Brammo Owners Forum
Brammo Empulse Discussion => Brammo Empulse => Topic started by: Roland Stone on October 06, 2014, 07:31:40 PM
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Would really appreciate some owner feedback….! Crazy as it sounds, bought my Empulse R without ever having ridden one and other than on-line videos and photos had never even seen the real thing until the day I took delivery a couple of weeks ago. Think I have some idea now what it must be like picking up a mail order bride and not even knowing if it snores. And snoring is sort of on topic. With no previous exposure to an Empulse, every snort and cough it makes is a new experience as with the first item of concern, - the cooling fluid pump. Not even sure I should be hearing it, but mine makes sort of a rough noise (not especially loud) like the beginnings of a bearing going bad, not a smooth hum which is more what I might have expected a pump to sound like. The sound is most noticeable of course when I’m sitting at a stop light or during the shutdown or any other time the motor’s not running. The other noise that’s got me worried is the cooling fan(s) that come on during battery charging (I’m not even sure whether it’s one or two fans?). It’s not the noise so much as it is they’re still screaming away more than an hour after my batteries indicate 100%, charging: 0 amps, zero hours charge time remaining, and charge indicator light - green. It occurs to me that after an hour in a no-charge condition, the fans don’t still need to be running/cooling?! Your experience would provide some peace of mind knowing the two items I’ve described are either normal or that I may have a problem. It’s the uncertainty that bugs me. Any info would be helpful.
Thanks.
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I get a hum when stopped at lights too. Reminds me kind of like a power steering pump. Never put much thought into but yea I guess that's the cooling pump I'm hearing.
As for the fans I think the system is set up to keep the batteries warmed after charging. It's possible that this is why the fans stay on. It keeps the charging unit cool while keeping the batteries hot.
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All your sounds sound typical to me.
My philosophy: if it runs (and, man, does it run!), all is well.
Enjoy!
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Shinyside, - thanks to you and the few others who bother to reply to posts, share their experiences. For the new owner, an answer, communication, relieves that lonely feeling you're on a different planet, different solar system with your rocket ship Empulse and you'll just have to figure it out on your own.
Sounds religious (and I'm anything but), hearing the enthusiasm from Brammo owners is uplifting. Makes you feel like you made the right decision buying and there are others out there who sense they have tumbled to a really unique transportation state-of-the-art. The Empulse R is definitely a "back to the future" experience for me.
Thanks!
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Regarding my paranoid coolant pump "noise" concern, - received this much appreciated response from Brammo Service:
So on the water pump… they do seem to sound like they are struggling when they run. It is a normal characteristic of the design. Part of the reason the water pump seems to be so noisy is due to its exterior location (not inside of a metal engine block) and due to the fact that it is not masked by any gasoline engine noise or vibration. All of the Brammo bikes I have ridden have the same “labored” water pump sound. I did come across one Empulse where the water pump was slightly misaligned in its mounting position and was touching part of the lower body panel. When the pump turned on the sound was magnified as it vibrated against the lower panel. This is something you could check if you think the sound is not right.
Thanks to Adam Lukoic, - "a friend in the factory"