the (mountain)bike shop. Her son is a good trials rider and is at Inch Perfect this weekend to try the new Factor-E. She thinks they (Inch) might let him have a deal on a bike to showcase it. I have asked for a full report so will post up if we get to know anything.

I think the prices have gone down a little. The cost issue was not helping develop a big market for the electric bikes versus the ICE competition. I am still keen to see what the other brands come out with. Both GasGas and Yamaha have stuff in the pipeline.

It is £9,300 in GBP which is less than the Escape. A new KTM EXC 250 Six Day is £10,550. If I sell my TRS and my Honda CRF I could afford it. (Or the wife's Ducati....)

Available to pre-order today. Not as much as I expected. My piggy bank might get a raid 😁 https://inchperfecttrials.co.uk/products/2025-em-epure-factor-e-1-8kwh

Wow. That sounds like a great facility. The Vertigo would be a nice choice if they are able to do the repairs and services.

This is just marketing. A 300cc trials bike is a high end competition bike.

Which bike is really very personal, but the 300cc bikes are more difficult to learn on as they are very powerful. If that is the only option then you will have to accept you will find it a little more difficult at first. All 4 options are good and whatever you buy will be a good bike, just a bit more difficult to learn than - for example a 125cc. It will be much more important that you have somewhere to ride and someone to help you learn. You can find a lot of good instruction on YouTube but having a good rider to watch you makes a big difference.

300cc is a lot of bike. I am sure you would be OK if you have riden MX, but it does make the learning more difficult. The Gasgas (with an aftermarket low compression head insert fitted after you buy it) would be my choice if you cannot find a smaller engine bike where you are.

X11 is OK for UK. It reads "US and Canada" next to the offroad bit.

I agree 100% with your post. However to the OP I would say you are getting tied up in knots over just a few kilos. A decent modern bike is about 68-70Kg and the Mechatechno is 60Kg and (I think) the lightest option of all. Unless the bike falls on top of you you will not really notice much difference. If you have a bad back it will be technique and skill that will have the biggest effect, not the weight of the bike. Most people, for example, when they first start try to pull up the bars to lift the front wheel and that can stress the back muscles. Once you learn to let the engine and clutch do the work it is no stress at all. Try to get a ride on a good 250 and I think you will be pleasantly surprised. But yes a 125 is a good bike if you can pick up a good one. Much easier to find a 250 that has had an easy life. If you can afford it and buy new the Mechatechno (10 grand) is an amazing thing, my missus has an electric (EM) and they are really, really good. If money were no object that (Mechatecno) would be my choice.