An electric motorcycle does not fit Victory or Harley's branding but they are going that route. We can hope and dream :0)
(Late to the game...)
I agree. Part of riding a big, stupid-loud bike is that rumble (and, the chrome. Don't forget about the chrome). Parking at work one day some guy rolls in on an HD and has to gun the engine right before killing it (bad for the pistons, btw). That one time, that one guy, and at work, are not the only times and places I see HD riders do that. Electric? They're hoping to attract a younger segment, no doubt, more likely to wear beards "ironically" (whatever that means) who are more likely to drive a hybrid than a lifted pickup. Victory, no doubt, wants to leapfrog HD with the Brammo acquisition. Polaris, BTW, has been making "ebikes" (like, electric bicycles) for a while now, branded as Polaris and not Victory, obviously.
I honestly don't expect them to keep either current Brammo model, though if they do I'd suspect the Empulse would win. Sitting here catching up on old/random threads I've missed, I see one of a guy riding down to Long Beach and back, several charger stops along the way. As a sporty rider, I appreciate being able to refuel in under 5 minutes and be back on the road, going wherever I want (so long as there are gas stations, which is pretty much anywhere) and being gone as long as I want. If all pumps are taken I can wait a few minutes, get my precious dead dinos, and be on my way. If one or both public chargers are taken far from home by someone shopping or seeing a movie, I may be sitting for quite a while until I can fill up, were I on an Empulse. Point here: I prefer the Entertia+, esp. for commuting and small around town jaunts. I don't have to worry about running out of juice, and finding a charging station is moot because most (at least around me) don't have 110. The permit-only garage at work (which I don't hold a permit for) doesn't even have a single 110 outlet in it (even if I had a permit). Fortunately, work and back can be done on a single charge, and the bike charged back up overnight.
It's a great city bike, great for what it is and has definite applications as such. An e-sports bike, while a total hoot (I test rode both, back to back) having dependency on public chargers (and the time it takes to charge) means doing a typical weekend run as I used to, from Orange County up to Glendora Mountain Road ("fill up at the Shell station at the base before ascending") would be out of the question. And that's no fun. But as something that almost reaches the performance level of a DRZ-400SM, an Enertia+ is an OK replacement.
Not continuing the Enertia+ would suck. With their marketing and brand Victory could make it a contender and stomp Zero easily, but sadly I still do not think they'll do that.
