While I'd never argue with someone with Ninja in their name...
Dear Brammo -
I too love the streetfighter look, but, hey, I'm a guy that has, on purpose, no car, and I want a bike to be every bit as practical as it is sexy. Just maybe, this isn't as impossible as it sounds.
BMW seems to have gotten this down. My (now-wrecked-by-a-tourist) R1200R was a naked roadster and, assuming you lean toward the Teutonic Weirdness esthetic, looked fairly sharp when stripped down.
AND, I could add a back rack that would support a top trunk and really well-designed hard side cases and, woyla: I had a machine that I could haul around all my stuff for my job all day long AND run through the twisties on the weekend. I could put my helmet in a trunk while visiting the dozen or so clients I see every day. I could carry some rain gear. And a tire-repair kit.
I could also add a variety of windshields and even a half-fairing for long days on the superslabs, not that I'd be straying too far from home on an electric bike! But a little weather protection would be a welcome option, since I ride all day long, every working day, all year round.
I don't want much: I just want it all
Brammo, think about the profit in accessories! Think about expanding your target market to include folks who actually want to use their streetfighter for something other than sheer thrills. Or just as eye candy.
You could lengthen and strengthen the back upper sub-frame so an occasional passenger will fit, side cases can be added and subtracted easily because of your clever engineering, a rack with a top case can be added. You could make sure the design of the front end can accept Brammoshields in various heights. You're already in Italy with a partner, so talk to Givi!
I want to exhort you to think, as you have so beautifully demonstrated so far, WAY outside the box. Don't just give us yet another Universal Japanese Motorcycle, albeit electric, that pitches the weight onto the hands (mine are arthritic!) and jams the knees into the armpits, and can't haul anything other than the rider's asset.
I'll actually pay you to give me an Empulse work bike that I can also throw into a turn or two or 100. It would be one sweet machine!
I just got a fat check for my wrecked bike and that money could be yours!
Bill in San Francisco
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"Everybody's got a plan, until they get hit" -- Mike Tyson
