Brammo Owners Forum

I have owned two Tesla's in my life, a 2014 Model S and a 2018 Model 3.  Both were single motor cars with the minimum diameter wheels installed.  Operating in central Florida, both cars would meet their rated range if driven carefully.  Cold weather, rain, high speeds, etc. would impact range.  I recently drove a friends new model Y, dual motor, with 20" wheels.  In Michigan, I was hard pressed to get a reliable 200 mile range out of a car that is supposed to do over 300 miles.  When driven to the best of my ability (for range) I was able to get within a couple of miles of the rated range.  Driving it without care for acceleration and speed limits just killed the range.  Remember, all these cars were tested by the government and certified as to their range---and that is what is advertised.  Look at our Empulse's and you can meet the rated range---but that's no fun. 

When I got my Empulse several years ago, I changed the front forks to the upgraded factory forks.  In order to lift the front and do the work, I put the rear on a stand (had bobbins installed in the swingarm) and then installed a hardened threaded rod through the hole in the steering stem.  Attached a I-bolt to the top and a nut and washer to the bottom.  Attached a hoist and lifted it up to do the work.

It seems like the common thread between the bulk of these battery fires is the battery manufacturer---LG Chem.  Several other vehicle manufacturers like Kia have had fires with LG batteries.  The issue in the past (along with both Bolt issues) appears to be manufacturing defects within the battery itself leading to internal separator failure and the resultant "thermal event".  And lets not forget this goes all the way back to the Boeing Dreamliner battery failures which were also a LG module similar to that which was used in the Mitsubishi I-MiEV. 

094 is still alive and well.  Only a little over 1000 miles on it.  Stored in a climate controlled garage at 75 degrees year around at 50% charge.  When It quits, its going into the man cave as "art".  Only operated on dry days and usually short evening rides.  I love the quiet, smooth operation and with the exception of the chain noise--absolutely silent.  Everything looks and operates like new.
No motor leaks, battery cell balance still pretty good.  I have never washed this bike, just dusted it off.  My Zero SRF didn't do well with water so why tempt fate. 

I know that there should be a warning light but---how about the kickstand safety switch?  It might also deserve a look as it is in a nasty place.

Kind of odd.  High angle universal joint setups are not desirable.  The offset motor with the planetary reduction also is odd unless you want to give up a place to put your feet AKA the old opposed twins BMW built in the past.  Why not put a regular helical gear reduction on the motor, offset the gearbox to whichever side you want the output shaft on and put the motor in the center of the chassis and run the propeller shaft directly back to the rear drive.  The layout of a regular two or three gear in-line reduction box would get everything "balanced up" and would be shorter in length than a planetary.  Looks like a patent looking for a problem.  Maybe they should look at a Can-Am Ryker 3 wheeler to see how to do it.   

I've been following these threads because I have no idea what is happening under the plastic cover on the motor.  I have never directly sprayed water on the cover and very rarely ride in the rain.  When I removed the cover, it looked like brand new inside, totally clean and dry.  I did notice a couple of things that made me uncomfortable with the way the cover is sealed.  First, there is a very small diameter molded "O" ring that sits in a groove just under the plastic cover.  There is a molded square piece in the "O" ring that allows the wires from the temperature sensor and the resolver to pass through.  The temperature sensor wire also had a very short rubber piece stuffed in the hole going through the "O" ring.  It would be easy for water to pass through those two points as you can actually see light through the holes.  I would take the short rubber piece off the sensor wire and pot the entire square part of the "O" ring with silicone to seal up the area.  In addition, I am not too thrilled with the area were the motor power leads attach at the top of the motor.  This is another area where I would pot the whole area with silicone.  It would also be wise to consider drilling a very small drain hole at the lowest point on the plastic cover to allow anything that gets in there a way to get out.  Before I put the cover back on my Empulse, I sprayed the inside with a corrosion blocker product just in case.  The drain hole would allow you to see anything (water or coolant) was getting into the cover area before it did significant damage.

Finally the question remains as to what is getting inside the cover.  Is it plain water or coolant?  Or are some getting internal coolant leaks and others getting external water intrusion?  It takes very little water trapped in an enclosed area to really cause havoc.     

Oil Drain plugs differ.  There is no such thing as a common plug.  You are going to have to get it out anyway, so once you do, you can measure it and find a replacement.  It is going to be a metric plug as the transmission is an Italian product.  The strange thing is, if you look at the parts book, they call it a 1/4" G plug W/magnet.  And the crush washer is called a copper washer 1/4" 13X19X1.5.  This makes no sense at all, sounds like a 1/4" pipe plug but it isn't.  The washer dimensions give you a hint as 13mm is about a 1/2" so a metric drain plug (that uses a crush washer) of about 12mm diameter with a straight thread is most likely what's in there.  A little antiseeze on the threads when you put it in helps and watch the torque.  People tend to overtorque them for fear of them falling out.