Evolution of the Empulse

[protomech]

Will expand on this over time.

2009

2009-04-08 - Brammo announces Enertia TTR for entry into the inaugural Isle of Man TTXGP race. Based largely on the shipping Enertia street bike, the TTR powertrain is much closer to the powertrain later shown in the Empulse concept.

2010

2010-07-15 - Empulse announced; "available for immediate order and deliveries will commence in 2011". Brammo talks up benefits of direct drive.
"There's nothing between you and the road. With no clutch and no gearbox to get between your throttle command and the application of torque to the rear wheel, the Empulse provides the smoothest delivery of power you're likely to have ever experienced."

In an interview following the reveal, Mr. Brammo discusses making a offboard level 2 charger available as an option. "about 45 minutes per 1 kwh on 110, about half that on level 2"

2010-09-28 - Level 2 charging listed in Empulse specifications.

2011

2011-03-?? - Brammo tests IET-equipped Empulse prototype.

2011-05-04 - Brammo announces partnership with SMRE for IET (integrated multi-gear transmission and electric motor).

2011-05-04 - Brammo emails preorder list to announce Empulse will "integrate our latest technology and deliver a superior bike in 2012". The obvious implication is that the Empulse will feature IET but Brammo does not confirm this at this time.

2011-05-25 - Rumored change of battery suppliers away from Leyden Energy.

2011-07-23 - Brammo announces Empulse TTX turnkey racebike program. Empulse TTX is a racing-modified Empulse with factory support.

2011-08-17 - Brammo confirms Empulse will ship with IET standard.
"[IET] enables the 2012 Empulse to accelerate hard from the line up to a high top speed, something that is just not possible to achieve with a single ratio electric motorcycle."

2011-09-06 - Steve Atlas on the Brammo Empulse RR wins the 2011 North American TTXGP series.

2011-10-19 - Brammo confirms that the Empulse will support two-up riding.

2011-12-09 - LA Times indicates current prototype battery is 9.7 kWh, shipping battery will be between 9.5 and 10 kWh. They suggest the motor will increase in power from its original 40 kW / 54 hp specification.

2012

2012-01-05 - Brian Wismann reveals that the Empulse will support J1772 and charge in 3.5 hours.

2012-01-06 - Brian Wismann reveals the BPM 44/70 battery modules to be used in the Enertia Plus. Presumably the same cells will be used to build the Empulse battery packs.

2012-04-09 - Brammo Empulse newsletter reveals BPM 15/90 battery module to be used in production Empulse, shows Empulse prototypes on dyno, shows CAD model of battery module and motor / transmission package.

2012-04-18 - Brammo announces specifications for the production Empulse. Notable changes are 56 miles highway range @ 70 mph, 9.3 kWh capacity, regenerative braking, 440 lb 470 lb weight [silent edit sometime in May]. Empulse will be available in a standard and an R model; R model is equipped with higher-quality suspension and brake components and some carbon fiber fairing components.

2012-04-30 - Production Empulse captured by spy photographers while filming promotional video.

2012-05-08 - Empulse launch in LA. Production bikes revealed, prices and nominal shipping dates announced: Empulse R in June for $18995, Empulse in Q1 2013 for $16995.

A book titled "(r)Evolution of the Empulse" (ahem) is available as part of the Empulse launch swag. The bike has most excellent insights into the design and production of the Empulse. Later an adapted digital version of the book with embedded video is released for free as an Apple iBook.

2012-06-?? - Brammo reportedly switches from SMRE motor to Parker motor for the production bike. IET is retained, but integration efforts reportedly cause a slip in production timeline. Edit: motor change confirmed by BrammoBrian on 12/11/2012.

2012-07-01 - Mail Tribune reports that Empulse production will begin in August. Brammo has linked to the article but not confirmed the new date.

2012-07-27 - Brammo shows Empulse TTX race adaptation of the production Empulse R. Presumably this will race in 2013 for the eSuperStock award.

2012-08-20 - Wes Siler @ HFL reviews the production Empulse R, pronounces it awesome-sauce. Later, adapted versions of the review show up on Wired, Jalopnik, and MCN.

2012-08-24 - Brammo posts a photo of the Empulse mid-wheelie. Probably the most important advantage of IET ; )

2012-09-02 - Steve Atlas on the Brammo Empulse RR wins the 2012 North American TTXGP series.

2012-10-02 - Brammo publishes a video of Wes's ride on the Empulse and some discussions with Eric Bostrom and Brian Wismann.

2012-10-05 - Brammo forum member Virtually Yours reports a delivery window between the end of November through December.

2012-10-20 - EmpulseRider née EmpulseBuyer is announced as the second Brammo Evangelist, winning one of the first Empulse Rs to be produced. Lucky bastard The bike is delivered on 2013-05-09 after a CO dealership comes online.

2012-10-21 - Steve Atlas on the Brammo Empulse RR wins the 2012 World TTXGP championship.

2012-12-07 - First Empulse R delivered to a customer. (!!)

2012-12-11 - BrammoBrian confirms that the Empulse R will use a Parker GVM motor, with slightly higher top-end power and different gearing.

2013

2013-02-13 - FreepZ posts details on the Empulse gearing.

2013-03 - Multiple Empulse R bikes have shipped to Brammo Forum owners and many other owners around the US. The Empulse has arrived in volume.

2013-04-09 - 00049 reports about a problem with heavy water contact and the bike remaining on after removing the key. A dealer fix is available that should correct this problem.

2013-04-25 - Motorcycle.com publishes the first comparison test between the 2013 Brammo Empulse R and the 2013 Zero S.

2013-05-05 - Brammo makes AFM history by racing the Empulse TTX and RR bikes against gas bikes.

2013-05-15 - Skuzzle receives his Empulse E1!

[protomech]

Bump for those interested. I'm looking forward to adding a "first production Empulse shipped" entry to this list..

[protomech]

It's done! We've now left the "Before Customer Empulse" era.. or BCE for short.. and entered the "Customer Empulse" era.. or CE for short.

[Brammofan]

I really appreciate your work keeping track of this, Michael.

[protomech]

I'm mostly writing it for my own fact-checking use .. but figure it's a good thing to have around.