I don't know how many electric race bikes you've built, but I haven't built any. It seems like a hard job.
Definitely true that Brammo is playing on another level from the smaller groups.
A manual transmission may well come to the RR. I'm not convinced a transmission makes sense for a commuter bike, but it definitely has applications for motorsports. I don't know if SMRE designed the (10-13 kw?) motor in the IET used for the Encite/Engage dirt bikes; I suspect adapting the (60 kw?) Parker motor to an IET package will be a significant design effort and may have little relation to the production Empulse. Look for updates here soon.
Batteries are still the killer where weight is concerned. Commuter bikes will use energy along the order of 100-125 wh/mile; race bikes are closer to 400-500 wh/mile. The LE batteries are very good, around 220 wh/kg; just the cells for 12.5 kwh of battery will weigh around 57 kg or 125 pounds. How much does a full gas tank weigh?
The RR has 25% more battery than the Empulse 10.0, which has a quoted weight of 420 lbs (and adds 15 lbs for each kwh, so an Empulse 12.5 should be around 460 lbs). It also has a fairing, beefier motor, brakes and tire which will all add weight vs the Empulse streetbike. 475 lbs is heavy vs a gas race bike, but still lighter than many of Brammo's competitors. 2010 e1pc and lightning motors bikes are 525 lbs. We'll see what they bring for this year's races.
The Empulse RR's brakes are entirely unrelated to the Empulse streetbike. Don't worry so much about branding!
