Brammo Enertia Discussion > Brammo Enertia

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FreepZ:
I got to touch a Brammo bike for the first time ever yesterday. :D
The Harley Davidson dealership in Orlando had an Enertia, and when I found out about it, I went to see it as soon as I could.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to test ride it. The reasons I was given seemed somewhat dubious to me:

* First I was told that the bike was a prototype, and didn't have all the papers needed to be ridden in Florida.
* Next I was told that it was a loaner from Brammo, and since they didn't have any bikes to sell, they were not insured to let anyone ride the bike.
When I had asked if anyone had ridden it at all, the salesman told me that some of them (the salesmen) had been riding inside the building only - which seems a lot more risky than taking it outside. There was the usual joke about range being limited to the length of the extension cord, :( which makes me think that they are worried about running out of power.

I was also told that the plan for the future was to swap out the battery at "filling stations", which I have never heard of for Brammo bikes. Perhaps he was thinking of Zero.

It seemed to me that we spent a lot of time talking about the range (specifically, the lack of it), only a bit about the advantages like the high torque, and even less about green issues like solar recharging.

Perhaps the range was a big issue because the bike had run out of power (a red light was flashing on the dash), which may have also been why they didn't want me to try to ride it. Or it could be that range was what most of the people at the dealership were asking about. (This was a Harley Davidson dealership after all.)

The bike looked pretty well worn too; scuffs on body and seat, and scrapes on the handlebar tips. Next to the rows of gleaming Harley Davidson bikes the poor Brammo looked like the ugly duckling.

I was most surprised to see how far over the bike was leaning on it's kickstand - almost 45 degrees! Is that normal? (The salesman said it was, but he may have only ever seen one Enertia, and so wouldn't know.)

All in all, I don't think that dealership did very well to sell the bike to me. I'm going back for another look, however, because when I first phoned the dealership I was told to ask for a specific salesman (presumably the Brammo expert), but when I got there, that guy was on his day off.

Also, I expect things to get better when they have bikes that they can actually sell!

Brammofan:
Wow... what a bunch of misinformation.
The red light you saw flashing on the dash, if it's what I think it was, is just a light that flashes about every 10-15 seconds when the bike is off.  I presume it's to let you know that the bike has some juice in it. 

Yeah, the bike leans over pretty far on the kickstand.  It's a little disconcerting at times, but I've never heard of one falling over.  I bring a kickstand pad along with me in case the asphalt is soft or in case I'm parking on dirt or grass.  One advantage - it makes it easy to swivel the bike around in tight spaces (I'm sure this is not a recommended use listed in the Brammo Owners Manual).

Let us know how it goes when you talk to the Brammo specialist.  However, one part of being a Brammo dealer should be to let ALL the salesmen know not to "dis" the bike and not to misinform a potential buyer.  If they think they can upsell someone who came in to look at the Brammo, and get them on a Harley, then the whole sales plan will fall apart.  (IMO)

Brammofan:
And, just in case you thought Brammo wasn't paying attention to the forum, go to this page on their site:
http://www.brammo.com/store-locator/
This morning, it listed 12 dealers.  Now, 11 are listed and the Orlando Harley dealer is gone.

Gavin:
Yeah I would agree that was a pretty crappy first experience.

Every dealership should mention the range and such, but they should first talk about the upside of the ride. And they should mention what the bike is ideally suited for (commuting).

It is not a touring bike. It is not a drag race bike. It is a near perfect commuter bike.

I still think New York City is a place a good Brammo Dealership could sell many many thousands of bikes.

"No gas, no oil. Bring your bike into your apartment every night and never worry about it being stolen off the street. Never worry about parking or riding the subway at night...and heck your boss will likely let you park your bike in your cubicle at work. Plus no looking for a gas station, just charge at home or work. And the 40 mile range of the Enertia gets you anywhere in town and back quite easily...the Plus with 80 miles of range will let you ride around town morning, noon and night."

Gavin

Gavin:

--- Quote from: Brammofan on July 06, 2011, 01:54:47 PM ---And, just in case you thought Brammo wasn't paying attention to the forum, go to this page on their site:
http://www.brammo.com/store-locator/
This morning, it listed 12 dealers.  Now, 11 are listed and the Orlando Harley dealer is gone.

--- End quote ---

Ouch.

I'm surprised there is no Seattle dealership...Seattle, though rainy, seems a good fit for Brammo powercycles.

NYC is a must...a MUST. :)

The southwest seems like a good fit...great year round riding weather...and we love bikes down here... but really we deal with WIDE OPEN roads...so range is an issue (though many cities in the southwest could be well served by Brammo...Keep to the cities and all is fine,...and I do want a dealership in Albuquerque like yesterday :) )


And Hawaii....get a dealership there STAT...I head out there next winter for a conference and want to ride around the Big Island on a Brammo :)



Gavin

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