Implovator's Blog post

[Brammofan]

It's a must-read.
The Empulse Arrives . . . Finally

An excerpt:

Brammo has touted the Empulse as a no-compromises electric motorcycle for the enthusiast. They're absolutely right...almost. You have to compromise somewhere, and in this case it was price. But that couldn't be avoided. Bicyclists have a truism that sums this up perfectly.

"Cheap, light, and strong. Pick two." - Wise Bicyclist

With the Empulse, Brammo went all in. They addressed all of the shortcomings with the Enertia and delivered a very serious motorcycle. Sure it's not going to out-handle or out-perform an ICE motorcycle that costs less than 50% of the Empulse, but that's not really the point of riding an electric motorcycle is it? The point is: It's an electric motorcycle that should be about as fun as an SV 650 with the brakes and suspension of a serious middleweight sportbike.

[Richard230]

That is an excellent analysis of the Empulse R.   

[Gavin]

Nice write up...

Part of me would love an Empulse R...Part of me understands a Plus is more my style and cost...

do love the 2 up...and she does look tough.

Gavin

[EmpulseRider]

Just now discovered this blog. Great post! Look forward to reading a Implovator hands on review

[flar]

"That's not really the point of riding an electric motorcycle" - I would add *yet*.

That time will come before too long, but this is what you need to do today if you want to be able to add some or most of the excitement of motorcycling back into the ev bike world.  It's priced well below some of the exotic ev bikes and just on a newly visible horizon of the "you have to want it, but you can probably afford it if you try" world of many of the existing ev bikes.

So far we've gotten "affordable (for some definition of the term affordable)" ev bikes that give low end 250 performance.  I'm guessing that 600 performance would have been cost prohibitive (like some of the exotics).

Now we are getting down near mainstream 600 performance (it would have been nice if they could have knocked most of another second off the 0-60 time just to seal the deal) and the pricing horizon had to be raised a little.

I think they may camp out here a bit while the gap to 600 performance closes the last few degrees and the pricing comes down and then we'll see an expensive stab at 1000cc performance or maybe a grand tourer...?

[implovator]

Thanks a bunch for the feedback, folks. And thanks for not being too tough. I'm certainly no expert. I just used that blog post to get my thoughts on the Empulse organized. Honestly, I was trying to figure out if I was going to go through with the purchase (I am). I am so pleased with the Empulse and the hard work that Brammo went through to bring the prototype to production. I applaud them for forging ahead with their goal of making a no-compromise motorcycle. But holy junk that pricetag is hard to swallow. I think I was pretty committed to getting it, but the price definitely made me reevaluate the decision.

I sure as heck hope this gamble pays off for them. It's a heck of a play. Luckily the electric motorcycle space isn't incredibly competitive right now. If they're funded well enough and if they can keep production going and the sales trickling in, then maybe they keep things going long enough to deliver the mid-tier motorcycle that I think many people desperately want. Something along the lines of a sportier Enertia+ with a water-cooled motor would sell phenomenally well IMHO. Who knows, maybe the delay in the Enertia+ has something to do with the motor. Pure speculation, of course. I don't think it needs a gear box, just a water-cooled motor.

[Car Loss]

Now we are getting down near mainstream 600 performance (it would have been nice if they could have knocked most of another second off the 0-60 time just to seal the deal) and the pricing horizon had to be raised a little.

Speak for yourself.  I just wanted to ride to work and back, around town, and to the next towns (by highway, which is why the Enertias won't cut it).  One fewer second on the 0-60 spec means absolute zilch to me, and I won't pay 19k.  YMMV, of course.

I think they may camp out here a bit while the gap to 600 performance closes the last few degrees and the pricing comes down and then we'll see an expensive stab at 1000cc performance or maybe a grand tourer...?

Not holding my breath on that tourer.  That would need some fundamental breakthrough in battery chemistries, a full fairing, or something else entirely.  Something like, oh, flow batteries that refill like an ICE, or embedded coils for in-highway trickle charging.  I don't think it will be battery swapping, since that would be harder than inkjet cartridges, and we know how those turned out.  And no, I haven't fallen for the fuel-cell predictions.  More likely, a grand tourer would have to be some flavor of hybrid long before we see a true BEV. 

On-topic: good insights, Implovator, even if I'm not personally swung over.  Still, I just can't rationalize $19k when I signed up for about half that.  (And yes, that means I blame Brammo marketing/advertising as well as their engineering.)  I think you're dead-on about an "Enertia Plus Plus."  Not being able to take an Interstate without turning into a moving target is a huge psychological barrier, even for people who take the Interstate maybe never per year.

[flar]

Now we are getting down near mainstream 600 performance (it would have been nice if they could have knocked most of another second off the 0-60 time just to seal the deal) and the pricing horizon had to be raised a little.

Speak for yourself.  I just wanted to ride to work and back, around town, and to the next towns (by highway, which is why the Enertias won't cut it).  One fewer second on the 0-60 spec means absolute zilch to me, and I won't pay 19k.  YMMV, of course.

I wasn't necessarily speaking for anyone.  While I appreciate that you wanted a different bike than what was delivered, you also appear to need a different bike than was ever intended or promised here.  They specifically set out to produce a "no compromise" bike so I don't think "we'll make it accelerate slowly because Mr. Car Loss on the forums doesn't want any better than that" was ever a design consideration of theirs.  You also don't need 100MPH for your needs and they could have produced a different bike that would have met your needs better if they didn't have that goal, but that was an explicit part of their marketing message and it, along with the relatively fast 0-60, were achieved by design decisions that didn't serve your needs (or mine) very efficiently.  And, I never expected it to be the most specifically targeted design to meet just my needs because they were pretty clear all along that they had other goals.

And, as for speaking for myself, I could do without that acceleration too.  I need highway mileage just like you.  They didn't deliver a bike that was the cheapest design that could meet just that goal, but I wasn't expecting them to because I could see the intentions that they were aiming for.  I expected a relatively fast 0-60, I expected that they were targeting a market that would care about that, I was making a comment that I don't think 5 seconds would be the best spec for that crowd.  Meanwhile, I am evaluating whether I want to buy this bike, that was never designed for my specific needs or yours, because it happens to meet one of my needs - highway range.

[implovator]

As far as my needs [/desires] go, I feel like I really lucked out with the Empulse. A few days a week, I absolutely need to commute on a motorcycle due to an extra stop with very difficult parking. I can't make the distance or save time by taking the highway on the Enertia, so I have to drive the gasser (wee-strom). And boy, even with the strom's ride height and frame flex, those days are still fun. It's been so much fun that I've actually been fantasizing about getting another sportbike...something that I've sworn off on the street.

Enter the Empulse. It'll manage my commute perfectly and it should be fun on the few twisties that I throw in on the commute. With its [hopefully] good handling and relatively low top speed, it should be a reasonably responsible sportbike for riding on street. And the mountains are just far enough away that I won't be able to take the Empulse up there and do anything dumb.

[Car Loss]

I wasn't necessarily speaking for anyone.  While I appreciate that you wanted a different bike than what was delivered, you also appear to need a different bike than was ever intended or promised here.  They specifically set out to produce a...

I hope you didn't take that personally, flar... It's just an expression.

Every company tries some marketing, to find out what the customers really want.  At first, Brammo's marketing said '6.0, 8.0, and 10' at different price points, which happened to be what this particular customer wanted.  Apparently, they changed their minds, because not only are the 6 and 8 gone, but the Empulse R is now enough to be in a different market segment, and the non-R looks nothing like a 6 or 8 (aside from being a year's wait away...).  Too bad, they had me the first time, and I don't mean the Enertia Plus.

Advertising types say that people actually get angry when they realize they just sat through an ad that wasn't "meant" for them.  With Brammo not throwing us a bone of any kind (no direct-drive model, like Gavin proposed in another thread, or some promo deal for the early faithful, or even much of an explanation), there must be a whole lot of us actually getting angry a little, after just sitting through an entire model year/riding season.

Sounds like Implovator got marketed-to just fine.  I'm glad for you, dude, hope it works out for you.  Just wish I had something "meant" for me.