Brammo is Out, Victory Empulse TT is In

When Polaris bought out electric-bike builder Brammo, there was wide speculation about what, exactly, the makers of Victory Motorcycles were going to do with the all-electric go-fast bikes. With the introduction of the “all-new” Victory Empulse TT, however, the answer is clear: Victory is going to sell electric bikes.

The new Victory Empulse, then, is very much the same Brammo Empulse longtime readers of this site are already familiar with. Polaris’ deep pockets were able to afford the Victory version of the bike a few improvements, however, most notably a larger battery pack (+10% for 10.4 kWh nominal), a new seat, and most importantly, a rubber “cush” drive for the rear wheel.

The addition of the Empulse line will allow Victory dealers to steal some of the thunder that cross-town rivals Harley-Davidson have created with their all-electric Live Wire concept, while giving the brand a credible sport bike to entice more aggressive riders who already turn to the brand for their two-wheeled cruising and touring needs. The pricing of the Victory Empulse — believed to be set at $19,999 — will keep the bike from becoming a volume-leader, but remains accessible enough for riders who want an authentic TT experience for under 6-figures.

You can see more pictures of the latest Victory-branded Brammo bikes over at Asphalt and Rubber magazine, which has a full, high-resolution photo gallery as well as more specs on the bike itself. Enjoy!

Victory Empulse TT

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Source | Images: Asphalt and Rubber.

Polaris Buys Brammo To Focus On Powertrain Development

After five years of slow sales and just one new model, electric motorcycle maker Brammo has been bought out by Michigan-based Polaris. So what’s that mean for the Brammo brand, and the nascessent electric motorcycle industry as a whole?

It depends entirely on your outlook, because as Jalopnik notes Polaris has been funding one successful venture after the next, including a revived Indian brand and the much-talked-about Polaris Slingshot three-wheeled mad machine. Polaris initially invested about $28 million into Brammo, which has seen comparatively little sales success of their aging Enertia and Empulse motorcycles. A few municipalities have signed on to use Brammo’s bikes as police patrol vehicles, but competitor Zero seems to have had a lot more success penetrating the consumer market.

Brammo had been planning a stock offering and IPO, and just this summer it slashed the prices of older electric motorcylce models. But neither move has given the company enough cash to carry on alone, and so Polaris has decided to step in and buy it up, gaining access to its proprietary electric motor and battery technology. But what about the Brammo brand itself? In the announcement of the Brammo acquisition, Polaris said this;

Polaris is acting as a leading investor in a recapitalization of Brammo that enables the company to focus exclusively on the design, development and integration of electric vehicle powertrains.

Sounds to me like Brammo as an electric motorcycle cycle company may be kaput, and its operations in Oregon may be moved to Iowa where Polaris can be begin building electric motorcycles again. But will those electric motorcycles be branded as Brammo, or something else? Has the once-ambitious motorcycle maker gone out not with a bang, but a whimper? It sure looks that way.

Source: Gas2

Brammo Lease Program Makes Electric Motorcycles Affordable

Electric motorcycle maker Brammo has announced a new lease program that could put you an Empulse or Empulse R for as little as $269 a month. For motorcycle enthusiasts intrigued by electric vehicles, but unwilling to commit to what is still ( in some peoples’ minds) unproven technology, this lease program minimizes the risk.

The Brammo lease program will be offered on the Empulse and Empulse R, which sticker for $16,995 and $18,995 respectively, for either 36 month or 48 month terms. If you’re satisfied with the performance of the Empulse, you’ll have to fork over a 13% down payment ($2,209), plus either $299 or $269 a month, depending on the term. The faster and farther-travelling Empulse R costs $2,469 up front, and either $325 a month or $299 a month, depending on the term.

For the Empulse, that works out to $12,973 over the lease term, and the Empulse R will cost you $14,169. So you’re really not saving that much money over just outright buying a Brammo, though that doesn’t include any local incentives for leasing an EV. Still, some people would rather not take a chance that their battery-powered vehicle won’t pan out, even though the Brammo batteries come with a 5-year warranty.

Any EV fence-sitters thinking about a Brammo all of the sudden?

Source: Brammo

It’s an All-Visual, All-Production Experience Here At Laguna Seca

Shelina Moreda with her 2013 Parker Racing Brammo RR. Photo courtesy of esbk.co

First practice for the first US round of the 2013 FIM eRoadRacing championship at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is on the books. Shane Turpin and Eric Bostrom started quick and led throughout first practice on the Brammo Empulse TTX bikes, staying in the 1:34′s throughout practice. Ted Rich and Shelina Moreda dice it out for 3rd in the 1:51′s throughout practice. The gap from their factory Brammo TTX’s to the stock Brammos and all Zeroes is significant. Partly due to the fact that their bikes are up on power, and partly due to rider experience in the case of some of the modified Zeroes.

What’s exciting about the 2013 round of eRoadRacing here at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is that the entire field are motorcycles available for sale. With some bikes in the production class and some in the modified class, all of which are either Brammo or Zero, this will be the first electric motorcycle race where the entire field are bikes available for sale now. Bikes in the modified class have been modified, of course, but they’re as based on production as any World Superbike machine. That 17 second gap is not cheap.

Sometime this weekend, I’ll talk to Brammo about the mods that go into a TTX bike to make it that much faster than the RR any of us can buy. Enjoy this screenshot of the first practice final results, as I wait for photos to be available. Do try to come for Sunday’s race, it is truly exciting to see a field full of production bikes. There will be three races, essentially. The race for first between Turpin and Bostrom, the race for third between Rich and Moreda, and the race for fifth between Kluge and Johnson, both on modified Zeroes. Kluge is an engineer at Zero, while Johnson is a veteran pro racer, so it will be interesting to see their talents balance each other out. Kowitz is a Brammo customer, and Miller a Zero customer who has completed every racing goal he’s set for himself since that fateful day I told him to stop dragging his pegs and go to California Superbike School.

First Practice Results

Source: Gas2.0

Brammo 2012 Empulse R Advertising Fun

Electric motorcycles have already proven they’re great for inner-city commutes, dirt-track fun and even drag strip racing, but now Oregon-based Brammo Motorcycles adds something very important to that list: taking a pillion passenger.
In the highly-polished ad for its new 2012 Brammo Empulse R, a trendy, young motorcyclist is seen picking up his date on his sexy new ride, taking her out on the town.
That’s a pretty common theme played out worldwide by millions of motorcyclists, but aside from various electric maxi-scooters, the 2012 Brammo Empulse R is the first production electric motorcycle we can think of that has been built with pillion passengers in mind.
In other words, up until now, you had to choose between an electric motorcycle and taking a passenger.
Thanks to its 40-kilowatt, liquid-cooled motor and lightweight frame, the Brammo Empulse R is capable of traveling at more than 100 mph where laws permit.
In terms of range, its 10.2 kilowatt-hour battery pack can provide enough power for 121 miles of city riding, 56 miles of highway riding, or 77 miles of combined cycle riding.
Aside from being the first production motorcycle to offer pillion-carrying capabilities, the Brammo Empulse R is also the first road-going production electric motorcycle to feature a manual gearbox.
While conventional electric vehicle wisdom says that gearboxes aren’t needed, Brammo claims the Empulse R’s six-speed manual transmission gives the motorcycle a much livelier acceleration, while simultaneously allowing for long-distance, low-power cruising.



In terms of specification and styling, the 2012 Empulse R looks to perform like a real motorcycle, but at $18,995 it isn’t cheap.
You’d better start saving, then.



Source: Green Car Reports

Brammo Empulse Launch Outshines The Stars in Hollywood

Empulse photographed by Brandon Nozaki Miller

Last night Brammo held a proper Hollywood launch party for the Empulse and Empulse R. Sure, we saw an Empulse at Laguna Seca in 2010, but a lot has changed since then. The problem with developing products on the cutting edge of technology is that it can be hard to decide when to stop waiting for it to be perfect and just pull the trigger on production.

Zero addresses this by improving their bikes incrementally each year. Brammo has chosen to save customers the hassle and expense of annual upgrades (hardware, not software, therefore a tad costly) by seeking to create the perfect electric sportbike. CEO and founder Craig Bramscher got on stage after the dance troupe and the spoken word artist to tell us what sets the all-new Empulses apart from other electric motorcycles.

Bramscher listed the following three breakthrough technologies they’ve developed in the past two years:
-6-speed IET Gearbox: “True, an EV doesn’t need a gearbox, but having one makes it dramatically better. The exhilaration, excitement, and precise control make this a much better ride. Now you’ll have engine braking where you expect it, and be able to get off the line quickly but also have a higher top speed. This will also give the feeling of engine braking.”
-Range: “Motorcycles have a lot less room for batteries, so we stuffed 9kwh of useable nominal energy on board. We developed and patented the densest, lightest batteries possible to bring you 100 miles of range.”
-Charging:  “Take the long way from Malibu to downtown LA, plug into any Level 2 charging station and be ready for another 100 miles in 4 hours. The Level 2 trickle charge for cars is fast for the Empulse! This is the only bike with J1772 connectors.”
But to me, one of the most exciting breakthroughs came in the next day’s press release. FINANCING! It has been difficult for electric motorcycle manufacturers to find banks willing to finance small companies with very few products. But at 3.9% for 36 months, I can easily pay $558/month for an Empulse R. My Yamaha R1 costs me $330/month plus at least $100/month in gas at 20mpg, then there are the oil changes, and the valve adjustment which seems to be due 10,000 miles ahead of schedule, the tire wear on such a powerful bike, etc. It adds up fast.
The Empulse R will be available in 2012, the base model in 2013. The R is dripping with carbon fiber (below), costs $18,995 to the base’s $16,995 (before rebates). The two models vary as follows:
The Empulse body work is all plastic has semi adjustable front suspension and semi adjustable rear suspension.
The Empulse R uses carbon fiber for headlight shroud, front and rear fenders, top panel and the rear light housing.

Empulse R photographed by Brandon Nozaki Miller

The party was fabulous, with plenty of Hollywood types as well as real movers & shakers like Azhar Hussain & Rupal Patel from TTXGP, Bob Bartel, the local Brammo dealer, Bill Nation, owner of Pro Italia, current Brammo racer Steve Atlas (with cracked vertebrae!), future (as in, the rest of the 2012 TTXGP season!) Brammo racer Shelina Moreda, and of course the lovely bouncers and my favorite Marine who were all more than happy to carry me AND my wheelchair up and down the silly staircases they had in this nightclub. Nobody could find the key to the handicap elevator. It was a fabulous party with a fabulous gift bag- an actual Brammo backpack! Although the red will clash with my pink leathers, it will be nice and visible. Be sure to check out the video starring racer Steve Atlas when they post it to their YouTube page. It was presented at the party and was a real thrill. They wanted to highlight the fact that this bike will indeed get you from Malibu to downtown LA, the fun way, and back.
I’m still disappointed they’re not sold through Hollywood Electrics, as I really don’t want to enter a Harley dealership unless the alternative is being eaten by zombies. Plus I’d trust an electric motorcycle expert like Harlan for repairs much more than someone who’s accustomed to selling vehicles with far more frequent trips to the service department. It can be hard enough to get your average mechanic to understand all the software on modern vehicles! Currently Brammo has two service techs who travel to customers when issues arise, that’s how little service electric vehicles need. If you already pre-ordered, do so again to specify which model you want. And forget about winning one, the lucky winner was announced last night.



Source: Gas2.0

Brammo unveils electric motorcycles Empulse And Empulse R

Brammo, Inc. has announced pricing and production plans for the Empulse and Empulse R electric motorcycles and previewed the new design.

Brammo Empulse R. Click to enlarge.

The Empulse offers a 100-mile (161-kilometer) range and 100-mph top speed. The Empulse and Empulse R will cost $16,995 and $18,995, respectively, with financing available from Sheffield Financial. Through this financing, customers will be able to purchase the new Empulse and Empulse R from Brammo dealers as follows:

• Empulse: 8.9% for 72 months at $303, 6.9% financing for 60 month at $334 and 3.9% for 36 months at $499
• Empulse R: 8.9% for 72 months at $339, 6.9% financing for 60 month at $373 and 3.9% for 36 months at $558

Availability of each model will vary based on demand for the Empulse and Empulse R. Production for the Empulse R will take place first with limited availability in June 2012 and in volume by Q3 2012. The Empulse will be available in Q1 2013.
Research conducted by Brammo with both customers and dealers has driven the development of the Empulse and Empulse R. As a result, these motorcycles now come with a water-cooled AC motor and fully integrated IET six-speed transmission, seating for two, regenerative braking and on board 3 kW, J1772 Level 2 charging capability.
The two models vary as follows:

• The Empulse body work is all plastic, has semi adjustable front suspension and semi adjustable rear suspension.
• The Empulse R uses carbon fiber for headlight shroud, front and rear fenders, top panel and the rear light housing.
  
  
  
  Source: Green Car Congress

Brammo Reveals New Details for Empulse and Empulse R Electric Sport Bikes

PRESS RELEASE

Brammo, Inc., the designer and manufacturer of world leading electric motorcycles today announced details of its much anticipated Empulse and Empulse R electric sport bikes.

Both models utilize the world's first drivetrain that has been designed and built for a production electric motorcycle. It features a water-cooled permanent magnet AC motor, IET 6 speed gearbox and Brammo's unique BPM 15/90 battery modules. This drivetrain package endows the Empulse and Empulse R with rapid off-the-line acceleration, sustained high speed and industry-leading range.

Unique for a production electric motorcycle, both Empulse models also have J1772 Level II on-board charging system, allowing riders to easily take advantage of the growing number of charging stations being installed in cities around the world. The Empulse and Empulse R can be totally recharged in just 3.5 hours and every 10 minutes of casual charging adds 5 miles of range. With a little planning, a day's journey of 200 miles or more can now be achieved.

Craig Bramscher, Founder and CEO of Brammo, stated, "The Empulse and Empulse R are a milestone for Brammo and the new electric benchmark for the motorcycling industry. I know when I reveal the bikes on May 8th people are going to be blown away by the integrity of the design and the focused presence this motorcycle commands." Bramscher continues, "When we first revealed the Empulse prototype, our customers had some very clear feedback for us and that feedback has inspired much of what you will see in the production version."

Brammo will be revealing the Empulse and Empulse R in Los Angeles on May 8th, 2012. The launch event will be webcast live to all pre-order customers. Those viewers will not only get to see the new bikes, they will get to hear what it's like to ride one, straight from the mouths of Brammo's development riders, two of which happen to be well-known motorcycle racers. Electric motorcycle racing is an integral part of Brammo's mission, and its experience and championship record on the track has played a critical role in the evolution of the Empulse from concept to production. Professional racers have had a hand in the development process and they will be sharing their riding experiences and impressions at the reveal on May 8th.

A video interview with Brammo CEO Craig Bramscher will be released on Thursday, April 19th 2012 – http://www.brammo.com/video-ceo

About Brammo

Brammo, Inc., is a leading electric vehicle technology company headquartered in North America. Brammo designs and develops electric vehicles including the Encite, Enertia, Empulse and Engage motorcycles. Brammo is the current TTXGP eGrandPrix champion of North America. Brammo is an OEM supplier of its innovative Brammo Digital Drivetrain systems including the Brammo Power battery pack and Brammo Power vehicle management system. Brammo has vehicle distribution and marketing operations in North America, Europe and Asia. To learn more, visit www.Brammo.com

The following are trademarks of Brammo, Inc. in the United States or other countries or both; Brammo®, Enertia®, Empulse®, Empulse R®, Engage®, Encite®, Brammo Digital Drivetrain®, Brammo Power®, the Brammo logo and bulls head graphical device.

Brammo and SMRE Engineering enter strategic partnership on electric motorcycles

Electric motorcycle company Brammo, Inc., and S.M.R.E. Engineering, a leading engineering research and development company, have entered into a strategic partnership. As a part of this agreement, Brammo has acquired an exclusive international license for S.M.R.E.’s patented Integrated Electric Transmission (IET). IET enables Brammo to offer its electric motorcycles with a 6-speed transmission, further improving performance and range.

The IET is a mechatronic propulsion unit that emulates the feeling and performance of a traditional internal combustion engine, with a specially developed electric motor, clutch and gear shift that enables Brammo motorcycles to accelerate hard from the line up to a high top speed.

The first application of the new IET will be on the Brammo Engage and Encite, which will be unveiled prior to competing in the MiniMotoSX race in Las Vegas on Friday.

Brammo announced four new models, all featuring the IET and swappable Brammo Power battery packs:

• Engage MX (dirt bike competing in MiniMotoSX), anticipated price $9,995
• Engage SMR (Super Moto Racing), anticipated price $9,995
• Engage SMS (Super Moto Street), anticipated price $11,995
• Encite MMX PRO (mini dirt bike competing in MiniMotoSX), no price announced

Prices do not include relevant taxes or Federal and State electric vehicle incentives.

Source: Green Car Congress

Brammo Unveils The Empulse its Hot Electric Sportbike

Got a need for speed? Check out this video.

Brammo Introduces New Price for the Enertia Plug-In Electric Motorcycle, Now $7,995

The Brammo Electric Motorcycle




In the market for a plug-in electric motorcycle? They are becoming increasingly easy to find and their price tags are falling. Here is another such cycle with a sale price, the Brammo.

Press Release:

Brammo, maker of plug-in electric motorcycles, announced today it is dropping the price of the all-electric BRAMMO Enertia powercycle, to $7,995. Customers are also eligible for a 10% federal income tax credit, further reducing the price to $7,195.

"While this pricing breakthrough is innovative in transportation, it is in line with consumer electronics, where engineering and production advances get passed on to customers as quickly as possible to stimulate adoption of the technology," stated Craig Bramscher, founder and CEO of Brammo. "The Enertia is consumer electronics that you can ride and BRAMMO's engineers are able to deliver a better value proposition to customers sooner than a traditional transportation company."

Today, qualified customers can walk into select Best Buy stores and with a $2,000 down payment, ride out on an Enertia for $249 a month with 24-month no interest with payments financing offered through Best Buy. The Enertia can also be purchased direct from www.BRAMMO.com in select states where the product is not yet available at a Best Buy.

The BRAMMO Enertia powercycle is the ideal commuter vehicle as it blends an exhilarating ride experience with environmental consciousness and low operating costs. The Enertia has a top speed of over 60 mph, has a range of 42 miles and charges in about four hours by plugging into a standard wall outlet—all while using less than a dollar in electricity per 100 miles ridden.

"With this price reduction Brammo has positioned electric vehicles for the mass market and consumers can now be part of a solution to the transportation crises that America is facing," said Bramscher. "The wait is over, consumers can now buy an EV that is price competitive with a gas burning alternative and enjoy reduced maintenance and substantially lower ownership costs."

Fans and media can follow Brammo on Twitter @BrammoSays and on its Facebook fan page, Brammo Powercycles.

About Brammo

Brammo (www.brammo.com) is a premier specialty vehicle manufacturer developing sustainable performance products for the next generation of transportation. Through integration of digital engineering and high impact design, Brammo transforms ideas into compelling products. Located in Ashland, Oregon the company was founded in 2002 and is privately held.