Brammo Owners Forum
General => Brammo News And Views => Topic started by: FreepZ on August 20, 2012, 10:15:34 AM
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As noted by Protomech
Sorry for the stock images and short review, the CD Honda gave me with riding images won’t load on my computer and I’m (trying to) fly to Ashland to be the first journalist to ride the Brammo Empulse. Come back on Monday for that and hit this link if the gallery won’t load by itself:
Monday, monday monday.. why are you so far away!
And then over the weekend we saw some awesome pictures:
Wes Siler posted this on Instagram:
[smg id=369 width=500]
"Showing @BozBros what's up on the @BrammoSays Empulse R @ Green Springs Inn instagr.am/p/OaItcgEN18/ "
But today, on facebook we see:
Wes is an idiot.
(http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/c0.0.403.403/p403x403/395933_10150987019792186_761153274_n.jpg)
My, oh my. I hope he didn't get that riding the Empulse. :P And I hope he's well enough to post the article about the Empulse today. (Already 11 hours into Monday - on the East Coast - and still no article. :()
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No, he got that riding dirt bikes for the first show of the second season of RideApart. Still waiting on the review to show up on HFL. :-X
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I think I'm breaking the [Ctrl-R] buttons. When are they going to publish that article?!
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Try using F5 some. Mixing it up will help keep your fingers from cramping.
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Brilliant!
I just nudged him on twitter. He replied:
writing it now. Good work takes time.
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I just nudged him on twitter. He replied:
writing it now. Good work takes time.
I would say that there's at least one thing that Wes shares with Brammo. They take their time, but it's worth the wait.
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writing it now. Good work takes time.
Trust us, we know... BUT HURRY UP ANYWAY!
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Be patient. I woke up at 3am on Saturday morning to fly home from Ashland, spent all Saturday at a wedding, woke up at 5am on Sunday to race motocross, got home last night at 10pm, then had to wake up at 7am this morning and spend the first few hours of the day dealing with contractors tearing my new house apart. Just filed my Wired review, now moving on to HFL, then I'll have a review on Jalopnik later this week and a behind the scenes at Brammo thing for Wired Autopia later this week too and probably a review in MCN in England too. I'm a busy dude!
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Sorry Wes... I dont mean to be rude, just a little antsy waiting for my Empulse to ship. Do your thing. :)
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Just tell us where it fits Wes - 600, 1000, 450?
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Yeah - I want to know if I trade in my turbo 'busa that I use to go tour around the world with, will I be happy?
;D
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Be patient. I woke up at 3am on Saturday morning to fly home from Ashland, spent all Saturday at a wedding, woke up at 5am on Sunday to race motocross, got home last night at 10pm, then had to wake up at 7am this morning and spend the first few hours of the day dealing with contractors tearing my new house apart. Just filed my Wired review, now moving on to HFL, then I'll have a review on Jalopnik later this week and a behind the scenes at Brammo thing for Wired Autopia later this week too and probably a review in MCN in England too. I'm a busy dude!
Thanks for the update. Take your time and do the story justice.
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http://hellforleathermagazine.com/2012/08/brammo-empulse-the-electric-motorcycle-has-finally-arrived/ (http://hellforleathermagazine.com/2012/08/brammo-empulse-the-electric-motorcycle-has-finally-arrived/)
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Sounds damn good to me. What... the only criticism seems to be that it's not as fast as the Triumph Street Triple on the straights.
I am going to call this: Wes likes it.
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Wow. Just the review Brammo needed....
Now they just need to make a ton of them.
Electric is a great way to ride. The bike being "still" really adds to the connection the rider feels.
Wes should ride it at night...It feels like you are one with the wind...gliding along as if you are the nose of an airplane...
Gavin
I still say you get that Hell for Leather review to Brad Pitt and Ryan Reynolds and offer then a bike for some pub..
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And Shelina better watch out...Eric might try and steal the TTX to ride... :)
Gavin
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It's great to see how much Wes' opinion of electric bikes has changed through the experience of riding the Empulse.
There's also something in there that I've been trying to get at for a while. From the article:
The Empulse’s motor revs out to a 9,000rpm redline and makes both peak power and peak efficiency at 7,000rpm. That’s a neat trick, because no matter if you want to accelerate hard or maximize range, all you need to do is keep revs between 6 and 8,000.
As I suspected, the way to get the most range out of the Empulse is to keep the revs up (which is very different from an ICE), and you get peak power there to boot!
It was also great to hear that the Empulse had the range that Brammo was claimed it would have. I wonder how old the batteries were. I.e. if they were hot off the factory floor, or if the pack had been through a bunch of cycles earlier.
Now, how about getting those bike out to us, eh Brammo? ;D
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It's great to see how much Wes' opinion of electric bikes has changed through the experience of riding the Empulse.
There's also something in there that I've been trying to get at for a while. From the article:
The Empulse’s motor revs out to a 9,000rpm redline and makes both peak power and peak efficiency at 7,000rpm. That’s a neat trick, because no matter if you want to accelerate hard or maximize range, all you need to do is keep revs between 6 and 8,000.
As I suspected, the way to get the most range out of the Empulse is to keep the revs up (which is very different from an ICE), and you get peak power there to boot!
It was also great to hear that the Empulse had the range that Brammo was claimed it would have. I wonder how old the batteries were. I.e. if they were hot off the factory floor, or if the pack had been through a bunch of cycles earlier.
Now, how about getting those bike out to us, eh Brammo? ;D
Just because the motor is operating at peak "efficiency" does not necessarily meant the rest of the components are. Every ICE I know of is at it's peak "efficiency" when it's at WOT. Obviously "efficiency" does not necessarily equate to high MPG...just the most efficient way of turning go-juice into work.
My guess is the trade off in running higher RPMs will be compensated by the extra rotational drag that caused by the transmission. You're probably better off cruising in 6th at 3k than 2nd at 8k...but if you want to accelerate, then you want to downshift.
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Motors (electric and ICE) really have two inputs to efficiency (power out / power in):
1. RPM
2. Load
These produce a BSFC (brake-dyno specific fuel consumption) map which allows you to plot out various curves, etc. Simplest way is just to stick near 7000 RPM.
It's good that peak efficiency and power is that close to redline; at highway speeds you won't be able to hear the motor / chain anyhow, and for peak power it would just feel weird to *upshift* to make more power (cf Zero's Motenergy motor).
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I'm impressed. Please tell me Wes isn't biased or getting a free Empulse from Brammo or something? Otherwise, this is a really positive review and great news.
For me, one of the exciting things about two wheels is the acceleration - being able to pull away from any four wheels on the road. An SV650 with a passenger, although not earth shattering, is good enough, and a little more than I was expecting to be honest. That coupled with great handling pushes the Empulse across the line and although still not was originally promised, is close enough. I'm relieved I didn't take my name off the list.
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Please tell me Wes isn't biased or getting a free Empulse from Brammo or something?
Wes is on pretty good terms with the Brammo, as you can see from his article about his trip to Laguna Seca (http://hellforleathermagazine.com/2012/08/the-laguna-seca-pilgrimage-2012/), but he has been rather critical of electric bikes in the past and, as he says in the article, fairly unimpressed by the Enertia when he rode it in 2009.
I'm pretty sure that if Wes says it's an awesome bike, it's not because Brammo is bribing him.
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Wes and Hell For Leather have a bit of a reputation for not kowtowing to advertisers (they actually don't have any advertisers), for criticizing other publications who do (I recall some ugly activity in the comments of HFL between them and some leading trade magazine editors), and for giving honest reviews of bikes and equipment that don't live up to their hype. They also are good at disclosing any kind of relationship that might exist (I recall some Aprilia commercials they did - fully disclosed the relationship but still gave some lukewarm reviews on a later-released model).
So yes, I think this is an unbiased review.
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I strongly doubt HFL has as much readership as various magazines [refuted, see below], but perhaps higher readership for prospective Empulse buyers.. and Wes can turn around a review pretty quickly. There's good reason for Brammo give him the first review of the bike.
Nevertheless.. hob-nobbing with the Brammo folks at MotoGP, exclusive first access to the Empulse R, two days with one of Brammo's factory riders .. perhaps airfare, lodging. It's not the same thing as a wad of cash .. but in a carefully orchestrated demo, there's strong incentive / opportunity to overlook shortcomings and focus on the awesome.
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Well, his review just went live on "Wired" magazine (http://www.wired.com/reviews/2012/08/brammo-empulse-r/all), so the readership of the review just increased.
My friend Mark Gardiner was/is a motorcycle journalist and the tales he has told about some of the big companies (BMW, Honda, Yamaha) flying groups of journalists to exotic places for lengthy test rides makes a flight to Ashland and lodging, etc., kind of pale in comparison. I'm just saying, though, that Wes will not ignore the warts - a big reason why Harley Davidson never invites him to test ride their products.
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well the wired magazine article starts with a great photo...
(http://www.wired.com/reviews/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Brammo-1-660x478.jpeg)
and the writing style is more polished and clean...and a bit more boring....ha. So far I like his profanity style better :)
Gavin
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Clunky gearbox can be reluctant to shift. Heavy clutch could make city riding tiring.
I wonder how bad that is. I've only had much experience with a Ninja 500R, and I don't know how that would compare with the Empulse's gearbox and clutch. On the other hand, if I get tired of changing gears, I could just leave it in 3rd and not move it again. :)
Where Brammo’s bike will retail for about $19,000 when it goes on sale in the next couple months...
Does that mean we're going to have to wait a couple more months before we start seeing bike deliveries? :( Or perhaps he's talking about non-pre-order sales, which implies that all the pre-orders will be delivered by then. :D (Yeah, I think that's a bit too optimistic too. :-\)
Too bad Wes wasn't able to snag a few photos of the factory floor, so we could see how the production line is advancing.
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For me, one of the exciting things about two wheels is the acceleration - being able to pull away from any four wheels on the road. An SV650 with a passenger, although not earth shattering, is good enough, and a little more than I was expecting to be honest.
That definitely is good news.
Up here at high altitude in Colorado, my SV650 probably loses about the same amount of power from the thin air as someone at sea level would lose to having a passenger. I'm expecting the Empulse to accelerate much closer to my SV650 even without a passenger at my altitude.
In fact, the thinner air means less air resistance, which means I may be able to get a little bit better range, and a little bit higher top speed than at sea level.
I'm dying to see if it really works out that way.
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Too bad Wes wasn't able to snag a few photos of the factory floor, so we could see how the production line is advancing.
Check out Wired Autopia later this week.
Oh, and to address a couple points addressed above:
1. HFL has significantly higher readership than any print motorcycle magazine in the US.
2. I write for Newsweek, Wired, GQ, PopSci, Popular Mechanics, MCN, Men's Journal, Men's Health, Jalopnik, etc. If there was a problem with objectivity I wouldn't be able to say that. I'm a real journalist doing my job, which is to inform you guys. That's never in question.
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In my experience most new motorcycle gearboxes tend to be tight and rough for the first few thousand miles. Depending upon the design and the way their are built, they can feel "notchy" or be hard to shift between gears. My Yamaha FZ1 felt quite "notchy" for the first 20,000 miles, but now it shifts much smoother. A change to a slightly heavier weight motor oil also helped. Oddly using synthetic oil did not help the feel, but switching to Shell Rotella T heavy-duty truck oil did. ???
Having a heavy clutch pull could be an irritation, especially around town and in a traffic jam. But if the Empulse takes off and will run around just fine without using the clutch, then that wouldn't be as much of an issue under those conditions.
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That's my plan, Richard. As I will be using the Empulse all day long in San Francisco on the job, I'll likely be able to find a suitable gear and leave it there. When there's a stoplight or sign on just about every block, I'm really not concerned with redline!
Actually looking forward to getting used to coming to a stop and not have to pull in the clutch lever.
In contrast to your FZ1 tranny/oil experience, I found the infamously clunky BMW box on my R1200R shifted noticeably slicker with synthetic. It too got more cooperative after 10K miles or so.
- Bill
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It is slightly weird, and actually quite great, to have a motorcycle with a shifty that you CAN NOT STALL.
Sweet.
at a light, in 1st gear, clutch out...sitting silently and no vibrations...and light turns green and twist the throttle and go...
Gavin
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http://hellforleathermagazine.com/2012/08/brammo-empulse-the-electric-motorcycle-has-finally-arrived/ (http://hellforleathermagazine.com/2012/08/brammo-empulse-the-electric-motorcycle-has-finally-arrived/)
Anyone read this yet?
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"Seeing that huge aluminum beam frame, plus the normal sportsbike-sized rubber, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the Empulse can go around a corner. But holy shit was I surprised that's it's better at doing so than a Street Triple." - Wes Siler.
So awesome!!!!
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You might be interested in checking out this thread:
http://brammoforum.com/index.php?topic=1518.0 (http://brammoforum.com/index.php?topic=1518.0)
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Too bad Wes wasn't able to snag a few photos of the factory floor, so we could see how the production line is advancing.
Check out Wired Autopia later this week.
What ever happened to that Wired Autopia article that Wes inferred would answer questions about Empulse production?
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I don't know. I looked for it today, did not find it.
Ted Dillard (regular @ elmoto.net) had a brief Q&A with Wes after the review. Ted is one of the elmoto posters that poo-poo'ed the Empulse for its transmission.
http://evmc2.wordpress.com/2012/08/23/zero-zf9-vs-brammo-empulse-r-talking-with-wes-siler/ (http://evmc2.wordpress.com/2012/08/23/zero-zf9-vs-brammo-empulse-r-talking-with-wes-siler/)
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Too bad Wes wasn't able to snag a few photos of the factory floor, so we could see how the production line is advancing.
Check out Wired Autopia later this week.
What ever happened to that Wired Autopia article that Wes inferred would answer questions about Empulse production?
Not sure if you've noticed, but I'm a busy guy these days. Be patient.
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http://jalopnik.com/5938778/in-this-electric-motorcycle-lies-the-future-of-hoonage (http://jalopnik.com/5938778/in-this-electric-motorcycle-lies-the-future-of-hoonage)
similar review to his other two...still a fun read.
Gavin
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http://jalopnik.com/5938778/in-this-electric-motorcycle-lies-the-future-of-hoonage (http://jalopnik.com/5938778/in-this-electric-motorcycle-lies-the-future-of-hoonage)
similar review to his other two...still a fun read.
Gavin
OMG NOT another loud pipes discussion... see the comments on that article. Complete with your typical un-researched comment about battery life. My faith in humanity is waning.