Brammo Empulse Discussion > Brammo Empulse FAQ

2014 Empulse $1000

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Roland Stone:
950 miles on my 2014 Brammo Impulse and clutch has stopped working (will not engage).  Worked fine last time I rode the bike about a month ago.  Have bled the system several times (using a speed bleeder) but still no clutch action, - suspect a problem with the resevoir/clutch-handle assy.  With no dealers, service or parts any longer available for the Brammo disaster, I finally just want the bike out of my garage, out of sight, and out of my life.  $1000 (as is) takes it with all the spares which is less than I enthusiastically spent as a new and naive owner just on the parts and accessories alone.  Details on the bike can be seen in "Collector's Item" June 11-2016 <Bikes for Sale or Auction> posted by Roland Stone.  Contact email remains the same.  I've posted my offer here as an epitaph for best bike I've ever owned and the biggest ripoff I've ever experienced.       

Roland Stone - Port Saint Lucie, Florida

Brammofan:
Hmmm well the clutch is fairly standard so I am surprised it can’t be fixed….. Pretty much all the clutch parts are off the shelf.

You might want to email Brammo and see if anyone at HQ can help trouble shoot. The lead mechanic from the race team is still at Brammo and rides an Empulse.

Or you can go direct to SMRE who built the gearbox/clutch   http://www.smre.it

Roland Stone:
Brammofan, - thanks for the reply....  First of all who would you suggest I contact at Brammo reference my posted clutch problem? Only online address I found was for "sales" at Brammo's website and, curious knowing why anyone there would be amenable offering advice on a product the company walked away from a couple of years ago. Although I'm mechanically adept, at 73 years old now I'm getting to the age it's not as easy pursuing overhaul type maintenance. When I first bought my Empulse I thought it would be just what the doctor ordered what with the hoped for reduced maintenance exertion an old man would appreciate going electric, and for a very short time that expectation was met. It was brief however and I anticipated nothing but disaster when a month after buying my Empulse, Brammo announced it was selling out to Polaris. On this forum I believe I made a prescient prediction that Polaris would also drop the Empulse and they didn't disappoint as it turns out. Soon after picking up my Empulse I quickly realized that due to the collection of foreign manufactured parts that went into the bike, Brammo customers were going to be very dependent on the company to keep the component collection working. I was also prescient in that prediction, soon finding Polaris was totally incapable supporting its inherited Brammo Empulse customers. So at 73, how much time do I have ahead to enjoy my first "bucket list" EV experience now parked in my garage with an inop clutch at only 950 pampered miles and out of warranty and no apparent customer support anywhere in sight. You mentioned the clutch should be an "off the shelf" item, but the question is, - who's shelf??? I live in Florida, - Harley Davidson/Donald Trump country and definitely no Empulse clutch components in this state and even the short time Polaris was in the EV game, not one of their Florida dealers would touch a Brammo. Really, who could have imagined our Brammo support would be dropped by two companies in less than four years?! Is it difficult understanding why so many customers were depending on Brammo and so discouraged and disappointed when the company folded leaving a really faithful customer base gasping.  Brammo was an American company and I was actually proud being able buying such a beautifully designed bike from "Made in America" for as long as that lasted.  - They call it the “American Dream” because you have to be asleep to believe it.

If you could point me in the right direction, Brammofan, it would be much appreciated. Presently, I'm completely out of ideas and I'm sure my frustration shows.

Roland Stone

Brammofan:
Well, try sales@brammo.com to start. Might want to mention that Brammofan sent you.

Roland Stone:
I’m seriously relieved being able to announce my clutch is operational again and I will not be giving my bike away as it turns out.

I went out for a no-clutch ride this afternoon with the clutch still inoperable despite having bled the system two different occasions this past weekend.  Pulling in the clutch handle for the first couple of miles produced no change in RPM indicating the clutch apparently was still not working.  Further on I decided trying to shift down to see if it could be done without turning the gearbox into hamburger.  In 3rd gear I slowed down to a crawl and then shifted down to 2nd habitually pulling the clutch – “just in case”, and amazingly it was a very smooth shift which started me thinking, - is it working now?  As I continued on I shifted up using the clutch (which I don’t normally do on the upshift) and again it was smooth shift, but still no indicated RPM fluctuation.  Still using the clutch, made several up/down shifts again resulting in apparently smooth clutch assisted shifts and then suddenly I was seeing definite RPM changes when engaging the clutch in the gear change.  The clutch was working again and continued working for the rest of the ride.  A mystery. 

If anyone else in Brammoland has had a similar clutch experience or has any ideas on mine it would be great hearing your ideas keeping in mind I only have 950 miles on my 2014 Empulse since new.  Maybe not riding frequently enough to keep everything juiced up???

Whatever, with Easter coming up my Empulse seems to be emulating the occasion by doing its own resurrection much to my relief.  The terrifying experience of a major component failure however brings home how tenable Brammo life can be without any available product support.  Cost becomes the least of worries when there’s no one to take your maintenance money.  How precious these masterpiece EV’s have become.

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