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Oct 18, 2024

KTM SX-E 5: Battery Bike For Kids - Adventure Rider

Photo: KTM KTM continues to move its youth-oriented electric motorcycle series forward with the new SX-E 5. This battery bike sees considerable updating for 2025, and parents may appreciate the

Photo: KTM

KTM continues to move its youth-oriented electric motorcycle series forward with the new SX-E 5. This battery bike sees considerable updating for 2025, and parents may appreciate the updates as much as the kids riding the machine.

The water-cooled permanent magnet motor now has 30 percent more riding time than the previous SX-E, with peak power at 5 kW (equivalent to 6.7 horsepower). KTM says it’s an alternative to a gasoline-powered 50 cc engine, but it offers the same no-hassle usage as before, with no spark plugs or oil to change. It also comes with six different ride maps that allow the power output to be tamed down or turned up. A rollover sensor will cut power if the bike detects a fall, and there’s also a wrist lanyard that can be connected to the bike to kill the motor in a crash.

Photo: KTM

In other words: A powertrain that requires minimal maintenance from busy parents, and it’s easily tuned to a specific child’s capabilities.

The battery pack’s charge is shown on the dash, so you know how much juice is left. The battery is made of 84 li-ion cells in an aluminum casing, working together to store 907 Wh. That’s good enough for two hours of relaxed riding or a half-hour of race-pace riding, says KTM. And when it’s time to recharge, the battery goes 0-80 percent in 45 minutes, and 0-100 percent in 70 minutes. The 900W charger can connect to an 110-volt or 230-volt wall socket, thanks to a design that fits electrical plugs around the world.

Photo: KTM

One other parent-friendly feature: KTM designed the chassis to be adjustable, so as your kid grows up, you can make the bike fit them. Or when they out-grow it, the bike can be reconfigured to fit another child. As per their press release:

The subframe is made of lightweight, fiberglass reinforced plastic elements, which can be mounted in different positions to suit the changing size of the junior rider. The variance window is 24.9-26.8 inches (634-682 mm) and is hiked up or slid down by easy movements with the seat and bodywork. An even lower seat height can be achieved by dropping the forks down in the triple clamps.

That adjustability will help you keep this machine in use for a longer period of time.

KTM says the chrome-moly frame has a tougher rear shock mounting point this year, and other modification to make it handle better and adding robustness. The suspension is surprisingly flash, with WP XACT air fork with 205 mm of travel, including a left fork leg that can have the air spring adjusted with only an air pump. The WP XACT shock can have preload, rebound and compression settings all changed, and mounts directly to the swingarm just like KTM’s gas-powered dirt bikes, with 193 mm of travel.

Photo: KTM

And then there are the little pieces like handlebars, grips, rims, brakes, and so on. KTM says “the motorcycle comes with a host of outstanding parts so that the bikes sit comfortably in the full all-conquering KTM SX range.” Indeed, we see aluminum NEKKEN bars, lock-on ODI grips, aluminum 12-inch front and 10-inch rear rims, MAXXIS MX-ST tires, and Brembo stoppers.

Base price for US buyers is $5,649.00; Canucks pay $7,524 CAD. See more at KTM’s website here.