Hightail

The verdict

The Dust Moto Hightail is one of the very few serious American-made electric dirt bikes — designed in Oregon, assembled in Detroit — and it arrives as a genuine premium machine rather than a Sur-Ron-class play bike. It earns a VoltRipper Score of 79/100, #12 of the 37 bikes we track. The hardware is legitimately high-end: 32 kW peak, 75 mph, 658 N·m of wheel torque, full-size 21/18-inch wheels, long-travel suspension, and a swappable 4.4 kWh pack. Two things hold the Score back, and they're both honest: a premium-motorcycle price of $10,950, and the reality that it's a just-launching startup with no long-term owner base or aftermarket yet. Buy it if American manufacturing and a full-size premium chassis matter to you — and you're an early adopter comfortable with a brand-new company.

Who it's for — and who should skip it

Buy it if you specifically want an American-made premium e-moto, you're cross-shopping the Stark Varg and Sur-Ron Storm Bee, you value a full-size chassis with a swappable battery, and you're comfortable being an early adopter of a new brand.

Skip it if you want the best all-around value (the Storm Bee scores higher for less money), you need proven long-term reliability and a deep parts network today, you want a lighter Sur-Ron-class play bike, or you need any street-legal path as delivered.

What sets it apart: it's actually American-made

Nearly every bike in this segment is designed and built in China. The Hightail is the rare exception — designed in Oregon and assembled in Detroit — which is the single biggest reason a buyer chooses it. For riders who want to support domestic manufacturing, want shorter support lines in theory, or simply want something different from the Sur-Ron/Talaria monoculture, that origin story is a real draw. It's also a genuine premium build, not a badge-engineered import.

What you're actually buying: a full-size premium chassis

This is not a compact mini-moto. The Hightail runs an 80V, 4.4 kWh pack (removable and swappable — a real advantage for extended days) feeding a 32 kW peak motor with 658 N·m of wheel torque, good for 75 mph with no factory limiter. It rides on full-size 21/18-inch wheels with long-travel suspension (298 mm front / 315 mm rear) and dual hydraulic brakes, at a substantial 235 lb. This is a bigger, more motorcycle-like machine than a Light Bee X or Sting — closer in stature to a Stark Varg — aimed at experienced trail riders who want real suspension travel and full-size geometry.

The number that's refreshingly honest: real-world range

Here's a rarity in this category: Dust Moto's range claim and the real-world number are the same ~40 miles. Rather than publish an inflated low-speed lab figure, Dust rates the Hightail at about 40 miles of actual hard riding at 25 mph — so for once, the box number is the plan-your-loop number. That honesty is a point in its favor, and a welcome contrast to the claimed-vs-real gap that plagues most of the segment. The swappable pack also means a second battery genuinely doubles your day.

Where it wins, where it costs you

Wins: American design and assembly; serious full-size hardware (32 kW, long-travel suspension, 21/18 wheels); a swappable 4.4 kWh pack; and an unusually honest published range.

Costs you: the $10,950 price — this is premium-motorcycle money, not play-bike money, which weighs heavily on value; poor aftermarket and no dealer network as a brand-new startup (community support is effectively nonexistent so far); no display or app; and off-road only as sold. It's also pre-order: Dust is taking refundable reservations while production ramps, so there's no long-term reliability record yet. Those are the honest reasons a 32 kW bike scores 79 rather than joining the top tier.

Street-legal reality

The Hightail is `street_legal: no` — a pure off-highway machine with no factory DOT lighting and no clean conversion path in most states. Treat it as a trail and private-land bike, and check our street-legal guide and your state's rules before assuming any road use.

Hightail vs Storm Bee — the real question

This is the premium-tier decision. The Storm Bee is the better all-around value — it costs ~$2,000 less, carries a bigger battery, and is a proven, well-supported platform, which is why it sits near the top of our rankings at 89. The Hightail counters with more peak power, a swappable pack, a full-size 21-inch chassis, and American manufacturing. Choose the Storm Bee if you want the strongest proven value and support; choose the Hightail if US-made construction, a swappable battery, and full-size geometry are worth a premium and the early-adopter risk to you.

Bottom line

The Dust Moto Hightail is a legitimately serious, premium, American-made electric dirt bike — the pick for the buyer who specifically wants domestic manufacturing and a full-size chassis, and is comfortable backing a new brand. Its 79 Score reflects genuinely high-end hardware weighed against a steep price and an unproven, just-launching support ecosystem — not any shortage of capability. If you're an early adopter who values what makes it different, it's a compelling, distinct alternative to the usual imports.

VoltRipper is spec-verified and data-driven — we do not claim hands-on testing of this bike, which is currently pre-order. Specs and prices are cross-checked against the sources listed above and re-verified regularly; real-world figures are our own estimates, clearly labeled.