In this episode, we dive into how Ukraine’s military is using KTM motorcycles—donated by Austria—to gain a critical edge on the battlefield. We’ll explore the tactical advantages these off-road machines provide, compare how Ukraine’s strategy is similar to U.S. Special Forces motorcycle operations, and discuss why Russia’s approach is wildly different (and not in a good way).
I’m Wes O’Donnell, U.S. military veteran, defense nerd, and Substack writer. Join me as I break down how motorcycles, including electric motorcycles like the Zero MMX, are shaping the Ukrainian battlefield and why they may be the future of ground stealth operations.
🎯 Don’t forget to subscribe! Help me reach 30K subs by mid-October to win a bet with my old 101st Airborne buddies.
#ukraine #ukrainewar #славаукраїні #austria #motorcycle #military
29 Comments
KTMs are great , defiently beats russias garbage motorcycles they got,.
Very interesting
Thanks a lot – as always great content
❤
You point out things that almost nobody is talking about – especially among Youtubers. Well done. ❤
Are those the motorcycles with the shaft of hot butter?
My dislike for any airforce pushed me subscribe.
Thank you for the update so to speak. I had seen Ukraine get some dirt bikes some 18 months ago, but I had not seen how they were getting on.
EV's are great, but they do have range restrictions. They also have recharging restrictions which prevent larger scale use, I presume. Now if there was a hybrid available with electricity only used when n necessary, now that might work. Slava Ukraine 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦
Russians use of motorcycles in Ukraine is just as replacements for the absence of armoured combat vehicles.
Riding in to certain death suicide attacks on motorcycles as flights of armed and Kamikaze drones Piloted by Ukrainian Defenders literally wipe you out en masse is only a variation of getting wiped out as you sit in or on armoured combat vehicles!
The shortage of such vehicles has seen quad bikes, motorcycles, sidecars, golf buggies and electric scooters used to deliver entire companies of Russian walking dead to the waiting Ukrainian snipers, artillery, mortar, Anti-Personnel and Anti-Tank Mines, ATGM, and flights of armed and Kamikaze drones for the inevitable open season slaughter.
Russian military tactics make The Charge of The Light Brigade look like a military masterpiece of strategy!
To the Russian military and government, their personnel are as disposable as toilet paper, but far less valuable…
The next Generation of Tanks will be Hybrid-Electric for sure. They would only include a Diesel pony engine attached to a generator as a range extender. You lose the weight of the Transmission altogether and most of the weight of the traditional Diesel power plant. Stealth mode Tanks would be crazy quiet and give off very little heat energy.
Could you do a story on the advantage of using the mq 28b in Ukraine
EV motorcycles are yet to be fully appreciated in terms of what is available for combat.
There are vastly more interesting use cases.
I've always wanted to see one of these electric motorcycles with a Switchblade 600 loitering munition tube strapped on the side. Stealthy, fast response and guerilla Anti-tank capabilities with good stand-off range of 25+ miles.
Good stuff!
It should counter the Russian bicycles well.
thnx Wes
I used ktm 450 during my military service in finland in early 2000´s. I Would say that the reliability of that era's ktms's was not top notch. Lot of time went in to repairs. Then I visioned that in war time I would be shot while trying to kickstart that thumper….
Don't hold your breath while you wait for the US military, or any other military, to change over to battery power. Please explain to me how a force operating in the field will be able to recharge their electric cars or motorbikes, let alone tanks and APCs? Where would the electricity come from? Furthermore, do you have any concept of recharge times? A tank would probably take several days to recharge, meaning that it would be a sitting duck for enemy artillery. (Is Elon Musk going to install superchargers in the Pokrovsk direction?) Also, would it not be all too easy for small sabotage teams to cut any power lines?
As you well know, field logistics, particularly outside of urban environments, is a difficult enough pursuit as things stand without adding absurdities like range anxiety and hours-long recharge times into the mix. Furthermore, range and power levels vary dramatically with temperature, particularly cold, because as a matter of physics, internal resistance increases as temperatures decrease; it's how batteries roll. Many EVs have temperature controls to protect their batteries that don't allow recharging if the ambient temperature is lower than -5 deg. C. Not exactly a recipe for successful operation in the Eastern European winter.
Moreover, it's one thing to bear the burden of having to transport liquid fuels to places without roads, it's another to transport electricity to places with no power infrastructure. The first is doable, the second not so much. A major element of what the military does is to seek to operate normally in extreme environments at extreme temperatures when there is no infrastructure. Electric vehicles are the antithesis of that philosophy. And what would happen to emergency response times?
The US military has repeatedly commissioned diesel motorcycles for several decades now, probably going back to the Eighties, with the specific purpose of eliminating the need for gasoline but the lack of continuous or widespread adoption speaks volumes about their lack of practicality in the field.
Electric bikes, on the other hand, solve several problems, not least that of being far stealthier than ICE-powered motorbikes which are anything but. However, this is due to easy transportability by helicopter for commando-style operations: get in quick, do the job, get out quick. So, credit where credit is due, but with current battery technology, every other type of electric vehicle is a non-starter for military use in theatre.
Just hope the cam shafts don't wear out 😀
Gotta do some collabs with some of the other Ukrainian content maybe Task n Purpose Kris or Jake about where weapon tech will go from here
So, did they send the "CAMBREAKER® 890" 😆🥳🤠
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Hahaha. Quoting prices in AUD for a company based in Europe. Classic.
Next, the Russians are using them. Scooters.
Ktms probably arnt the best choice for millitary use, but theyll certainly help. they are known for performance rather then reliability…. Any air cooled Japanese bike would be ideal…
For those sub i guess you lost the bet. You barely have 5 days left.
Armored donkey carts next