Brammo Owners Forum

It's a really beautiful bike, and I'd probably pass out if they offered the production Empulse in a repro paint scheme.

I'll be watching Infineon really closely.  The Laguna Seca situation last year was understandable given the fledgling nature of the program, but I'm looking to these races to reassure myself that development's on track.  I guess that Empulse production delay *did* get to me a bit after all.

Interesting comment from Craig on Hell for Leather about how he was "scared" to give the Engage full throttle in third gear!  Yikes.  Clearly, it'll take some time to get the balance right for the Empulse, unless hooning in third and fourth gear is the intent of the thing ...

*** EDIT:  Craig was actually talking about the Encite, not the Engage.  Sorry. The performance of that bike is said to be the first time an EV will actually outperform an ICE equivalent. ***

Only large companies get the full benefit of patent and copyright protection.  Sorry to be cynical, but that's the way it plays out.  So on the one hand, the announcement is a positive one for Brammo.  It keeps their product from being reverse engineered and then pushed out of the marketplace by a company willing and able to quickly fill demand with a knock-off product while Brammo's manufacturing spools up to capacity.  Brammo can now meet demand right out of the gate.  Who wouldn't want that?

But I have to say that, from a consumer's standpoint, the announcement does give me pause.  My experiences with boutique manufacturers have always been positive.  Whether it's guitar amps, leather goods, furniture makers, or whatever, there's merit in the close supervision of a manufacturing process.  I liked the thought of my Empulse being assembled in Oregon by a handful of people, all of whom are close (at least by physical proximity) to the same people who designed and engineered it.  I like that sense of ownership and oversight.  I'm wary of large and rapid expansion.  It always brings teething pains.  I'm doubly concerned that Brammo seems to be delegating assembly to a behemoth logistics company.  It makes me hesitate.

Just my two cents.  Thanks for reading.

My apologies.     It was Brian Wismann, not Craig.  Here's the link:

http://hellforleathermagazine.com/2010/07/brammo-empulse-electric-parity/

This article is the most informative Q&A I've seen published on the Empulse to date, and it clearly suggests the Empulse's final design was (at the time of writing) in flux.  I hope the September announcements will go some way in finalizing the Empulse's appearance and specs.

I myself struggle with excessive wind pressure.  As much as I love the look of bikini fairings -- well, certain ones, anyway -- I think the full fairing is my preference.  Hey, maybe it'd increase overall efficiency, too.

Now that the specifications are outlined on the Brammo site, I'm wondering when an Empulse rider could expect to see that 59 lb.-ft. of torque?  With an ICE optimum power is delivered at certain rev ranges, but I have no real idea about how a single speed electric motor behaves.  Is all that torque available all the time or, as one would expect, does it fall away as engine speed increases? 

I've read some interesting things about the Enertia's performance and how it feels gruntier than one might expect because significant torque is almost always on tap.  I'd love to hear from an Enertia rider about his/her experience.