It looks like a motorcycle for young people, but people of any age can ride it. And even if they drive the “saw”, only a slight hum fills the hall. The ePit electric motorcycle was produced by a Czech company and can be ridden all year round in the hall in Prague’s Zličín.
“I know it within the first few minutes and meters,” admits instructor Lukáš Hurych in response to the question of how quickly he can tell if a rider is talented. In the Pitland hall in Prague’s Zličín, just next to the area where go-karts are used for a change, he trains visitors who have come to ride an electric pit bike, or ePit.
Twenty-seven-year-old Lukáš rides a Suzuki GSX-R 1000, teaches people how to ride an ePit. | Photo: Eva Srpová
The electric motorcycle was developed by the Czech company Kuberg specifically for the needs of the Pitland project, which was started three years ago by a pair of motorcycle enthusiasts Jirko Matela and Roman Staroba. “It’s a completely unique project that has no parallels in the world. Both the ePit itself and the track for the public. Anyone can ride it without having a driver’s license,” says Jiří Novák, who is in charge of marketing at Pitland.
The machine is a quarter smaller compared to a regular road motorcycle, so even children aged around 10-12 can try it, if they can reach the ground with their feet. But that doesn’t mean a six-foot-tall guy can’t ride it. The three-quarter size of a pit bike is actually far better for honing driving skills.
It is easy to operate, thanks to a single transmission there is no need to shift gears, the motorcycle is “revived” by a magnet that is hung on the driver’s left wrist and is called a ripper. As soon as the rider stops, the magnet needs to be torn off, the electric drive turns off. The electricity is enough for three to five hours of operation in Pitland, and it is fully charged in two hours from a regular outlet.
The machine itself weighs about 85 kilograms and the electric motor offers a power of 13.5 kW – the ePit has three gears, the first one is suitable for beginners and for the training part of the lesson, “double” is used on the track, the highest gear is activated only for the best riders, then the machine starts at a speed of 60 km/h. It takes two seconds to get from zero to it.
The track record was held until the middle of this week by “our” instructor Lukáš Hurych, who managed to complete the 250-meter track in 21:50 seconds. He has been working at Pitland for three years, i.e. since the very beginning, and during that time he has driven at least 1,200 measured bikes. He is, of course, a biker, he owns a Suzuki GSX-R 1000, with which, by the way, he also tried to ride the track with nine turns and one sharp chicane. “But that was more for fun, I was slow here,” he laughs. He himself started at the age of sixteen on a Honda CBF 125 and then on his father’s Ducati.
That afternoon, which we spend with him during a training session and then three times straight on the track, a good half of the visitors are women. Even our trio is only female. However, the instructor does not think that it would be common and that the ladies fell in love with ePit. “Today it’s extreme, but it’s true that quite a few women come here. Either female bikers who want to improve, or female bikers who want to experience what they do, in the safe environment of the track. And we have one really very skilled and a hellishly fast instructor,” she adds.
Pitland is fun for just about anyone. A lot of motorcyclists come here who want to start riding before the spring season or to keep in shape during the winter. Driving skills can be improved here with the help of instructors, and people who want to try riding a motorcycle first come here to find out if a driver’s license makes sense for them. Or just have fun.
Although the ePit is electric and a little smaller than a regular motorcycle, it is very much a typical one-wheeled machine in the way it handles and rides. “I myself took a lot of things from the ePita to the big bike, for example a better posture and especially body movement,” Lukáš Hurych thinks.
According to the instructor, it is precisely the coordination of movements that determines whether a driver is talented. “And he doesn’t even have to be a motorcyclist. It helps a lot when a person plays a sport, it shows on the motorcycle. Then he learns much faster to do everything correctly and at once – to look where he’s supposed to go, to brake well, to keep his balance,” says the former longtime snowboarding, surfing and bowling instructor.
The best thing about Pitland is that all of the above can be filed in a safe environment regardless of the weather. And if someone overdoes it and falls from time to time, it’s usually nothing worse than bruises.
On your own skin
Photo: Pitland
“Our” women’s group that came to try ePity has experience with motorcycles. Lenka rides a Harley Sportster, Michael a Yamaha from the 90s, I ride a vintage Honda from the 70s, scooters and smaller bikes of all types and ages.
Pitland can also be used as an opportunity to practice as much as possible what you are not good at. For example, if you have a very prominent right leg, you can prefer the left leg when training. Or doing figure eights in the direction that is harder for you to drive. One corner on the track was quite slippery, which will test quick reactions, in a sharp chicane you can practice changing the center of gravity, driving technique and the correct track. A fun competition during training was a race to see who is the slowest. This is how easy it is to train your balance well on a motorcycle. I’ll try it out on my Honda this weekend.
