Any regrets or buyers remorse?

[Brammofan]

I got the idea to post this because there is a thread with this title over on the ElectricMotorcycleForum.com. The thread is HERE.

Personally, I have no regrets.  I love everything about my Enertia.  It provides reliable and fun service, getting me to and from my job every day. The range is no problem for me and the top speed is fine as I'm not interested in riding on the freeway. The maintenance is easy for me since I'm not particularly handy with a wrench. All I need is a can of chain lube and a tire pressure gauge.  The additional cost of electricity is nominal and more than made up by the savings in gas.

Would like to hear from all of you - Empulse, Enertia, and Enertia Plus owners.

[Shinysideup]

Empulse R
Purchased December 2012
5800 miles
Remorse? Nada!
Gripes? A few:
  no side cases (yet)
  seat (will try for custom)
  rear shock (revalved twice so far and getting close)

Delight? Plenty:

http://brammoforum.com/index.php?topic=2133.msg16433#msg16433

[ttxgpfan]

I was thinking the same thing Harry.  As someone who is Brammo biased from a race fan perspective, I do work to be fair to all brands.  I am often a bit shocked at the many reliability and warranty stories over there, and the lack of similar stories here.  I always kind of wonder if the folks who hang out here are so supportive of Brammo that they are less likely to report such things on the forum, or are the fewer numbers of Brammos on the road leading to fewer issues due to pure percentage, or are Brammos just built better.  I am sure most people's opinion here is that they are built better.

[7racer]

No gripes and love it so far.  Only regret isn't with Brammo per se.  It's just that the dealer is so far away makes it tough for service..  But that's about it and pretty minor. 

[CAT in HAWAII]

Empulse R
Purchased December 2012
5800 miles
Remorse? Nada!
Gripes? A few:
  no side cases (yet)
  seat (will try for custom)
  rear shock (revalved twice so far and getting close)

Delight? Plenty:

http://brammoforum.com/index.php?topic=2133.msg16433#msg16433

Yeah,,, I'd second the gripe on the lack of side cases or top trunk,,
I am getting tired of my backpack,,,
I got solar panels on the house, & most months earn a credit, so riding is free,, just don't think ill ever make up for the 20K outlay, if I were comparing to a 600 or something, (which my wife wouldn't want me to get, cause its a "sport bike ridden by crazy people with a death wish",, but then again I probably would have upgraded from my "sport" model sportster (that couldn't take side cases) to a soft tail or larger,, and that would have gone up around 20K anyway,, right??
And I don't think I would have bad as much fun with the acceleration, head turning, happy smiles that I'm getting when people actually notice that I'm there,,,

So,, regrets?? Not really,, gas is around $4.29 a gallon, and I can ride my Empulse normally 4 days a week,, to and from work,, average around 60 miles round trip,, so,, no regrets,, 😀😻😀😻😀

[frodus]

1300 miles after I bought it in March and I've got no regrets. I absolutely love the bike and Brammo as a company.

+1 on accessories though, it'd be nice to have a windscreen and some way to mount a top case.

[skuzzle]

My real regrets will happen if/when a new version with LED headlights, fairing, and more range comes out.  At that point the resale value of what I have will be low enough to force me to keep it.  That's the cost of being an early adopter.

Currently I'm happy with the bike.  I knew going in that the headlights would suck for winter driving when its dark going to and coming from work.  It turns out that the lights aren't quite as bad as I was expecting, and I have a work around in mind.  (It would be nice if Brammo would work with some third party vendors so I could buy lighting kits with a wiring harness made for an Empulse!)

My biggest issues are:
  1) Need side and top case for work and longer trips.
  2) Windshield would be nice if a tiny bit of extra range comes out of it.
  3) Would have liked the range to be a little bit better at 45-55 MPH (I can't go much slower)
  4) For long future trips.. I wish pay for charging was cheaper.  It's cheaper to drive my Prius than to charge with Blink.  It's not a big deal... it just bugs me.

[protomech]

Personally, I have no regrets.

Well.. in fairness, it would be difficult to have regrets over a gifted bike : P

The Enertia definitely seems to be holding up better than the 2010-era Zero bikes. I suspect that will extend to the Empulse as well.

My real regrets will happen if/when a new version with LED headlights, fairing, and more range comes out.  At that point the resale value of what I have will be low enough to force me to keep it.  That's the cost of being an early adopter.

...  4) For long future trips.. I wish pay for charging was cheaper.  It's cheaper to drive my Prius than to charge with Blink.  It's not a big deal... it just bugs me.

2012 Zero owners have already gone through the denial/anger/pleading/depression/acceptance of the "next year better" cycle ; ) People are probably better off on the whole if they can just enjoy the bike they bought and ignore the urge to upgrade.

At 3.3 kW, charging at AL residential rates costs $0.25/hour. So $1/hour for Blink is pretty high. But it's worth it to me if EVSE availability means the difference between riding electric or taking another means of transportation.

150 Wh/mile Empulse @ $1/hour 3 kW costs $0.05/mile. A 50 mpg Prius @ $3.50/gal still costs $0.07/mile. Are you just using guest charging on the Blink network ($2/hour)?

[skuzzle]

My real regrets will happen if/when a new version with LED headlights, fairing, and more range comes out.  At that point the resale value of what I have will be low enough to force me to keep it.  That's the cost of being an early adopter.

2012 Zero owners have already gone through the denial/anger/pleading/depression/acceptance of the "next year better" cycle ; ) People are probably better off on the whole if they can just enjoy the bike they bought and ignore the urge to upgrade.

I agree.  Still its difficult when you get to the "Wow I could have had a V8" point.

...  4) For long future trips.. I wish pay for charging was cheaper.  It's cheaper to drive my Prius than to charge with Blink.  It's not a big deal... it just bugs me.

At 3.3 kW, charging at AL residential rates costs $0.25/hour. So $1/hour for Blink is pretty high. But it's worth it to me if EVSE availability means the difference between riding electric or taking another means of transportation.

150 Wh/mile Empulse @ $1/hour 3 kW costs $0.05/mile. A 50 mpg Prius @ $3.50/gal still costs $0.07/mile. Are you just using guest charging on the Blink network ($2/hour)?

My Blink charging would be at $1.50 hour, with partial hours rounded up to the next hour.  A complete charge of the Empulse would take 4 charged hours on level 2.  At my usually zipping around mode I think that I charge at around 20 miles an hour.

This summer I'm planning on taking some time off and doing a slow scenic drive of about 250 miles each way.  I think that I can cruise on back roads at 45 MPH and charge every 70 or so miles.  For the most part my only remote option is either Blink or Walgreens.  There are very few ChargePoint stations.  Normally I charge at work, which is free, so I have nothing to really complain about.  One nice thing about Blink is their cost structure keeps most of the chargers empty  .  Hopefully the side/top cases will be available for my trip September (2013).

[FrankH]

I am often a bit shocked at the many reliability and warranty stories over there, and the lack of similar stories here.  I always kind of wonder if the folks who hang out here are so supportive of Brammo that they are less likely to report such things on the forum, or are the fewer numbers of Brammos on the road leading to fewer issues due to pure percentage, or are Brammos just built better.

I must say that I was hesitant about coming out with my bad Enertia Plus experiences here (all those Service Req'd error codes I kept getting, and when it needed a restart in the middle of a tunnel).
And the fact that the loaner Enertia I got also broke down with error codes gave me the feeling that with these bikes, there's only a thin line between a working bike and one that keeps failing. 
A bad thing about owning a Brammo in the Netherlands is that there's no real dealer here. The shop I bought mine is a friendly electric-bicycle shop with no knowledge or training from Brammo, so even getting my bike serviced because it got to 1000 km on the odometer is not a simple matter of making an appointment there.

But in the end, I'm super happy with my bike and I don't regret having bought it. After the great amount of effort put in by Brammo Service in Germany, my Plus hasn't failed me once. And if you ever need an ego boost, all it takes is to park it somewhere in a busy spot and wait for the positive reactions you get from people. Even when they don't notice it's electric, the design really stands out.

[Rano]

I now got about 1900 km on my Plus. Since my last hilly trip I got a S59 overheat error, followed by a S58 error. The problem is now, that also after 3 days now the power has been reduced dramtically.
Today I contacted my dealer, and I am pretty sure that Brammo will find the problem soon.

Other experience - very good!

[Rano]

Got a new engine, the magnets have been at their end. Now, I at about km 3500, I like my bike again. 

[frodus]

You mean motor?

[Rano]

I mean the thing which makes the bike drive. motor.