Hi from Amsterdam (NL)

[FrankH]

Hi all,

I'm Frank from Amsterdam, Netherlands. Seeing the Enertia Plus being advertised as chargeable from a European wall socket, with km/h speedo and all gets my hopes up of becoming one of the first European Enertia riders...

I have no idea however if or when it will be available in Holland, or Europe for that matter. And coming from a Suzuki Intruder background I'm a little worried about it being chain-driven and the amount of maintenance that will incur. Talking about maintenance: will a local dealer be able to deal with all the electronics in the bike? Will they need special training before they can service my bike once I buy it?

see you around,
Frank

[Gavin]

Smarter people than I will give you lots of info soon I bet

Me? Just saying hi and welcome to the forum and that the Enertia Plus, in my opinion, will be perfect for Holland. Electric, quiet, no gas tax or emission tax...and the Netherlands usually gives great incentives for electric transport...heck, Brammo could be successful just selling these motorcycles in the Netherlands alone...

I imagine the Orange version could sell like wild  or should it be called oranje?

Gavin

[Brammofan]

Hi Frank.  I'm not sure about how Brammo is planning to handle service on the electronics of their bikes, but the bulk of the mechanical maintenance would be easily handled by an I.C.E. motorcycle shop.  Truth be told, there isn't much maintenance required.

[Gavin]

Coming from a Shaft Drive to a chain will take some maintenance.

If the Enertia Plus gets an O-ring Chain, the maintenance will be less than currently recommended.

If not, well you can change the chain to an O-ring, or you have to oil the chain every 200 miles or so.

A Shaft Drive is nice, but loses efficiency, something that needs to be optimized on Electric bikes for some time...at least till the batteries are much better...

How many miles do you ride a day? How wet and dusty is it where you ride? Those aspects will influence how often you clean and oil your chain too.

Gavin

Drive shafts have been used on motorcycles almost as long as there have been motorcycles. As an alternative to chain and belt drives, drive shafts offer relatively maintenance-free operation and long life. A disadvantage of shaft drive on a motorcycle is that gearing or a Hobson's joint or similar is needed to turn the power 90° from the shaft to the rear wheel, losing some power in the process. On the other hand, it is easier to protect the shaft linkages and drive gears from dust, sand and mud.

For a gas bike, the advantages overcome some loss of power...but for electrics, well you can't waste any power advantage currently. But hopefully soon...


Gavin


other than the chain, not much maintenance at all on the Brammo it seems.

[FrankH]

...and the Netherlands usually gives great incentives for electric transport...heck, Brammo could be successful just selling these motorcycles in the Netherlands alone...

Apparently Amsterdam has a system with public charging stations that are FREE if your vehicle qualifies (and the Enertia does, you need to be able to drive at least 60km/h and 60 km on a single charge). Free until 2012, that is. So hopefully I won't have to wait that long....


Some of these charging locations are car-only though...

And orange... I ride everyday, so I prefer something that I can use not only on Queen's day...

[Gavin]

you could also ride it during any world cup matches

there must be a soccer match going on in Holland most days of the year...well except winter when everybody is skating...

Gavin

[Phantom]

Hi Frank,

Welcome to the forum. You can also check out the owners manual from Brammo on the Enertia to get an idea of the maintenance invloved. It is on the brammo site and may be part of the wiki, too. I agree with the others who say that there is very little maintenance required compared to an ICE motorcycle.

[GeorgeS]

Don't Oring chains have more loss than non Oring chains?

[Gavin]

From what I've heard...less maintenance--ie oiling--, less stretching, longer life. But more expensive and perhaps a bit more energy use to turn the chain (but likely minimal).

Gavin

[Gavin]

Per BrammoBrian....

We hear you loud and clear.  I've been running an X-ring chain on my personal bike for the past 2,000 miles or so and agree with the main benefits being:

- Lower maintenance - i.e. less frequent lubrication
- Less chain stretch

I'm not sure about lower noise comment though as it sounds about the same, maybe slightly louder to me with a little more drag noticeable in the drivetrain during coasting (one of the reasons we avoided these type chains initially).

We've also done a test on our standard chain cleaned and lubricated every 200 miles with gear oil and the result is that it also stretches less.  The problem is that the lubrication process is a pain in the @ss and the chain flings oil all over the bike (and you).  I know it seems like a no-brainer, but there is a significant cost difference here, so we just need to be sure there's a real measure-able difference after 1,000s of miles of usage.  We're just concluding these tests now, and it does look positive for the o-ring chain.

Gavin

[GeorgeS]

Great input thx gavin!

[oobflyer]

Hi Frank,

I have two bikes, a Honda Shadow, which has a shaft drive, and a Vectrix, which has a hub motor. I haven't had to lubricate a chain in years - I'll have to go buy some chain lubricant when I get my Empulse!

I wonder if Brammo has considered a hub-motor configuration... it seems like a logical progression of technology/efficiciency to get rid of the chain or drive-shaft and replace it with a wire.

[FrankH]

Last week I read something about Michelin (the French tire factory) building an electrical motor inside a (car) wheel. Suspension and brakes too. So that would get rid of the chain and more, in the future...

What's a hub motor by the way?

[Phantom]

You are describing a hub motor. It is a motor is placed in the center of the wheel and it directly spins the wheel. There are hobby electric motorcycle builders that are building bikes this way. I considered using one on a bike that I was going to put together before I purchased from Brammo.

Here is a link to the place in the USA that I had contacted:  http://www.enertrac.net/

They specialized in hub motors for electric motorcycles.

[oobflyer]

The Vectrix hub motor:

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h226/peristaltor/HubMotor.jpg