Alta Motors

Lore & Background

Derek Dorresteyn, whose family has a long presence on the San Francisco motorcycle scene, started working on a bespoke electric bike in 2007. He partnered with industrial designer Jeff Sand and entrepreneur Marc Fenigstein to found BRD Motorcycles in 2010. The acronym's meaning was only known to the founders and never disclosed. In 2011, Alta hired Viktor Pritzker, a former director of sales at Vectrix. In 2013, Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard joined the company's advisory board. After securing additional investors, BRD changed its name to the more evocative Alta Motors, a reference to its home region of Alta California—or North California. In March 2018, Alta Motors announced a partnership with Harley-Davidson for the development of future models of electric motorbikes. However, H-D walked out of the deal six months later, opting instead to set up its own research and development unit in the Silicon Valley. Following Harley-Davidson's divestment, the company was reported to be in negotiations with Canada's Bombardier Recreational Products for an injection of cash, but this did not happen and Alta Motors went out of business in late 2018. BRP later did acquire some of Alta's technological assets from its creditors. The Redshift platform is the basis for the SilentHawk stealth dirtbike developed by military contractor Logos Technologies of Fairfax, Virginia. In 2017, the company also unveiled a prototype called the Redshift ST (for Street Tracker), which was pitched as a hybrid urban and flat track speedway machine.

Reader's Guide

Alta Motors' significance lies in its pioneering role in electric off-road motorcycling and its brief but notable presence in professional racing. The company faced an uphill battle obtaining sanction to race in major series due to debates regarding equivalency between electric and combustion engines. Despite this, the Redshift MX made its professional debut in the Lites class of the 2016 Red Bull Straight Rhythm, advancing to the second round, and returned in 2017. In 2017, Alta participated in the Geneva Supercross' Duel Cup, where Josh Hill won the second night, beating event spokesman Ricky Carmichael. The company also made its AMA EnduroCross Championship debut in 2016 with Veteran class rider Kurt Nicoll, who won his class. In 2018, Ty Tremaine's third-place finish in Round 3 of the Pro class was credited as the first podium placing by an all-electric bike in an AMA-sanctioned professional series. However, Alta Motors folded partway into the season, and Tremaine finished his campaign with Beta. The company's legacy includes its technological assets being acquired by BRP, and its Redshift platform being used for a military stealth dirtbike.

Did You Know?

• The acronym BRD was never publicly disclosed; only the founders knew its meaning.
• Alta Motors changed its name from BRD Motorcycles to reference Alta California, or North California.
• The Redshift MX made its professional debut in the 2016 Red Bull Straight Rhythm, ridden by Josh Hill.