Empulse in December 2012 Cycle World

[Brammofan]

Has anyone seen the review yet?

I've got a .pdf scan, but it's not the best.

[EmpulseRider]

Yup, I have a sub to that magazine on my nook. I also have a scan of the article, just not sure about the rules behind sharing it with the world. Its actually not a review if I remember correctly, just information on Brammo and the Empulse R... apparently 300 of the Empulse R will be produced this year.

[Brammofan]

Well, my rules are generally, if they ask us to take it down, I will. 

[EmpulseRider]

Good enough for me! Here it is:



(RIGHT CLICK AND OPEN IN NEW TAB SO YOU CAN ACTUALLY READ IT)

[Richard230]

I should be getting my paper issue soon and will be looking forward to reading it then.  What I find interesting, is that Motorcyclist's on-line magazine ran a nice review by Alan Cathcart of the 2013 Zero S, while Cycle World has a great write-up of the Empulse R.  I wonder if Zero and Brammo are targeting one magazine over the other when it comes to new model evaluations? At least they are both really giving electric motorcycles some serious press, considering that neither company does much, if any, advertizing in the magazines.  That tells me that the magazines believe that their readers are interested in this new technology, instead of just the latest IC BNG.

[ttxgpfan]

Don't forget that a year or so ago Motorcyclist magazine's editor said they would not do any more electric reviews until they had reached parity.  He sounded like the response to their all electric edition had left a sour taste in his mouth.  But that editor has since moved on.  Add to that, Eric Bostrom is a test rider and reviewer for Cycle World, who, as far as I know, have never said they had 'given up' on electrics.  Frankly, I was very surprised to see all the electric coverage in this month's issue.  The BRD article really put me off as I was so looking forward to reading it.  I guess I'm just easily put off.

[FreepZ]

"300 Empulses [...] in 2012." Hmm...
Customer production bikes start on November 13. That's about 33 work days until the end of the year.
Looks like they are going to be building about 9 bikes per day.

Here are some uncertainties:

• Does the 300 include dealer/demo bikes?
• Does the 300 include the bikes that have already been produced?
• Is the factory going to close for the holidays?
• Will workers be building bikes on the weekends too?

I'm still only 595th in line, but given that many people will chose not to get the R, I may actually be under 300th in line. That means that I may be getting a very nice present this Christmas.

[Virtually Yours]

My biggest concern is that I'll be buying a "2012" bike at the end of 2012 assuming I'm getting the bike by then, and when the new year comes the 2012 bike now has depreciated by one model year. This can have some obvious negative effects such as resale, insurance, etc. Of course this can be addressed by simply changing the model year to 2013... Is this a frivolous concern or does this sound right to anyone else? I mean it works the same for cars too, right?

[BrammoBrian]

My biggest concern is that I'll be buying a "2012" bike at the end of 2012 assuming I'm getting the bike by then, and when the new year comes the 2012 bike now has depreciated by one model year. This can have some obvious negative effects such as resale, insurance, etc. Of course this can be addressed by simply changing the model year to 2013... Is this a frivolous concern or does this sound right to anyone else? I mean it works the same for cars too, right?

All bikes shipped this year will be considered (and indicated) as 2013 models... don't fret.

[Virtually Yours]

Thanks Brian for a prompt response! 
Always good to hear from the Guru!

[skuzzle]

My biggest concern is that I'll be buying a "2012" bike at the end of 2012 assuming I'm getting the bike by then, and when the new year comes the 2012 bike now has depreciated by one model year.

I think that resale value of an Empulse will be determined by what new EV's come out in the next few years, and not its age.  Three year old Enertias are selling for less than 50% of the original price.  I'm not sure the rate of improvement and price depreciation will continue as it has though.  You probably don't care about depreciation being an early adopter

[Virtually Yours]

Well I don't plan on reselling. I do plan on riding it until the wheels fall off but stuff happens. The wife wants me to get gap insurance just in case which may be a good decision.