Brammo Announces 2014 Empulse

[Gavin]

All the new bits...stolen from Brammo Hong Kong's Facebook page...

[protomech]

Love the component photo : )

[flar]

As far as drag racing an SR you may have as much if not more torque in second gear but you still lose precious tenths of a second in shifting.

Only if you're doing it wrong. 

No, seriously, clutchless shift on the Empulse takes so little time it's astonishing, even compared to the same operation on an ICE bike.  The incredibly low mass of the motor combined with the instantaneous change in torque compared to waiting for explosions to stop happening combine to mean that the upshift happens faster than a blink of an eye...

[Brammofan]

I would also like that "Made by Brammo in the USA" sticker for my Enertia.

[860]

It does seem to me like Brammo might do a better job of helping prospective buyers understand the performance difference between the two models, not just in statistical terms, but experientially as well.

^^^ This! 

[BrammoBrian]

It does seem to me like Brammo might do a better job of helping prospective buyers understand the performance difference between the two models, not just in statistical terms, but experientially as well.

^^^ This!   I think it should be easy enough to put a couple of numbers on their website:

1)  0-60 starting in 1st gear, and using the shifting.
2)  0-60 staying in 2nd gear until 60 (I believe that is possible, right?)

A 40-60 or 40-80 time in 3rd or 4th gear would also be nice for comparison.

Post these numbers for both the R and E1, that way I would know the real differences between the two motors, and be able to compare them to other bikes.

Ok.  We can work on this.  It's a bit unusual for the OEM to provide this information as it is highly dependent on many variables (tires, track conditions, rider weight, etc... ) and is really only helpful for apples-to-apples comparison - which seems to be what you're asking for.  So... you will learn from it that on this particular day, with this particular rider, the Empulse managed X.X s 0-60mph, whereas the Empulse R managed X.Xs.  You will not, however, be able to compare that directly to another manufacturer's claims, which may be based on a simulation (or smoking something) rather than actual achieved performance.

Hmmm... I wonder who could do the tests for us... Oh yeah!...This guy! 

[Shinysideup]

I dunno Brian... maybe you wanna go with somebody lighter, maybe a skinny female rider... know any?

[skuzzle]

Is the 2014 tank plastic compatible with the 2013 version?  Could I convert my 2013 E1 to a yellow one?  Or perhaps get a primered one and go for any color. I could have the first chartreuse Empulse.  I need a black seat though.

[BrammoBrian]

I dunno Brian... maybe you wanna go with somebody lighter, maybe a skinny female rider... know any?

Yes! But... we'll have to work on her starts... 

[BrammoBrian]

Is the 2014 tank plastic compatible with the 2013 version?  Could I convert my 2013 E1 to a yellow one?  Or perhaps get a primered one and go for any color. I could have the first chartreuse Empulse.  I need a black seat though.

Yes. The plastic parts are compatible.  We have seats too!

[Gavin]

Do you have the higher seats that Eric and Shelina ride on the TTX?

I want that seat.

And a bunch of other stuff too.....

G

[Virtually Yours]

Or perhaps get a primered one and go for any color.

Yes. The plastic parts are compatible.  We have seats too!

I actually want my tank painted the 1996 Mystic Cobra Mustang!
http://paintref.com/cgi-bin/colorcodedisplay.cgi?type=sample&ditzler=5104&syear=1996&smanuf=Ford&smodel=Mustang&sname=Mystic&name=1996_00001_01
I've got a guy that does paint and body but the parts guy at the dealership said the tank was $300!? I just want an unfinished tank if possible...?

[ttxgpfan]

It does seem to me like Brammo might do a better job of helping prospective buyers understand the performance difference between the two models, not just in statistical terms, but experientially as well.

^^^ This!   I think it should be easy enough to put a couple of numbers on their website:

1)  0-60 starting in 1st gear, and using the shifting.
2)  0-60 staying in 2nd gear until 60 (I believe that is possible, right?)

A 40-60 or 40-80 time in 3rd or 4th gear would also be nice for comparison.

Post these numbers for both the R and E1, that way I would know the real differences between the two motors, and be able to compare them to other bikes.

I think Cycle World was the only one to do actual 1/4 mile times.  This is mostly the responsibility of the moto rags.  I was really looking forward to a video from Motorcyclist.  I think it was them that had Chip Yates ride the bike for them, but what we got instead was an infomercial.  No offence Brian, but I've had the privileged of interviewing you many times.  I was hoping for something from them that I can't do.  Hell I'd love to do ride reviews for the blog and get numbers for folks but the nearest Brammo and Zero dealers are hundreds of miles from where I live.  And there's the whole getting a TN licence thing too.

[ttxgpfan]

As far as drag racing an SR you may have as much if not more torque in second gear but you still lose precious tenths of a second in shifting.

Only if you're doing it wrong. 

No, seriously, clutchless shift on the Empulse takes so little time it's astonishing, even compared to the same operation on an ICE bike.  The incredibly low mass of the motor combined with the instantaneous change in torque compared to waiting for explosions to stop happening combine to mean that the upshift happens faster than a blink of an eye...

Oh that is interesting.  I did not know that.  It's still time, but clearly not as much of a factor.

[flar]

No carbon fiber for the 2014 R bikes? Looks like the 2013 owners have collectors items now

In Tesla terms, does that mean we have "Signature editions"?

(Ignoring the existence of the Spec32 versions which actually have signatures on them...)