MotoLady Reviews the Empulse

[FreepZ]

Another positive reivew for the Empulse R, this time by MotoLady.

http://themotolady.com/post/34188540315/brammo-empulse-r-motolady-ride-report

Interestingly, she mentioned some difficulties with riding at low speeds.

At low speeds the twist-and-go throttle takes some getting used to. No clutch necessary for use means you can’t give it some feather at low speeds through traffic.

I would have though she would say "No clutch necessary for use means you don't have to give it some feather at low speeds through traffic."

Over the race weekend at Daytona, I was given a chance to ride a couple of electric bikes: A modified motorcycle that had Catavolt's hub motor, and a electrified bicycle from Polaris. I found that both were a bit difficult to operate at very low speeds because the motor was switching between Off and On, and when the motor was On, it put a lot more power than when Off. It was like a jump. I think that having a clutch would allow more control. I also think that the jump could be eliminated with better mapping of the throttle.

Enertia and Zero owners: Do you feel a jump when the motor is turned on?

[Richard230]

I don't have that problem with my Zero. In a parking lot I can move around at 1 mph, slower than a walk with perfect throttle control. But in order to get that kind of throttle control, Zero had to program the controller to really neuter the power below about 20 mph.  I like what they did because I use my bike for utility purposes, such as shopping, but many other owners don't care for the slow acceleration off the line that is the result of this programming. On the Zero, in order to get the bike to move relatively quickly from a stop, you have to whack the throttle open fully.  Anything less results in very slow and steady acceleration.

Having owned BMW's with snatchy throttles caused by the fuel injection cutting off at idle and then back on when turned slightly, I really appreciate a smooth throttle action when applying a little power just off "idle".  I might add that it took BMW about 12 years to finally get their second-generation FI system worked out so that it functions almost as well as a carburetor fueling system.

[Gavin]

Yeah...the Enertia Plus is the perfect city bike. Rides almost like a mountain bike. At red lights I will usually put my feet down, but in turn lanes, with traffic coming, I can balance and slow creep, stop, balance etc forever...never put my feet down then...I can be like that for 30 seconds or more...great balance...easy slow creep and stop, creep and stop.

I do know a woman who has driven both the Enertia and Empulse. She actually prefers the balance of the Enertia, especially at slow speed. But I think it depends on preferences and riding styles and such. The Empulse seems a bit more top heavy than the Enertia, but I haven't really ridden the Empulse to see...just sat on one and moved slowly at 1-2 mph.

I will agree that the Enertia Plus is easy to feather in part due to the lack of "instant go" like the Zero bikes.

Gavin

[kingcharles]

Enertia and Zero owners: Do you feel a jump when the motor is turned on?

You are describing the "Chinese Throttle"
I test ride every electric 2 wheeled moped or motorcycle that I can. And always the Chinese bikes have this itchy throttle response (more like an on-off switch)
All other EU and US bikes have a very smooth throttle. Most throttles are actually so smooth that you can comfortably ride next to a walking person.
I tested an Enertia and it was smooth. I am sure that they will have the smooth response on the Empulse also.

[protomech]

With gas bikes, the typical low-speed operation strategy is to disengage the clutch, twist the throttle grip part-way, then slowly ease on the clutch to adjust speed. This is a bandage for gas engines that are non-linear in operation (wrt torque vs throttle position) and behave very poorly at low RPMs.

The simplest way to control a motor is to hook a proportional throttle grip directly to the motor controller. Typically this leads to the type of jerkiness you saw. For the 2012 (and I think 2011) bikes, Zero instead sends the grip to the MBB (main bike board) that filters the throttle before sending it to the motor controller. Tip-in throttle response is gentle, there's no jerkiness. You can creep along at 0.5 mph if you can balance the bike.

One thing mentioned in an Empulse thread on HFL is that a gas engine has a certain amount of rotational inertia that allows you to do something like a clutch dump. Without a flywheel, an electric motor has almost zero rotational inertia .. feathering with the clutch may be a very different proposition on an electric bike.

[860]

With gas bikes, the typical low-speed operation strategy is to disengage the clutch, twist the throttle grip part-way, then slowly ease on the clutch to adjust speed.

I was taught to do slow speed turns with the clutch out (fingers off the clutch lever), and to feather the rear brake against engine idle to control speed.  This technique has worked really well for me for the last 25 years.

That isn't going to work at all with an EV unless creep is programmed into the throttle.   Sounds like I'll have to learn the throttle/clutch-feather method.

[kingcharles]

Is it me or is there something funny in the way those orange power cables are routed on the bike she sits on?

[Virtually Yours]

Yeah! WTF is that orange wire(s) on the side?

[protomech]

I don't know. It does look different from the pictures of the Empulses Brammo has released in the past!

[Gavin]

vs



maybe black just hides them better?

Gavin

[implovator]

Oooohh. Good eye. I never noticed them when they were in black. I don't know how I feel about the orange. And they seem to be sticking way out. Although, they kind of look like exhaust pipes. Can I get mine in chrome, please? j/k'ing. Please don't.

[FreepZ]

Perhaps she was riding one of the development machines. In the past the folks at Brammo have said that at any particular time, a test bike will be cobbled together with whatever parts they are currently working on, then they slap on a cover and send it out.

On the other hand, perhaps the orange cables are something akin to chrome exhaust pipes: "Check out the size of my cables! Now that there is some power!!"

[Brammo Rider Wannabe]

Those of us who have been following Brammo Racing for a while have seen these orange cables before even if we didn't pay attention to them. See image.

http://www.rideicon.com/2012/06/brammer-time/team-icon-brammo-electric-race-motorcycle/

I personally would prefer the black cables.

[Shinysideup]

I was struck with her statement:

"After you take off, you’ll notice that first gear has you covered all the way until about 50 MPH."

With six speeds, I would have thought 1st gear would have been a bit lower, but such is the virtue of electric torque, I guess.

This is great news for me, who will be riding in San Francisco, every day, on the job. No shifting until I hit the freeway. Don't know exactly what I'll be doing with gears 3 through 6, however. Maybe I'll end up changing chain sprockets...

It would be great if e-bikes had user-programmable throttle response for those who want some snap off the line. I DO like getting me some quick space in front of the cars off the green lights.

I'd also like to see programmable regen for those who live in areas with lots of hills. All from a phone app, please!

[Shinysideup]

I personally would prefer the black cables.

Seems like the big orange wires might attract kids with pliers or knives. Although the results they get might come as a bit of a shock!