- Motorcycle.com claims the suspension is
fully adjustable. Take with a grain of salt.
- 10.4 kWh is indeed a decent bump in capacity. I suspect this is with a 28s10p battery using the same 10Ah cells.
- 3.6 kW onboard charger is also a small bump. Maybe this is Eltek's
2nd gen Powercharger? The seat-off views sure look like the 1st gen Powercharger still.
- Bold New Graphics! The Victory stickers on the fake tank sure are ugly.
- Price bump to go with the extra battery. It seems like Brammo had trouble moving the bikes even at fire sale pricing; Victory has a rough path ahead of them. But maybe they will be helped by a ...
- Real dealer and support network. This is pretty huge, and honestly probably trumps anything else here. Butts on bikes sell more electrics than all the digital ink spilled.
- No ABS! Zero has been reasonably successful overseas, though not without some struggling. If the Empulse TT sells decently, perhaps a future model will pick up ABS.
- New cast wheels are likely cheaper. A narrower tire is good.. I'm really curious what inputs forced the decision for the 180 width tire on the original Empulse.
At the Empulse's last update, the E1 and 2014 Zero SR both faced off at the $17k price point. I thought that was a fair matchup; the Zero was quicker and lighter, but the more basic Empulse had better equipment and a real level 2 onboard charger.
The basic Empulse has gotten the axe, and that leaves a lightly refreshed Empulse TT at $20k facing off against a $16k Zero SR. Both bikes have 10% more capacity than at the last matchup; the Zero has high quality suspension and ABS brakes now. The Empulse still retains its signature edges: six-speed gearbox, liquid-cooled powertrain, and level 2 charging. But, that price gap!
And when placed in Victory's existing lineup.. it actually lines up okay. None of the Victory bikes are sold on top speed, and the Empulse should be about as fast as the cruisers and faster than the baggers in a straight line. And once you take a turn..
Ultimately the TT bike is not for "us", the electric enthusiasts. Most of us have been riding electric for a couple of years anyways, as soon as production electrics with serious range became available. To us, the TT is boring; small capacity bump, small price bump on top of a light refresh to a bike first introduced 3 years ago. In 3 years Zero has doubled the range of their bikes, doubled the power, and seriously upgraded the quality of the components.. and though that speaks to the room Zero had to grow with their 2012 bikes, it's still disappointing to see only a light refresh of the Empulse.
Instead, the Empulse TT is for the "early mainstream" crowd. Gas riders, who maybe heard something about "those electrics" winning at Pikes Peak or making huge strides at Isle of Man, but never understood what a "Blammo" was. Tesla has done their part to make electrics sexy and desirable; a few years experience with production electrics have put to rest some early concerns about battery longevity (when's the last time you heard doom and gloom about battery life based on cellphone and laptop experience?), and level 2 charging stations are fairly prolific in most larger cities.
Convincing the early mainstream riders that electric is worthwhile will be an uphill road for Victory. $20k is a big scary sticker, but it'll be priced in the middle of all the other bikes on a Victory showroom floor, and I suspect that gives dealers some leeway to haggle with buyers. Polaris has seen a fair bit of success selling the oddball Slingshot, and perhaps they can repeat that with the Empulse.
And you can bet every other traditional manufacturer will be watching with close attention.
