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We've gone TEV! (Total Electric Vehicle!) Bought a Brammo Empulse R!

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So, my Bramo has been returned. The manual transmission is awkward to use, and cover for an under powered electric motor. The range is about 40% of the stated capacity (in terms of range), and there are other issues,which ill articulate soon. So disappointed
 
So, my Bramo has been returned. The manual transmission is awkward to use, and cover for an under powered electric motor. The range is about 40% of the stated capacity (in terms of range), and there are other issues,which ill articulate soon. So disappointed


Hey Seegem, can you PM me what happened? Also how the return process went?
 
no problem. Let me know. I have been riding mine around for the last 3 days and it's been a treat. It really is a nice ride, trying to get the mileage in for their break in recommendations and get to the first oil change at 600.
 
I like the simplicity of a single gear. But the benefits of have a gear range is nice too. I'm kinda torn but waiting for a final judgement after break in when I can lay into the bike.
I'm not an engineer but maybe it's that the Tesla's have a more powerful motor that they can easily hand a single gear. However, for Brammo, their mentality is a smaller motor but gearing to make up for it?

Hey seegum did you forget about me?
 
Congrats Seegem...I am a new Brammo dealer located in Pa, just over the NJ border, probably about an hour fifteen from you?? Let me know if there is any way I can help you...I know there will be more dealers popping up as sales ramp up, but I believe I will be your closest for now. I recieved an invoice for my first Empulse R, a demo, just yesterday, and I expect delivery in about 10 days...with many more to follow. Feel free to stop by or contact me with any questions, I'll try my best to answer them. Thanks. Bill

- - - Updated - - -

We have a Roadster and Model S on the way. We're going to keep our Diesel Jeep Liberty for hauling my motorcycle (I do track days) but it won't be used much. But on the motorcycle front I'm keen on getting a Lightning to replace my Benelli. I want a little more performance than the Empulse R and I don't want a transmission. I loved going from my 6-speed manual in my Corvette to no gears in my Roadster. Anyone know if Brammo is going to sell Empulse RR's to privateers? It doesn't look like the RR has a clutch lever.


Yes... as a matter of fact, they are planning on offering a track version...I am not sure of the final spec, I doubt it will be a clone of their championship winning TTX bike, but I do know a track version stripped of all lights etc with stronger drivetrain will be available...
 
We have a Roadster and Model S on the way. We're going to keep our Diesel Jeep Liberty for hauling my motorcycle (I do track days) but it won't be used much. But on the motorcycle front I'm keen on getting a Lightning to replace my Benelli. I want a little more performance than the Empulse R and I don't want a transmission. I loved going from my 6-speed manual in my Corvette to no gears in my Roadster. Anyone know if Brammo is going to sell Empulse RR's to privateers? It doesn't look like the RR has a clutch lever.


strider - I forgot to answer about clutch lever... I'm not sure whether track bike will be direct drive or not, but one of the beauties of a tourqey electric motor is that you can simply leave the transmission in fourth and ride it around like a full auto, or fixed direct drive, if you want too...There isn't even a need to pull the clutch lever in when you stop, the motor just "stalls" when you back off...then twist and go... Clutch is really just needed for downshifts...The gearbox is there because any fixed gearing, direct drive is a compromise between acceleration & top speed...the gear box lets it have both, with just a little extra drag.
 
Alright, so I'm months late with my response, so sorry for that.

So, I really wanted the 'tesla of electric motorcycles', or whatever came closest. At the time (second half of last year), Brammo's bikes were the best on the market & seemingly soon to be available. At first I was excited (and hence my pre-order and eventual purchase). I was really turned on by the idea of a new electric bike design, and then fairly turned off by the fact that it seemed to lack all of the experience innovation that Tesla is so famous for (connected computerized displays, etc.). I was further discouraged by the fact that an electric bike had a manual transmission--whats up with that exactly?
Anyway, I bought one. I paid a HECK of a premium, but that didnt bother me, I mean, I paid a heck of a premium for my Tesla too :)

Got the bike, and... wow was I disappointed. The charger is slow, isn't high capacity. The batteries are small and lack desired capacity, and are clearly far from the state of the art (in terms of Wh/kg). The 'user interface' as nothing new. Nothing. No innovation what so ever. No way to monitor power usage, no data telemetry, no connected services (maps, or anything). Nothing. And then there's the performance... or lack there of. I've been building and hacking electric bikes for a loooong time (just for fun, from highschool projects and solar race car teams, and beyond). I know, intimately, what an electric power train can deliver. The Brammo... came so far away from that. And, the necessity for a transmission was repulsive to me. All this is fine, if the Brammo were priced appropriately. But at $18+k, I expected that little extra to make me go "wow", and the Brammo never made me go "wow"...

What I really want, is the Tesla of electric bikes....

Interestingly, what prompted me to respond today was this:

http://www.mission-motorcycles.com

There's obviously not much info up (yet), but some simple research shows ... a lot of potential! This (or at least what the legacy bike was/is) makes me go "WOW!!!"
 
I love my MY13 11.4DS. Is it as advanced as my MS? No. That being said, it sits next to an S1000RR in the garage and guess which one gets taken every morning. It also runs about 110 Wh/m or just a bit more than 1/3 of the MS for the exact same trip to the airport.

Now if I can just pry my wife's 535 away from her and slip a MS in its place :)
 
Woah, wait, so Mission is back to building bikes? Didn't they announce they were going to build bikes, then became a component supplier, and now going back to making bikes? I'm still waiting for Lightning to have a street-legal version.