Author: Dave Bylund

For a long time now, I have enjoyed the sport of trail and enduro riding. The rush of speed and power of the modern enduro bike combined with getting away from the big smoke and out into the Australia bush are the two things I enjoy the most. One aspect of trail riding that has always seemed to put these two at odds with each other is the noise. Don’t get me wrong, I love the roar of a revving engine as mush as the next bloke, but what would it be like to fly along bush tracks with out the sound of an engine? What if I could pursue this pastime without everybody within cooee also knowing about it (and potentially, getting annoyed by it)? Would a ride without the reverberating revves of a four stroke engine diminish the experience? Some would say yes, some would say no.

Two of my other adrenaline driven pastimes tell me that the noise of an internal combustion engine is not actually critical to such pursuits. In addition to trail and enduro riding, I am also a keen snowboarder and windsurfer. I love carving down a snow covered mountain at speed or the sense of power as I fly across the water propelled by 30 knots of wind, but these sensations would be diminished if they were accompanied by the sound of a screaming engine. 

With this in mind, I have been actively monitoring developments in electric powered enduro and motocross bikes. A quick search of ‘electric motorbike’ on the net demonstrates that some serious contenders may soon begin to challenge the dominance of the internal combustion engine. One of the big name bike manufactures, KTM, has been testing an electric motocross bike, and from all accounts, they are well on their way to production. When and what variant will hit our shores is yet to be seen, but given the way most car manufactures are racing to sell us hybrid and all electric vehicles, it would seem highly likely that it is only a matter of time before motorcycle manufactures also start parading their forays into the modern era of electric propulsion (not to mention the electric trials bikes that are already taking that aspect of riding by storm).

On the local front, a small Melbourne based company called Stealth Electric Bikes has been quietly developing three bikes that are rewriting the rules about what we should expect from electric power, and in the process creating a whole new class of off road motorcycles. I have taken the plunge and ordered one and am now eagerly awaiting delivery of a Stealth Bomber, their flagship model. I have committed to the Bomber with my eyes wide open and as such, am not ready to sell my petrol powered enduro bike just yet, but I do expect to leave it at home in the shed a lot more often and still be able to fullfill my desire to enjoy this fantastic pastime while leaving the noise behind. I expect delivery any day now so watch this space and I’ll let you know how my soon to be discovered ‘Sound of Silence’ stacks up.