Brammo and Racing, 2012

[protomech]

Here's an example trip plan. You'll want to update it for addresses at your start location and FreepZ's location, of course.

Assume: 10.7 kWh Empulse, 3 kW charger, 120 Wh/mile @ 55 mph.



Ft. Pierce Nissan is about 55 miles north on US 1 (6.6 kWh, +1 kWh reaching US 1). If you can safely travel at 50-55 mph then that's probably doable on the Empulse 10, though I'm not sure how riding two-up may affect the energy consumption per mile. Melbourne, FL is about 38 miles further north, so you need at least 5 kWh plus some reserve to make it there safely. Call it 6 kWh.
Energy consumed: 6.6 kWh + ~1 kWh in Palm Beach. 1.5 hour charging: 4.5 kWh back, 7.6 kWh remaining.

Ft. Pierce Nissan
4815 South Us Highway #1
Fort Pierce FL 34982
(772) 464-4645

Stop at FreepZ for the night (delicious electricity!). Should take around 6-8 hours to fully charge on 110V, but you'll be getting a good nights sleep then.
Energy consumed: 4.7 kWh + ~1 kWh in Melbourne. 8 hours charging: 8.8 kWh back, 10.7 kWh remaining.

Daytona Beach is about 86 miles away, that's just baaaarely inside the theoretical range of the Empulse at 55 mph. Stop off at Pat Fischer Nissan in Titusville. If they have two J1772 ports you can use then you can probably stop for an hour, grab food, stretch, get back on the road.
Energy Consumed: 4.7 kWh, 1 hour charging = 3 kWh back, 9 kWh remaining.

Pat Fischer Nissan
1128 S Hopkins Ave
Titusville FL 32780
(321) 268-2000

Daytona Beach is 51 miles away, you'll probably use around 6-6.5 kWh reaching there. Should not be a problem.
Energy Consumed: 6.5 kWh, 2.5 kWh remaining.

Total Energy Consumed: around 24.5 kWh to travel ~210 miles. 29-30 kWh at the wall.


The above are very rough figures. Definitely call ahead to make sure the Nissan chargers are accessible to the public - there are alternative "community" chargers available on plugshare if Nissan reserves their charges for Leafs, but the level of service there is a complete unknown.

In particular you may find that two-up riding is much higher consumption - possibly as high as 150 Wh/mile at 55 mph. Definitely test this and find out what YOUR consumption looks like before you start making hard plans.

Anyhow, I hope you two can make it on Empulses : ) If I come I will almost certainly be driving down (600 miles), but we'll see.

[Gavin]

Yeah, when I was thinking I might ride the Enertia out to the LA event (Empulse release party thingy) I was, "Dang that would be much easier and faster if I had a Plus)...

but not really...sure I could drive twice as far, but then I would have to stop and charge twice as long...it all worked out the same for longer trips...

Of course the Plus is much better than the Enertia Classic for long "commutes" and day rides over 40 miles...but neither are made for trips from Albuquerque to LA....at least not fast...5 1/2 days about

Think I will either fly out or truck the Enertia a heck of a lot closer...

Gavin

[Virtually Yours]

I was definitely looking at that route and an alternative scenic route along the coast line with charge points that are "J plugs" and not Nissan.
I will definitely put some hours in the seat before hand to get a good feel for the range of the bike in the various driving conditions with the Mrs.  Together we are approximately 300 lbs plus gear.
Plan B is to buy a trailer, tow the bike to Daytona and ride around there...

[FreepZ]

I have to say; the folks at Brammo have been pretty gracious.

Last week I had inquired about the possibility of having an Empulse to ride over to see the TTXGP race in Daytona, and if I could meet up with them over there.

They said that since my order number was so high, there would be little chance of getting a bike by then if everybody who pre-ordered went ahead and followed through with the purchase. So they won't be able to build (and ship) 935 bikes before October 19.

(Of course, if, as protomech has suggested, only 1 in 4 pre-orders turn into firm sales, maybe I will have a bike by then.

Here's pretty much what they said:

Yes we will be at Daytona in October. Yes, it would be great to meet you and yes you would be most welcome to visit us in the paddock.
 
Wether you will have your bike by then is another matter, it really depends on how many people in front of #935 either cancel or defer their orders…..
 
If no one does then its unlikely we would get to #935 by October………. Sorry I can’t be more precise, once the specs are announced then We should get a much better feel for delivery dates.
 
If you don’t have your Empulse by Daytona I will certainly bring one for you to ride

Woohoo! So one way or another, I'm gong to be sitting on an Empulse in October. And I'm going to be able to to see what's going on at the paddock. w00t!

I'm guessing that once the specs (and the price!) are announced, we will get a much better idea of who's really going to be buying an Empulse. Perhaps the specs will also determine how quickly the bike can be built (although I would be surprised if that hasn't already been pretty well decided by now).

[Gavin]

Yep...I bet 1 in 4, maybe 1-5 or lower....

A) many people signed up for both a Plus and an Empulse...but will likely only buy one.

B) since no money was needed, some might just be trying to win a Plus or Empulse and won't put down money when asked.

C) Some will have bought a different ICE motorcycle or another EV...like a Zero.

D) Some will no longer be in the market for an electric motorcycle (too old, ill health, no money, spouse threatening to murder them before they kill themselves on a bike...etc etc)

E) There is no E...

Gavin


and yes, I can attest that the folks at Brammo, though sometimes tight lipped, can be very VERY accommodating....such as giving a stranger a bike to ride for 5 months and longer (5 months so far...they don't want it back till I get my Plus)

[Vibetrippin]

Gavin, I've got a Canadian address you can slap on that crate when it comes time for you to send it back. Really, Brammo needs some wheels on the street to advertise for them here in the great white north!

[FreepZ]

B) since no money was needed, some might just be trying to win a Plus or Empulse and won't put down money when asked.

I've been thinking about that... It would make sense that only people who pressed the "Yes, I want to confirm" button will be in the drawing. Of course that won't necessarily weed out too many people, as there is still no obligation to put any money down. (If lottery tickets were free, how many people would get one?)

On the other hand, why should there be any requirement to only have "real" buyers in the drawing? The purpose of the free bike promotion was to encourage pre-orders, which is what they got.

In any case, I'm perfectly willing to slap down 14k (and more, after tax, delivery, and any cost increases are added) for an Empulse. If I get one for free... heck, I might have to buy a second one! (Although it would be a lot smarter to buy some solar panels with the extra cash instead!)

[Gavin]

I had those same thoughts....

Only people that put down the deposit should be in the drawing...

But then Brammo loses a sale by giving a free bike to somebody who was going to pay for one...(though Brammo then likely gains a life long fan )

So maybe Brammo should only draw from people who showed interest, but then didn't follow through...a bike gets on the street that wouldn't have normally, and Brammo makes a life long fan....

But that isn't really fair to the "paying" customers...

So likely Brammo should just pull from the names they have....


Though I do like your thought of pulling just from the people that clicked confirmed. that one extra step would weed out the people who weren't really interested in Brammo...I like it even more if they pull from the people who confirmed on the first day of the newsletter  that would likely be me and about 2 other people ??

Gavin

[Deadly Silent Ninja]

So maybe Brammo should only draw from people who showed interest, but then didn't follow through...a bike gets on the street that wouldn't have normally, and Brammo makes a life long fan....

Me! Me! Me! Pick me! 

I am still struggling with the economics here. The fact that Virginia sucks for not having any incentives makes the bike really expensive (more so than my car). I hope Brammo can come up with some way to help those in "sucky" states to get the Empulse. If not, I will have to wait to buy an used one from someone who lives in a cool state with around 50% total incentives... Now, I don't expect anyone getting tired of the Empulse any time soon, though. I need a no-interest-whatsoever payment plan...

[FreepZ]

I thought about that (Florida doesn't have any incentives either ), but the person who buys the bike has to keep it for a number of years (2?) before they can sell it, else they have to give the money back.

That would make sense, since state incentives (which cost the state money) should benefit the state that is paying for them.

[ElectRick]

Also painful in Illinois where incentives for anything but cars were not renewed for 2012. I'm hoping something changes or that I am misinformed but I don't think so. With no Federal tax rebate I will have to pay full price for the bike including any vehicle tax Illinois wants making this a very expensive purchase. How can I feel good about writing a 15K+ check for an Empulse that others are paying thousands less for or that I might have paid thousands less for if the bike were just released three months ago. This will be a rock in Brammo's shoe especially if the price goes up before release.

[Gavin]

Yep...New Mexico, 0 incentives...just north of us in Colorado...tons of incentives.

I've contemplated buying a 1/4 acre of really cheap land up there and using that as my address... But seems like a lot of work that could end up backfiring....

Gavin

[ElectRick]

Gavin
     I got quite a chuckle from your response because I was contemplating the exact same thing. So how would it go? Buy a cheap $500 acre in the middle of nowhere, register the address as your residence, register the bike to that address, license the bike there and drive it back to Chicago. Wow too many legal questions there to stop the whole process. Besides all that I haven't any idea how insurance would be worked out.
     I also would have to somehow live with the idea that I scammed the system which is something I would not typically engage in. Years from the purchase I would be doing the "My name is Earl" Karma repair thing.

[Brammofan]

I don't know guys. If we all chip in on the same 1/4 acre, rent a post office box (with forwarding), we could make some serious dents in the price of either the E + or the Empulse. Maybe we could even build virtual Brammo-condos and sell them to folks who want that tax credit.

Of course, it might not be exactly what you'd call "legal," but then again, I'm no tax attorney.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

[ttxgpfan]

Yep...I bet 1 in 4, maybe 1-5 or lower....

A) many people signed up for both a Plus and an Empulse...but will likely only buy one.

B) since no money was needed, some might just be trying to win a Plus or Empulse and won't put down money when asked.

C) Some will have bought a different ICE motorcycle or another EV...like a Zero.

D) Some will no longer be in the market for an electric motorcycle (too old, ill health, no money, spouse threatening to murder them before they kill themselves on a bike...etc etc)

E) There is no E...

Gavin


and yes, I can attest that the folks at Brammo, though sometimes tight lipped, can be very VERY accommodating....such as giving a stranger a bike to ride for 5 months and longer (5 months so far...they don't want it back till I get my Plus)

Ah-hem.

E) Someone signed up praying to god they had a real job by the time they were asked to put money down.

I have no idea what kind of person would do such a foolish thing though.  Oh, hey, look at that . . .