Brammo Owners Forum
General => Trip Reports => Topic started by: Gavin on February 12, 2012, 11:30:12 PM
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(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7196/6867426515_085f962357_b_d.jpg)
Received the Enertia with 450 miles on it...so as of tonight I've put on 1,500 miles...yea!
For an electric commuter bike that isn't too bad...my commute is 50 miles a week and I'm riding about 150.
Gavin
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Congratulations Gavin!
Do you have any new insights after 1500 miles?
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Just that I really need the Plus :)
Still has great balance. Still super easy to ride. Still has that slot car acceleration.
I will say I am looking forward to the O-chain...this chain gets loose very fast.
Seat lock could be a bit more "solid".
But more range is my main desire at this point...of course when I get the Plus I will be wanting the Enertia Super Plus ;)
Truthfully, I can't wait for the day we have 150-200 miles in range standard, 300 plus as an up grade.
Maybe in 3 or 4 years?
Gavin
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300+ mile at what speed, of course.
The EPA UDDS city driving test gives the Zero S ZF9 114 miles, you'd need a 21 kwh battery in the same weight to pull 300 miles. We'd need battery packs roughly twice as dense to do that. 5-8 years is probably reasonable. Note that you'd need to ride for about 10-15 hours to fully deplete a pack this size in only city riding, or approximately 1.5 hours on the freeway @ 70 mph.
300 miles at 70 mph needs around 55 kwh - about the capacity of the Tesla Roadster pack, or about 7x as dense as the current packs. This could be cut down by a factor of 2 by streamlining and changing rider ergonomics. Even so, this is a long ways off.
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But I want it nnnoooooowwwwwwww....
;)
yeah, all the good stuff will be around when I'm too old to ride.
Gavin
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as for timeframe...I do the "double every three years"....
Enertia 2009---40 miles...
Enertia Plus 2012---80 miles
Enertia Plus Plus 2015---160 miles.
Enertia Plus Monkey Butt 2018---320 miles.
At least that is my hope....
Heck get Li Air going and 2018 we have 1000 miles range...Enertia Iron Butt 2018.
Gavin
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The odometer now sits at 2150...so 1700 miles are mine all mine...
about 2 weeks and I should be at 2450, or 2000 miles by me...yeah.
Just think how fast I can get to 2000 when I get a Plus :)
Gavin
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How often are you finding that you have to lube the chain on the Enertia?
If the weather in NM is anything like AL, you've had a good mix of warm days and cold days recently. How much do you find that your range and battery consumption vary as the temperature changes? Have you been keeping logs (or notes) of the ranges you're seeing as you ride?
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How often are you finding that you have to lube the chain on the Enertia?
If the weather in NM is anything like AL, you've had a good mix of warm days and cold days recently. How much do you find that your range and battery consumption vary as the temperature changes? Have you been keeping logs (or notes) of the ranges you're seeing as you ride?
Good questions. Lets see if I can supply some answers without Brammo taking my ride away :)
1) Let me start by saying that when Brammo sent me the Enertia they had no strings attached. I did not need to record anything or keep track of miles and all that. Their only request, "Have some fun and enjoy the bike, and if you feel like it, please feel free to write about your experience." The only other thing was when I asked if it was ok to put lots of miles on it or did they want me to limit my riding....their reply, "Go for the record."
But I did start out keeping track of every mile I rode and what battery amount was used....for about the first month...after that I stopped as a) nobody was asking me for that information and b) it was pretty clear what to expect from the battery by that point...which leads me to...
2) One good point of this LONG TERM testing....I have done the same ride everyday for many many many days. My commute to work is 5.2 miles each way. If I leave the house with a full charge I will get to work almost every time at 85% battery remaining.
11 degrees (the coldest I've ridden the Enertia) and I get to work at 85%. 35 degrees (this morning) and I get to work at 85%. And heading home (usually in the 40s or 50s) and my usage is almost always around 16 to 18%---slightly uphill and I tend to ride a bit faster. So I would say that temp doesn't seem to be much of an influence on battery.
Two caveats. 1) I haven't done any real riding in hot temperatures. Mid 60's is about the highest I've driven in. 2) I did go home at lunch today, charged and came back to work. 65 degrees. Got to work at 87%...so a bit better...but it might be that I was driving slower or it might be that 65 degrees does give that 2% more.
Which leads into...
3) Speed. That is the real factor that changes battery consumption. On the snowy and icy morning last week I got to work with 89% battery left. It was 30 degrees but I got much better battery efficiency. How? Well I was riding about 10 mph slower than usual.
I really don't do much "city" riding....it is mostly suburban style riding...even though I live in town. The city streets I ride are mostly 35 to 40 mph. And I usually get about 32-34 miles on a full charge at those speeds. I do ride "aggressively" in that I do not like cars around me and I leave them behind at any light. I can get from 0 to 40mph SO much faster than any car during my commute. Not even close. And believe you me, with New Mexico drivers you want to be far in front of them :)
The few times I have driven our downtown area I have found that I am using the battery at a rate that should get me 40 miles range or maybe more. But 25 mph and stop and go is not my usual riding style....at all.
4) Logs. At first I did take iPhone photos of the "dash" after every ride. No more. Ask Brammofan...The battery consumption is amazingly linear during the first 60% of the battery**. On my commute I can pretty much see what street I'm at and tell you what my battery charge will be at...each and everyday it is the same. Again, no hot weather trials, but 11 degrees or 40 degrees and I hit work right at 15% usage.
5) Ok, this is where I get in trouble....Lubing the chain. I see myself as an average consumer testing the Enertia vs a true Brammo tester...and vs either a gear head or fanatic that likes to get nice and greasy and tinker with the bike. I get on the bike and ride. I get off the bike and charge. I get back on the bike and ride.
I've, sad to admit, cleaned and lubed the chain....TWICE...sorry. Once after some mud riding, once after some snow riding. The upside is that New Mexico has mostly BEAUTIFUL weather. So the chain does not seem to need as much maintenance to function well. The downside is that the chain really does stretch quite a bit and very fast if you are not oiling it up every 200 miles or so. I can't wait to try an O-Chain to see how much better it is...but I can say I did need to tighten the chain at about 1000 miles...and I am almost to the point of having to tighten it again. With better care I might not have had to, but again...I am testing like the average rider and the average rider isn't going to oil the chain every 200 miles...at least not THIS average rider :)
(and suddenly I get an email from Brammo....Gavin, give back the bike.... :( sad face)
Lastly....about that ** I put up in number 4. The battery usage is very linear...VERY...until you get to 40%...then it just wanders around a bit...It is one area I hope to see improved over time. It is hard to explain, just understand that the computer doesn't read the charge nearly as well and will give some "confusing" range numbers...I tend to remember where I was before I hit 40% and how far I should have and ignore the fast dropping range numbers...Not ideal, but you learn to live with it....
Gavin
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Here's a little secret: I didn't lube the chain in my GS500 until a couple thousand miles into ownership.
Here's another little secret: I probably will "forget" to do that with the Empulse as well.
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Addendum...
Today was the first time I've driven both to and from work in 60 plus degrees...
10.4 miles...5.2 at 65 degrees, 5.2 at 60 degrees.
When all I do is ride to work and back, my battery is usually at 68%. Today it was 71%. So a bit of an improvement over 30 degree riding. 3% is about a mile of driving...so maybe 3-4 miles of extra riding at 65 degrees vs freezing.
I will say it was damn nice riding today...I could have driven shirtless in this weather :).
Of course nobody wants that.
Gavin
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OMG....46 degrees for my ride to work...lovely...I had to go back inside to remove my sweater before the commute.
14% used...so perhaps a bit extra range over 32 degrees...but could be range of error...
I can't wait to see what it will do in 80 degree weather....strike that...I really expect to have my Plus by the time we hit 80 degrees :)
Gavin
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Forgot to add this yesterday...
Past this number now, but had to stop on a ride home yesterday to take a photo of this milestone. :)
2450 miles...2000 are by me :)
Gavin
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7060/6824332148_4417a4ea35_z_d.jpg)
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and yes I know to many people 2000 miles isn't a lot...heck, I would put 1000 miles on my big scooter every time I took a four day weekend and visited my daughter at college in Phoenix....
But for an electric commuter bike, being driven though WINTER (light snow today)....well I think it is pretty impressive....there have been weeks at a time when I see no other motorcycle riders but me and a similarly crazy friend :)
Gavin
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I'm really pleased to have done 800 miles on my bike in the last 3 months : P In relatively nice weather too.. except for the tornadoes.
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and yes I know to many people 2000 miles isn't a lot
That represents a lot of charging if you get 30 - 40 miles per charge. I have about that same mileage now on mine; but it has been two years of riding (mostly my commute) for me.
Nice job on putting it through a variety of conditions. I am planning to take mine out of storage this weekend.
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We could go for a ride together....I'll meet you half way :)
Gavin
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Addendum...
Today was the first time I've driven both to and from work in 60 plus degrees...
10.4 miles...5.2 at 65 degrees, 5.2 at 60 degrees.
When all I do is ride to work and back, my battery is usually at 68%. Today it was 71%. So a bit of an improvement over 30 degree riding. 3% is about a mile of driving...so maybe 3-4 miles of extra riding at 65 degrees vs freezing.
I will say it was damn nice riding today...I could have driven shirtless in this weather :).
Of course nobody wants that.
Gavin
68 degrees...had to run home...full charge at work..5.2 miles of standard, slightly aggressive driving...86% charge remaining...
I am usually at 83%...so a noticeable increase...could add 4-5 miles to my range...so warmer is better :)
G
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(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7230/6894076420_3b42532858.jpg)
earlier today...past that now :)
though I know Proto will catch me soon enough....
Gavin
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A thousand miles in a month and a half? It'll take me a while to catch up unless Brammo takes the bike away.. I should make it a goal to catch up before you get your E+ : )
Was out all this weekend, did my longest trip yet on the gas bike. 200 miles to visit some friends, then two 100-ish mile legs on the way back, swung by to visit mom and meet some friends at the zoo, etc.
May be old hat to many of you, but I used earplugs this trip and they made a HUGE difference. The longest trips I had done before were the 80 miles to mom's place a few times on the gas bike. On those trips I was absolutely fatigued at the end.. this time I did the entire trip with only a few stops for gas.
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May be old hat to many of you, but I used earplugs this trip and they made a HUGE difference.
My helmets have always been noisy (probably because they have always been on the cheaper end). It only took a single 30 minute trip on the highway before I realized that I was going to seriously damage my hearing without earplugs.
I plan to get a better helmet some time soon, but I'm probably going to keep wearing plugs on the highway since it makes the trip so much more pleasant.
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I am planning to buy a new helmet soon, too. I picked up an inexpensive HJC a few years ago, and I now know what features I want my helmet to have.
I just hit 3,000 miles this week:
(http://brammoforum.com/MGalleryItem.php?id=321)
After I took this picture, my charged battery level was back up to 42% before I started to re-charge.
In the mornings, I mostly rode to work in the mid-30s(F) this week.
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If Phantom is posting here I don't feel too bad about posting too : )
Hit a thousand miles on the Zero after 30 days.
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/575877_10100188262402559_12817622_41498573_1093719465_n.jpg)
oobflyer says he did 350! miles this last weekend. He has the quick charger and apparently rode 30-40 miles, came back and plugged in, repeated a bit later. That's a lot of local riding : )
http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=2042.msg6341#msg6341 (http://electricmotorcycleforum.com/boards/index.php?topic=2042.msg6341#msg6341)
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Nice riding....
And your speedo goes to 160 mph?
G
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Yeah, or 160 kph if you swap to metric.
The cluster comes from a gas bike, it's a tach there. (up to 16k rpm)
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Oh. Could that explain the red mark at 145? I was wondering about that.
That was a pretty decent way to repurpose a standard cluster, and probably helped to keep costs down.
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(http://img.tapatalk.com/a69375d5-3e83-b5b9.jpg)
Just a weird lighting artifact.
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(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7252/7130568943_d6d539b9f7_b_d.jpg)
3450....3000 of those are mine...
Still Proto should catch me fairly quickly...
1) he has twice the range, darn him :)
And more importantly,
2) I am one of those strange 4 seasons riders (people who ride in a place with actual hot and cold, as opposed to San Diego with great year round riding)....I actually ride more often in the winter than the summer.
Right now I'm riding about 140 miles a week...about 50 in commuting, 25 going to gym and back, 65 or so in just messing around riding (store, bank, dinner, visiting family)....but starting tomorrow that all changes...
May 1st to end of September is bicycle time...so all commuting and gym trips will be bicycle...messing around will still be on the Enertia.
She'll still be ridden almost everyday, just more at night and less during the day.
Gavin
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If I could make the 80 miles to mom's house (55-65 mph) I'd have another .. probably 500 miles on the bike. The Empulse MIGHT be able to make that trip.
As is, I'm a bit over 1500 now. Should hit 3500 sometime in late june / early july.. so you've got time yet : )
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Can't wait for you to pass me :)
I probably will only drop down to about 100 miles a week...I figure that I will do a few more trips on the weekends on the motorcycle...and I will only bike commute 3 days a week instead of 5...2 days a week I go to the gym after work (10 miles up hill) and I love that ride on my bicycle...but the class I take was moved from 5:40 pm to 4:30 pm...and no way I can get off work early enough to do that on my bicycle.
Gavin
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If I could make the 80 miles to mom's house (55-65 mph) [...] The Empulse MIGHT be able to make that trip.
I sure hope that it will be able to. That's pretty much what I plan to do with the Empulse. If nobody does it first, I plan to keep a log, like protomech has been keeping for the Zero, to document range and battery levels.
I'm not at all certain how well the Empulse will do at that range. Officially it can do 77 miles mixed, but "mixed" means half at 70 mph and half at 19 mph. The only place that I've ever driven at 19 mph on a road in Florida is in a school zone. As protomech says: It might be able to do 80 miles at 55 mph, but we will have to see. I hope that some kind person on this forum will be able to get some real world range/speed data for the bike.
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Just going by claimed ranges, the Empulse has about 29% more range at 70 mph, which is almost entirely dominated by aerodynamics (Empulse = 11.6 kW, S = 12.9 kW).
With rather arbitrary simulated parameters, at 55 mph the power requirements are lower and the ranges are higher. The Empulse has 25% more simulated range, eg Empulse = 6.45 kW / 79 miles and S = 6.75 kW / 63 miles.
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so i rode my bicycle in today...first ride of the year...gawd I felt slow...
luckily I will get faster fairly quick.
still I find myself finding reasons I need to take the Enertia....
tuesdays....can't get to the gym to make my class on my bicycle...can on the Enertia...so Tuesdays will not be bicycle days.
thursdays....see tuesday
This Friday I'm going to a 3:30 showing of The Avengers....need to take the Enertia for that.
So only one day this week on the bicycle...grrrr. kinda
Next week at least I should have monday, wednesday and friday...unless something comes up :)
Gavin
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It looks like my Enertia complaints will be:
1) More Range (at least for the next couple of updates)
2) Less cost (as with all things)
3) and that the Enertia is making me fat....
Gavin
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It looks like my Enertia complaints will be:
3) and that the Enertia is making me fat....
Okay protomech, time to pull out the calculator. First, we need to figure out the "long tailpipe" of his Enertia. Then, I would like to know how much energy it takes Gavin to ride his bicycle to work. Your calculation, to be a fair comparison to the "long tailpipe" should include the amount of calories he will burn on his trip, the amount of energy used in order to plant the seeds that grew into the vegetables and fruits he ate, the amount of energy used to bring the animals that provide the meat he ate from birth to their maturity, the amount of energy to process these foods into the final product he ended up pulling off the shelf or out of the refrigerator and eating, the amount of energy to transport these foods from the field to the supermarket, the amount of energy used to refrigerate or freeze the foods, (am I forgetting something?) oh... the amount of water used to flush away the waste after his body had processed the foods.
Then - let's compare. Enertias don't cause obesity. Inertia + too much food causes obesity
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Well, it's easier to link to work other people have done : )
"Driving vs. Walking: Cows, Climate Change, and Choice", Michael Cohen and Matthew Heberger, Pacific Institute
http://www.pacinst.org/topics/integrity_of_science/case_studies/driving_vs_walking.pdf (http://www.pacinst.org/topics/integrity_of_science/case_studies/driving_vs_walking.pdf)
The Pacific Institute study compares only the GHG emissions from the "fuel" energy inputs for walking, biking, driving a car. The summary on p.4 indicates that walking on a typical US diet generates about 25% of the GHG emissions as driving, and biking is about half that again. A vegan would generate about 20% of the GHG emissions as the typical US human-powered commuter.
A significant weakness in the PI study is that no consideration is given to the source of the food, which is a significant factor in the GHG emissions.
"Life Cycle Assessment of Transportation Options for Commuters", Shreya Dave, MIT
http://web.archive.org/web/20110715083534/http://www.pietzo.com/storage/downloads/Pietzo_LCAwhitepaper.pdf (http://web.archive.org/web/20110715083534/http://www.pietzo.com/storage/downloads/Pietzo_LCAwhitepaper.pdf)
Shreya Dave compares the GHG emissions for manufacture, disposal, and infrastructure required for use for walking, bikes, ebikes, automobiles, and various forms of public transit. Notably, she does not consider the GHG emissions from food production.
It has been assumed that, in the United States, a commuter will not change her eating habits if she
switches from driving to walking to work, given a reasonable walking distance and assuming sufficient
nutrition is available. (p.5) ... As with walking, food intake is assumed constant, and CO2 emissions are the additional CO2 release from the rider being at rest. (p.6)
Her summary, FWIW, is that walking, biking, and ebiking are responsible for the same amount of GHG emissions per mile. I haven't tried running numbers for an electric motorcycle, but it's probably about twice as emissive as an ebike.
Given that Gavin is gaining weight and thus presumably has not altered his diet downwards while riding the Enertia, Ms. Dave's assumption appears to hold true for him. In this case the Enertia likely is responsible for more GHG emission than his pedal bike.
In the eventual case where he reaches a steady weight and continues to bike, he will need to increase his diet to maintain his weight. Once the GHG emissions for his increased food consumption come into play, the pedal bike is probably no more efficient than the Enertia and possibly much less so.
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Well, it's easier to link to work other people have done : )
I knew I could count on you.
Given that Gavin is gaining weight and thus presumably has not altered his diet downwards while riding the Enertia, Ms. Dave's assumption appears to hold true for him. In this case the Enertia likely is responsible for more GHG emission than his pedal bike.
In the eventual case where he reaches a steady weight and continues to bike, he will need to increase his diet to maintain his weight. Once the GHG emissions for his increased food consumption come into play, the pedal bike is probably no more efficient than the Enertia and possibly much less so.
But - aren't you forgetting: he gets a great deal of his electricity from solar panels?
And, of course, you are making assumptions that 1) he will reach a steady weight and 2) that he will continue to bike.
This is Gavin we're talking about.
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Wow!
I leave this site for a couple of hours to go see a movie, and this is what I come back too?!?!
For your information:
A) I rode my bicycle to the movies, 5 miles, took 20 minutes, so I can ride my bicycle on Friday and still hit the 3:30 Avergers...I probably couldn't get from the Hospital to Rio Century 24 any faster in a car. 15 miles on the bicycle for the first day of the season is not bad...will add many many miles before riding ends at Oct 1st.
B) Saw The Cabin in the Woods with a groups of friends and family...funny as hell...
C) While my weight will fluxuate 10-15 pounds from Winter to end of Summer, my diet doesn't. I basically live off Coke Zero and breakfast burritos...with PF Changs Kung Pao scallops every other Friday...
I'm not sure what emissions we are talking about, but see the above diet and make your assumptions.
D) There is no D
Gavin
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2000 miles on the Zero.
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-jLugofOBzSk/T7Wr1WpIXbI/AAAAAAAABvU/niIQWo3ugbQ/s887/IMG_20120517_202927.jpg)
What can I say.. good excuse for pizza ; )
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Oe5xV9OZLE8/T7Wr1RsWckI/AAAAAAAABvU/1imiSTXA40w/s665/IMG_20120517_202914.jpg)
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NICE...
The loaner Enertia should hit 4k in about a week and a half...
You, my friend, are putting impressive miles on your Zero.
They are fun to drive.
Gavin
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Wow... 2000 miles and you havent been hit by a driver that could not hear you? Thats amazing! Really though, kinda jealous of you Gavin, Richard, and Harry... here I am with no motorcycle at all. First time in 5 years... I will have to put every mile I can on my Empulse to maximize my investment... Im pretty excited :). I hope Brammo can get me an Empulse this year, but I will have to get something either way.
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Wow... 2000 miles and you havent been hit by a driver that could not hear you? Thats amazing! Really though, kinda jealous of you Gavin, Richard, and Harry... here I am with no motorcycle at all. First time in 5 years... I will have to put every mile I can on my Empulse to maximize my investment... Im pretty excited :). I hope Brammo can get me an Empulse this year, but I will have to get something either way.
You, my friend, need to learn how to whine. Lucky for you, you can learn at the feet of the master. When the pupil is ready, the Gavin will appear.
Protomech - that's very cool that you've put 2K on the clock.
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Wow... 2000 miles and you havent been hit by a driver that could not hear you? Thats amazing! Really though, kinda jealous of you Gavin, Richard, and Harry... here I am with no motorcycle at all. First time in 5 years... I will have to put every mile I can on my Empulse to maximize my investment... Im pretty excited :). I hope Brammo can get me an Empulse this year, but I will have to get something either way.
You, my friend, need to learn how to whine. Lucky for you, you can learn at the feet of the master. When the pupil is ready, the Gavin will appear.
Protomech - that's very cool that you've put 2K on the clock.
LOL, I dont know how to I guess... I have sent an email to empulse@brammo.com, and Gavin even supplemented that with another email. I have not gotten a response yet :-\ So I still dont know if Brammo is willing to slip me a base Empulse, under the table. Even if i offer to disguise it with carbon fiber veneers. ;D
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Wow... 2000 miles and you havent been hit by a driver that could not hear you? Thats amazing! Really though, kinda jealous of you Gavin, Richard, and Harry... here I am with no motorcycle at all. First time in 5 years... I will have to put every mile I can on my Empulse to maximize my investment... Im pretty excited :). I hope Brammo can get me an Empulse this year, but I will have to get something either way.
I will say that you need to be careful in parking lots. The bike is no quieter than a pedal bike, and it has more lighting, visual presence, and power to get out of the way of a reckless driver. But people don't expect pedal bikes in parking lots.
It is kind of useful for sneaking up on folks. I was out riding some mountain roads a couple weeks ago, came upon someone running in the middle of the road. Slowed down and paced him for a few minutes until he realized he wasn't alone : )
After riding the Zero, I can definitely say that the extra $3k for the Empulse is well-justified if it performs as it should and is as reliable as it should be. But a straight comparison between the two bikes is a little lopsided.. like comparing the 2009 Enertia Classic to the 2012 S, you can't compare them in the absence of that context.
The longer you wait to buy, the better and better the bikes get. The 2012 Zeros are better than the 2011, which were better than the 2010, which were (slightly) better than the 2009, etc. No doubt the 2013 will be better still. At some point you decide the bikes are good enough and jump in.. and the 2012 Zeros (in the absence information from Brammo) were that tipping point for me.
Someone asked a while back if I (or other Zero purchasers) regretted the Zero in light of the Empulse specs and reveal. Speaking for myself .. $14k for the S already required some serious soul-searching. $17k is an even steeper price, but the extra range & performance and getting the bike we've been waiting for nearly two years for .. would have ultimately clinched that decision. $19k is right out.
I'm thrilled by the Zero. And I'm much less angsty now (in case that wasn't obvious) .. buying in 2012 was right for me. I guess that's the best* answer to the question.
* if Brammo ends up shipping the regular Empulses this year, then I reserve the right to regret my decision : P
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LOL, I dont know how to I guess... I have sent an email to empulse@brammo.com, and Gavin even supplemented that with another email. I have not gotten a response yet :-\ So I still dont know if Brammo is willing to slip me a base Empulse, under the table. Even if i offer to disguise it with carbon fiber veneers. ;D
C'mon, now! You have a blog named EMPULSEBUYER, of course you should qualify as "press" and get an Empulse R for free to "test drive" it until you can get your Empulse next year. ;D
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LOL, I dont know how to I guess... I have sent an email to empulse@brammo.com, and Gavin even supplemented that with another email. I have not gotten a response yet :-\ So I still dont know if Brammo is willing to slip me a base Empulse, under the table. Even if i offer to disguise it with carbon fiber veneers. ;D
C'mon, now! You have a blog named EMPULSEBUYER, of course you should qualify as "press" and get an Empulse R for free to "test drive" it until you can get your Empulse next year. ;D
This is true! Good point!
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(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8013/7337009458_634630cc85_b.jpg)
G
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3000 miles, 3 month bike anniversary!
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-QilxYj-1Fq4/T9lEisLYvaI/AAAAAAAAB5s/YXlY21VQh2k/s887/IMG_20120613_205510.jpg)
Dominos has a 50% off sale going on through June 17. Not a great deal on their menu-price pizzas, but the artisan pizzas are both cheap and tasty.
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-E-9474bkF5k/T9lElge-gPI/AAAAAAAAB50/_B9q-XKQe98/s665/IMG_20120613_205524.jpg)
Mmm.
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Very nice....you should catch me right around when I am returning mine to Brammo at SECA...
Good to see you enjoying your bike...and mediocre pizza
:)
Gavin
even with the Plus I won't put more than 8k a year on my Brammo...my round trip commute of 11 miles is just too short to really pack on the year end miles...that and the fact I ride my bicycle from May to Oct...still I will find a way to get some riding in :)
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Went on a vacation for a week, hit 4k when I came back. May not pass Gavin before LS, we'll see : )
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-aNXu5qnGO7M/UAgLK-N4X_I/AAAAAAAACf4/fOlnc2RX88g/s410/IMG_20120719_082046.jpg)
Edit: copy/paste error, getting a google+ image url on a phone is very frustrating.
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getting closer and closer...
of course so is SECA.
I will post an image tonight of where I'm at...
Gavin
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(https://p.twimg.com/AyQPt3rCAAA163X.jpg)
Bike at 4666
I'm at 4216 (got loaner wih 450 miles on it)
Seca is next Thursday...so you might catch me...
Won't be doing too much riding between now and then...
Saturday is Summefest...so the bike sits there to be looked at.
Sunday will do some riding
Monday--work...so 10 miles commuting round trip
Tues--drive to needles,ca...so 500 miles...on the truck...
Weds---drive to salinas,ca...500 more miles on the truck
Now I might take down the bike and do a little riding around needles and salinas...but not a ton as I will be tired of having behind in seat
G
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(http://p.twimg.com/AzQqbg2CMAAReQg.jpg:large)
So the bike is at 5000 miles...4550 of those are mine.
I think I will start riding the bicycle again for my commute.
I'm a bit--ok a lot for me--out of shape, and I think I'll wait for my Plus to come in to put more miles on it instead of the loaner bike.
After all I've ridden the loaner Enertia in New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada and California.
Down the Las Vegas strip, across the Hoover Dam, at Laguna Seca and down 17 Mile Drive.
So she will get a break for a while...it seems the Plus won't come as long as I'm riding the loaner...so maybe if I stop for a while the Plus will "show up". Or at least I hope that is how the logic goes :)
G
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Ended the "loan" at 5252 miles...so 4800 traveled by me.
New Bike...
One of the nice things is that I can commute to and from work all week and never need a charge.
Haven't charged this week...I'm at 50% battery and 46.8 miles...suburban riding...so around 90 miles at this rate...we will see...but so far happy with the range.
Takes about 6% of the battery to get to work.
(http://brammoblog.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/photo122.jpg)
Gavin
ignore the range reading...it updates a lot and tells you more about your current riding habits than exactly how far you have to empty...it is not the final software...i think....
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Should be able to rack up mega miles on that bad boy... Basically you have the most advanced electric motorcycle in any customer's hands in the world right now AFAIK. Gotta love that.
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It's an Engineering Test Bike. Not quite customer hands yet.
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It's in the hands of the HK police.
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First US customer....
hey, I'm still a customer...they "teach" us at the hospital that everybody is our customer.
it gets a bit annoying actually.
73 miles with 18% battery left.
Gonna run the battery down to 2 or 3 before charging back up to see the true range.
This is all Suburban miles. 35-45 mph speeds. So pretty good.
I plan to charge her up overnight and do a non-Suburban ride on Saturday...From my house to the top of Sandia Mountain. About 50 miles round trip, some of that at 60 mph and a climb of 5000 feet.
Gavin
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Okay, no individual consumers have plopped down their $10995 and received their own Enertia Plus. Though I think someone was expecting to receive theirs at the end of this month? That would be today..
It feels like the HK PD has had the Brammo Pluses forever.. announced last November, shipped in June or July this year? Maybe less time than I thought.
Gavin or Brammofan - I'd like to update the brammo log viewing software. I'd greatly appreciate any logs from your bikes .. especially the Enertia Plus, if it still has the USB thumbdrive mounted under the seat. Its log format may be different from the Enertia (but I bet it isn't).
What would be awesome:
1. Sample log of charging (ideally, note when you start charging at what % and when you stop charging at what %), ambient temperature would be helpful.
2. Sample log of riding, note what time and what speed. Outside temperature too. Initial % battery and final % battery would be good. Runkeeper or similar GPS route logs if you're comfortable sharing that, to show speeds.
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Okay, no individual consumers have plopped down their $10995 and received their own Enertia Plus. Though I think someone was expecting to receive theirs at the end of this month? That would be today..
Does anyone know if Brammo closed another big deal like the HKPD? As I said before, I think those would have much more weight in Brammo's business plans than individual consumers, therefore, they get it first. Or Brammo is just making sure that they prove Harlan (Hollywood Electrics) right.
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Hey proto - I'll get you some logs. I'm out of town right now but will be back next Tuesday. I'll probably need a reminder. ;)
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Well I just finished a "cycle". Charged on Monday and haven't charged since...all "local" rides. mostly commutes to work. kinda city, kinda suburban. mostly at 35-45 mph.
86 miles...1% left. I don't really want to drive her till she stops....A) I could be pushing the bike home...B) not sure if it is good for the bike.
I'm pretty sure I could have got 100 miles if I did true city driving of around 25 mph.
But I did get over the 80 miles listed by Brammo for city driving...and more than twice the legacy enertia (this type of driving usually got me about 37 miles on the old E). And I don't tend to ride slow.
So happy about that. And the battery decrease was linear the whole way from 100 to 1...which is nice. On the legacy the power decrease was linear from 100 to 40/35....then very irregular. With my commute riding I use just a bit more than 1 percent for a mile of driving. Makes it fairly easy to know how far you can go.
Right now I'm charging her overnight...then doing a 68 mile ride tomorrow. Should be tight. It has some parts at 35 mph, some at 55 mph and some at 50 mph uphill...followed by 13 miles of twisty roads up to Sandia Crest. Not sure the speed limit on that part...but I will be breaking it as much as I can :) Those twisties are FUN.
Over 5000 feet of climb...some pretty steep. The saving grace will be the increased regen on the Plus. Should give me back some storage on the 13 miles back down the mountain. At least I will finally find out if Regen adds enough to show up...
I figure if I can get to the top with 40% of the battery, then I should be fine getting home...basically all downhill on the way back. If it gets too tight, well I have tons of places to charge on the way home (subway, grocery store, coffee shop...etc etc...all have let me charge before).
If someone tells me what to do I will try and send some files next week.
On Sunday I might do another long ride...but it is 40 miles each way...much of it at 60 mph...and I know the bike won't do that roundtrip....
at the turn around spot i can charge...but I would have to charge for at least a couple of hours (probably more) and the turn around spot is a tavern...a couple of hours stop there would not be in my best interest :)
they do make a goooooood buffalo burger...
If I don't do the long sunday ride, i will do a highway test (how fast is the top speed---though I will likely find that out tomorrow on the mountain ride---how long before the fan kicks in---how many miles to 50% battery---how long before thermal cutback...etc etc...
Gavin
Still, 86 miles. I could charge on Sunday night...Commute all week (with a couple of side trips and errands thrown in), charge on Friday night and ride a bit both Saturday and Sunday and rinse and repeat. Not bad.
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At least I will finally find out if Regen adds enough to show up...
Hey Gavin, what's with the regen on the Enertia Plus? I was told it had no regen braking but since yours is a test machine, is that a sign of regen coming on the next version? Or was the distibutor mistaken? The flyer I have here also doesn't mention it.
Frank
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Well I haven't done any real testing yet on the regen...and I wasn't told anything about it by Brammo directly
....just like with the Legacy it kinda went... "here's a bike, have fun, only one key so don't lose it" ....all very déjà vu.
But the Plus, and this will be in my review coming in a week or two so you're getting a preview, has quite a bit of engine braking. The way it rides feels more like a motorcycle because of it. I kinda miss the gliding of the Legacy, but getting use to it...and I assume the engine braking is regen...but will know more coming down the mountain later today. If I gain battery charge on the 13 mile downhill, engine braking is also giving regen (like I assume)... If the battery doesn't, we'll then I will be mistaken about regen and confused about the engine braking.
Gavin
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Well went from home to top of Sandia Mountain and back home on one charge. 69.7 miles and 9% of the battery left. A lot of that was at 35 mph...but some at 50 and 55 too.
I will try and download the file for Proto. Took 60% of the battery getting to the top...31% to get back home. :)
Rode to work to do a couple of echoes....so charging now...but did 75.6 miles and have 2% of charge left when I get here....So far very happy with the range.
And the with the new batteries and the draw down of battery being so linear...well I feel very safe riding down to 2 percent...which I didn't on the Valance batteries.
Gavin
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Gavin,
I have been looking forward to each of these reports of yours, very cool stuff. Can you talk more about this engine braking and possible regen you may or may not have experienced please. Thanks so much.
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I am doing a small write up...will post it here and on my blog tomorrow...
I plan to do a more through review a week after that.
I have to do a bit of calculations (ie. make crap up in my head) to better understand the engine braking.
Coming down the mountain I had hoped to see the battery increase...that didn't happen...but I was going kinda fast and I didn't use much battery.
The engine braking has to do something...and I do think it gives some regen...I traveled 14 miles down the mountain and only used 5% of the battery...a range of 280 miles :)
Going up, 12 miles used 28%... A range of 43 miles.
The engine braking was a big surprise at first...I really got used to gliding...and still miss it for night riding...but it does make it feel more...well like a big boy bike...and it was GREAT for riding the mountain twisties.
Gavin
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Gavin,
I have been looking forward to each of these reports of yours, very cool stuff. Can you talk more about this engine braking and possible regen you may or may not have experienced please. Thanks so much.
Ok...So with the orginal Enertia when you let go of the throttle you would coast...no engine braking.
With the Enertia Plus, when you let go of the throttle you get a moderate amount of engine braking...you still coast, but your speed will decrease and you physically feel the bike slowing.
This engine braking adds to the bikes battery and will extend the range some.
I have notice that in my driving (city fast or suburban riding---35 to 45 mph is my normal speeds vs 25-35 for true city driving) I am getting over 80 miles per charge--around 85-88 mile per charge. I thought I would get about 70 miles...or a doubling of the Enertia Classic...but I am get a good 15 mile per charge more...Probably the Engine Braking...and possibly a few other improvements.
At true city speeds (which I never drive) I could see getting close to 100 miles per charge....easily.
A) it is nice to see the bike preforming up to and above the specs.
B) 85 miles per charge is great...I use to charge everyday as I wanted to make sure I had the range to do extra stuff...I'm only charging a couple of times a week so far (once on Monday, once on Friday night to have charge for the weekend). I did charge twice this weekend, but that is because I did a nice 70 mile ride up the mountain on Saturday).
Gavin
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The Enertia plus has an updated version of the classic's motor. I think I recall Brammo saying something about the increased efficiency of the new motor.
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Perm 126 vs 120.
Slightly higher top speed...slightly better with heat...
Increased mileage could be a combo of motor and regen.
Gavin
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Gavin - is there any chance you could post GPS routes for a section of a future trip? Keep it cropped to not reveal your home address, of course. Start / End battery %. I've used the runkeeper app on both android and ios to do this.
Interesting that the Enertia Plus is approaching or exceeding its EPA UDDS range rating.
At 35 mph the Zero S ZF9 should do around its UDDS 114 mile rating.
At 45 mph the Zero S ZF9 is around 83 miles.
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I hope to do a 50 mile ride along the Rio Grande this weekend...will use my runtastic program.
Gavin
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60 degrees out when I left work. Went for a nice mountain ride.. saw my best miles/bar (10.5) and one of my worst (< 4 doing 70+ mph..)
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-0UlLFsdY4Zw/UQdAosDaB-I/AAAAAAAADhM/vgSYRgeRQY0/s1340/13+-+2)
7000 miles. You know what that means..
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-OBjc-eESg-o/UQdAorvFG8I/AAAAAAAADg8/Y1CUSslTga0/s1005/13+-+1)
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Wow! Your putting some miles on that machine. I was excited to start racking up the miles on my Empulse (when i get it) but then I realized something. I have a 6 month old that needs to be taken to daycare 5 days a week... the joys of parenting. Not sure if I can log 5000+ miles a year on two wheels like I used to.
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(http://brammoblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/messagepart.jpg)
Had to stop on the way to PF Changs, dinner with the family for my eldest's 25th birthday, to take this photo...
Lots of 7's.
Gavin
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Just hit 10k today.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/06/12/7a6a7yda.jpg)
4.5 months since the last update at 7k. I've been riding it a little less in the winter, but also glitches have made it somewhat less reliable recently. Will be taking it to the dealer Friday for servicing.
10k miles = time to celebrate!
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/06/12/ugypyjaz.jpg)
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Nice! How long have you owned your bike? I guess it's getting a little worn down now... time for an upgrade to an Empulse? ;)
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Nice turn of the odo. I've just passed 5K on the Empulse and lovin' it more every week! BTW, how do you like the windshield? (I won't ask about the pizza!)
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I bought the bike 15 months ago. It's been offline for 2 months to send it back to Zero for glitch service, and 1 month after I laid it down @ 20 mph (replace plastics and kickstand). I figured 10k miles every year, so about on target.
There's very little mechanical wear on the bike. The drive belt is like-new - Zero says replace every 12.5k miles, but they updated their replacement intervals to 25k miles on the 2013 bikes. I installed the $100 windscreen - huge improvement - but at full steering lock the handlebar mounts scuff the upper plastics a bit.
In a couple of weeks I plan to drive to El Paso, TX to visit friends. En route I'm going to stop at Lone Star in Austin and check out the Empulse there. I'm going to leave my credit card in the car, possibly in a double lock box and forget the combination..
Selling the Zero and upgrading to a 2013 Zero S ZF11.4 or Empulse E1 would likely cost around $7k, including the tax credit. I can't justify that right now, but I'll be tracking used prices for both bikes. Otherwise I may be ready to buy new in a couple of years.
A less expensive but more labor-intensive alternative to buying a new bike would be to do half the upgrades Terry has done. Retain the stock battery pack on the bike, but add 6 kW of J1772 chargers and Terry's aero fairing. Probable cost around $3k, and it would make 200 mile trips to Atlanta reasonable to do on the bike: each way would require 4 hours of riding and 2 hours of mid-trip charging.
@Shinysideup: the windshield is great. I installed it toward the end of the cold season here and immediately wished I'd had it on at the start. It also slightly improves - perhaps by 5% - both range and top speed.
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I was hoping to hit 40.000km this week but my bike died completely while I was accellerating from traffic lights in Amsterdam yesterday.
Even the speedo needle got stuck at 45km/h to tell me at which speed it had died :'(
I hope it is just the 200 Amp main fuse that has blown otherwise it will be very expensive (Motor Controller).
It was very weird not plugging the bike in before going to sleep yesterday, a routine that after 3,5 years has become so natural that I constantly thought I had forgotten something.
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Congrats!!
I'm at 2150 miles, or about 3500k, on the Empulse.
I've thought of a windshield (especially the times I've had it over 90mph...gah, hanging on for dear life...don't know how long it will be before I'm brave enough to break the ton)...but I love the naked look so much.
El Paso is only about 3.5 hours from Albuquerque...you should stop on by.
As for range...well I might make that a separate post.
G