Empulse Launch Event!

[FreepZ]

The Empulse winner was just announced.

First of all, the 6 finalists were notified before hand, so if you weren't notified, you wouldn't even be in the final drawing (I guess they had to make sure that the winners were still active).

The winner sounded (to me) like Jamel Chan, from Colorado. Congratulations!

[EmpulseRider]

I swear I about crapped myself when they said it was someone from CO. 1416, is from CO as well i believe. I am going to see if I can move some mountains to get the R... wish me luck. I got 7k for my gixxer, + the 6k rebate leaves a healthy 6k gap. Ouch . I will get one or the other for sure.

[jonnyd76]

I swear I about crapped myself when they said it was someone from CO. 1416, is from CO as well i believe.

Same here, I'm 745 I think, and from CO

[karlInSanDiego]

photos of R on website now
http://www.brammo.com/brammogallery_empulse/

[karlInSanDiego]

I think the pillion grab rail is the only positive news for me this week.  Priced me out of wanting one.  Shoulda known their earlier quote$ were horseshite.

[amahoser]

Im in the same boat. Its realistically out of my price range but I still want it. I have a lot to think about but for a commuter vehicle, the Zero is looking better and better

Jose Soriano

[amahoser]

Personal opinion, I think they priced themselves out of the realistic market. I have a bunch of bikes and I consider myself  an avid motorcyclist. For Canyon Carving, I want a bike that handles well, performs and I don't have to worry about range or charging. For a commuter, I want reliable transportation that has the range and speed I need. They created a canyon carver that has too limited a range for a Sunday blast through the canyons. Only those who are enamored with the  technology will purchase (Heck, I am ALMOST one of those guys!). When I do a canyon run, I regularly do 150 miles a day. The Empulse wont be enough.  As a commuter, its very expensive and uses race spec parts that I wont need. I was hoping the non R would be close to the 14k (I was really hoping 15k at the most) and then it would be a no brainer between the Empulse and the Zero.

The Zero seems like the perfect commuter bike (if the range is enough for your commute). In my opinion, its still pricey (when you consider the parts used) but thats  the price of new battery tech but at least it does fill a niche... commuting. It isn't a race bike... for me, thats why I've been looking at these electric bikes for. The range and speed are perfect for my work ride.

The Brammo is a nice technology demonstrator but it is far from practical... do I still want one? Heck Yeah! But the price has me at a stalemate.

I spent some time at Hollywood electric and test rode the Zero. My only complaint is the 0-30mph acceleration. Feels worse than a 150cc scooter. I was hoping a 6 speed brammo would fix that... and it probably does... but the price has me at a quandry.

Do I wait for the 2013 Non R? Do I say screw it and order a R or do I get a Zero?

I have a lot to think about

Jose Soriano

[EmpulseRider]

I reluctantly agree Jose... In my case, with a little one on the way crunching my budget for a bike is honestly not my top priority... without the CO ev rebate, there would be no way I could get an Empulse. I was also kinda hoping someone outside of CO would have won the bike... someone who doesnt get a huge tax break.

[skuzzle]

I was also kinda hoping someone outside of CO would have won the bike... someone who doesnt get a huge tax break.

Maybe the CO tax rebate will disappear by the time the non-R Empulse comes out.  That would make the Empulse R the cheaper of the two bikes!

[protomech]

Zero S vs Empulse:

1. Consider this is an early 2012 bike vs an early 2013 bike (with early premium edition availability).
2. Empulse will be MUCH quicker (likely 3-4s 0-60 vs 10s 0-60).
3. Zero is much lighter, simpler. A little less expensive, but the air is awfully thin around $14-17k.
4. Empulse gets significantly better highway range (+30%).
5. Empulse has a much faster charger. 30 miles @ 55 mph recovered per hour vs 7. Downside is that you need another $600 for J1772 supply equipment for the best charge times, and J1772 stations on the ground are still sparse most places.

My take? Empulse is a better bike, no question, and $17k was my make-or-break price for the Empulse when I bought the Zero. The unknown is that it's really a 2013 bike, and we don't know what Zero will have waiting for this year's EICMA.

Also worth considering: if you can live with the range, the Enertia Plus or the Zero S ZF6 will set you back ~$11k, and the extra $8k spread to the R will get you a very nice used sportbike for your 150 mile canyon runs. Just something to think about .. if 3 hours of hard riding at 50+ mph are your goal, electrics are a fairly long ways off.

[machone]

Is there a video of the launch event anywhere?

I actually got up at 4am but after taking a hit from the unwatchable live stream and the presenter's lack of knowledge I decided to go back to bed. They should have asked Shelina to present, maybe they did..The best thing about it was the twitter commentary; shortly after the first brammo girl interview - 'awkwardness' . Made me smile, even at 4am. I would have liked to have been on the plus, just to hear the commentary there.

Launch events always seem a bit awkward but I think there's a small marketing identity crisis going on in Brammo and yesterday highlighted it. It's difficult to appeal to people who like bull horn motifs and 'ex boyfriend hating 80s esque bikini girls' and eco geeks at the same time isn't it? Maybe Shelina bridges the gap but not a lot else does. You're either annoyed by the price tag and objectification of women or the carbon offset and 'never a gas bike' would be racer.... or all of them.

On the up side, somebody is trying. However, if you're going to do an exclusive live stream event either make it exclusive or make it work. Neither of those things happened yesterday. Maybe I was tired, but I just had a small moment of doubt about why I was product worshiping this product and this company that seems at odds with itself.

Mach one

[protomech]

Shelina did show up on camera for a short bit. Unfortunately, I think the live stream was breaking up at that time.

[grindz145]

I had a blast making snarky comments with the guys in the google hangout last night and watching the o-so-choppy livestream.

My 2 cents from the mathematical side of things:

Don't forget that compared to a conventional bike that gets 40mpg it costs about $100 /1000 miles in gas
This Brammo will cost a negligible amount of energy cost per mile (within the resolution of my figure)

This means that if you plan to ride this bike 50k, you'll pay yourself $5k in the figure back, by riding it. I know alot of people don't put that kind of mileage on, but I certainly do.

Now 12k doesn't hurt QUITE so bad.... still hurts though. For the performance of ALMOST o 600 I'm still digging it like crazy.

[Brammofan]

Launch events always seem a bit awkward but I think there's a small marketing identity crisis going on in Brammo and yesterday highlighted it. It's difficult to appeal to people who like bull horn motifs and 'ex boyfriend hating 80s esque bikini girls' and eco geeks at the same time isn't it? Maybe Shelina bridges the gap but not a lot else does. You're either annoyed by the price tag and objectification of women or the carbon offset and 'never a gas bike' would be racer.... or all of them.

On the up side, somebody is trying.

Mach one

Excellent analysis.  Dude... you need to post more often.

[karlInSanDiego]

4. Empulse gets significantly better highway range (+30%).

The websites of the two manufacturers dispute this and show the opposite:
http://www.zeromotorcycles.com/zero-s/specs.php
Zero S ZF9 - Highway 70mph - range 63 miles

http://www.brammo.com/empulse_specifications/
Empulse R - Highway 70mph - range 56 miles

I'm not convinced both are sincere, but if you take them at their word, Zero S has the better hwy mileage by 7 miles (12.5%).  There is no point comparing the ZF6 to the Empulse R when there's $7,500 price spread.  

I believe Brammo wants the R out in the press for traditional bike mags to do a comparo of ZF9 vs. Empulse R.   They figured out that the two won't look like apples to apples because the price spread and component spec.

Otherwise, I agree with most people's sentiments here that this the dream of Brammo bringing a real bike to market for a realistic price was shattered last night.  I think if they're guilty of anything, it's being too optimistic two years ago.  Too bad.