Energica Opens First Retail Store in U.S.

[Shinysideup]

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/energica-announces-the-first-flagship-store-in-san-francisco-300270934.html

Also interesting: Southern California to San Francisco trip...

"He rode 450 miles with 9 fast charging stops, taking 23 minutes average each. Thanks to the on board fast charge and the ChargePoint Network, Bill was able to enjoy an exciting and unconventional journey on the Energica Eva, without any range anxiety."

[Richard230]

Here is a firsthand account of the grand opening of the Energica store in San Francisco:  http://cleanrider.com/energica-opens-its-first-us-showroom/

[kingcharles]

Here is a firsthand account of the grand opening of the Energica store in San Francisco:  http://cleanrider.com/energica-opens-its-first-us-showroom/

Did you try one already? Are you living in the area?
I had a chance to try the Ego some time ago and it's a really nice bike, although I think I will prefer the more upright position on the Eva.

[Richard230]

Here is a firsthand account of the grand opening of the Energica store in San Francisco:  http://cleanrider.com/energica-opens-its-first-us-showroom/

Did you try one already? Are you living in the area?
I had a chance to try the Ego some time ago and it's a really nice bike, although I think I will prefer the more upright position on the Eva.

My reading of the article is that the bikes are just on display at the moment and test rides are not being offered at this time.  But I could be wrong.

I live near SF, but I won't go into the city unless I absolutely have to as I find it a real scary place to ride a motorcycle.  Too much happening, too many pedestrians crossing streets at random locations, too much construction, not enough parking spaces and not enough traffic lanes to accommodate the traffic that tries to get around the City.

[Shinysideup]

What Richard said about riding in SF is true. I do it every day on my job.

I haven't made it to the new store yet, but I agree, there's nothing that indicates they're handing out test rides yet. At $34K, I probably will never test one! But I can drool.

[Richard230]

The Energica dual were up at Alice's yesterday attending the monthly Zero luncheon.  They said they are not selling bikes to customers yet as they still do not have their state retail license and also don't have any production models available to sell so far due to slow initial production at the factory.  However one of their staff did give me a really beautiful 50-page, coffee-table-size, full-color brochure for the Energica models, which I read cover-to-cover last night.

Beautiful bikes, with a lot of interesting feature, one of which caught my eye:  They appear to be using the Vectrix-type throttle, which has a neutral position for coasting, then when you turn it past closed it activates the bike's regen (not sure if the regen is variable using the feature).  Then when stopped, by selecting a button on the dash screen, you can enter a program that will allow the bike to creep forward or in reverse to back you slowly out of a parking spot.  That is a really handy feature when you are riding a heavy bike and happen to live in a hilly congested city like San Francisco.  It also (no doubt) sounds kind of familiar to Vectrix owners.   

[kingcharles]

Having had the opportunity to test ride an Ego a few months ago and owning a Vectrix for almost 5 years I can say that there is no Vectrix like throttle.
It is a Zero/Brammo approach where rolling back will give you more regeneration the further you close the throttle.
The slow speed mode is a nice feature but less intuitive than the Vectrix.
The bike does have a lot of different mode settings for both power and regeneration and many more fancy features.

[Richard230]

Having had the opportunity to test ride an Ego a few months ago and owning a Vectrix for almost 5 years I can say that there is no Vectrix like throttle.
It is a Zero/Brammo approach where rolling back will give you more regeneration the further you close the throttle.
The slow speed mode is a nice feature but less intuitive than the Vectrix.
The bike does have a lot of different mode settings for both power and regeneration and many more fancy features.

Here is what the Energica brochure says on page 19:  "During deceleration, depending on the speed you are driving, the rider will find a small window where the vehicle can coast in neutral and the remaining percentage of rotation can adjust the regenerative braking torque.  The more the rider closes the throttle, the more engine braking."

On the following page the "Park Assistant" is described as follows: 'Energica Ego is also equipped with a "PARK ASSISTANT" in order to facilitate parking and maneuvers on slopes or into rush traffic. The VCU limits both the speed and the torque of the vehicle.  The PARK ASSISTANT works back and forth (reverse mode) with maximum speed 1.74 Miles/hour (mph) and maximum torque 50Nm. Push the "START" for 2 seconds to enter the "PARK ASSISTANT" MODE.  Further quick push of "START" button, will switch from forward to reverse mode to assist in tough maneuvers and if stuck in the middle of traffic.'