I've had my Plus for one day, which has been enough time to get a feeling for the differences from the Classic. I rode my classic for a year and half and had planned on keeping it several more years, but then we moved out to the suburbs and I needed more range. Considered and test drove the Empulse as well as the various Zeros, but decided that I liked my Enertia so much, what I really wanted was the same thing just with more range.
The Plus is that, and more. First, to address range, I haven't really tested it yet but based on extrapoloations from my brief time on the bike, yes, it does seem to have at least twice the range.
I really like the changes to the powerband. The Plus is slower off the line and up to about 15 mph, but from there it has a very noticeable advantage over the Classic. If this was merely a gearing change and a trade off, then I would say it makes a great deal of sense. It's still fast enough off the line to stay ahead of the taxis, but now there is more power and torque where you spend most of your driving time.
On the Classic, a roll on from 50-60 mph takes seemingly an eternity to happen. Roll on from 50 on the Plus and you feel a satisfying and effective surge of speed. Nothing to rival the Empulse, of course, but enough to make the Plus a much more effective high speed commuter. This is a welcome development for me, as I now have several miles of freeway commuting that I did not have before. The Plus will give me a level of confidence on that stretch that was rather lacking on the Classic.
The regen on deceleration is also a welcome change, emulating engine braking and giving more confidence. Freewheeling through twisties on the Classic always felt kind of bizarre and "unnatural," from the standpoint of a longtime ICE bike rider. With regen, the Plus comes much closer to feeling like a real motorcycle in that respect, which is a very good thing.
The change in fork geometry and a broader steering lock make the Plus significantly easier to maneuver in tight quarters. Very nice. And it is not noticeably less stable than the Classic at higher speeds.
That's about it for the major points. In summary, though the changes may be small in scale, they make the Enertia feel like a much better motorcycle.
I have a windshield and Givi bags on order. I'll report on them when they're on.
