ElectricMotorcycleForum.com
Makes And Models => Brammo Forum => Topic started by: firepower on January 13, 2015, 06:16:31 AM
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After no news of new models late last year and told Brammo announce in New Year, would of expected some news by now.
Strange how they annonce Empulse years before they delivered. ;)
Hope this is not the end of Brammo, we need more EV not less, competition is a good thing.
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I agree. This isn't looking good and I can't imagine why there isn't some sort of news leaking out about 2015 Brammo models even if they wouldn't be delivered for several months. I really thought once Brammo got the backing by Polaris that they would just leave Zero eating their dust. But it seems Polaris didn't buy Brammo so they could become the leader in electric motorcycles.
Competition is a good thing and right now I don't see Brammo being much competition to Zero.
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I have said it before, and I will say it again: I figure that Polaris will start building and selling an updated Empulse through their Victory dealers as a 2016 model. It only makes sense, especially as their VP of motorcycle sales had the Brammo brand listed as one of the motorcycle brands that he was responsible for last summer in an official (and perhaps premature) Polaris press release. They may still rely on Brammo to do the development of future models - at least until their in-house engineers get enough OJT to do it themselves. ;)
What with the "carbon credit" business starting to take off, all major vehicle companies will want an EV line to offset the pollution caused by selling IC vehicles. Even if they have to sell the vehicles at a loss, the carbon credits generated by EV sales make make up the difference in any loss of profits.
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If Victory were to start selling an electric motorcycle I would like to see an electric cruiser. Something along the lines of the Brutus V9. Keep the same size, same basic style that Victory ICE motorcycles currently have. The V9 has a 33.7 kw battery available and a range of over 200 miles. Other than Tesla, few EVs have a battery that big or that kind of range. There is a lot of potential in the basic cruiser design for creating an electric motorcycle. Would be nice to see someone do this.
Victory is known for their cruisers and trying to sell an electric sports bike is something that may not go over well with dealers. Better to give cruiser riders a choice of ICE or electric.
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Ted Dillard did a write up on brammo over on insideevs, unfortunately I can't figure out how to paste the link on my phone :o
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http://insideevs.com/brammo-speaks-rumors-closing-doors-mass-layoffs/ (http://insideevs.com/brammo-speaks-rumors-closing-doors-mass-layoffs/)
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"Stewart assured us there’d be news to follow within a few weeks. He quite frankly said there’s a lot up in the air as to the “final†arrangements and decisions, and nobody really knows for sure how things will shake out."
The article was posted "a month ago"...
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Looking back now a very interesting quote. Could be refering to whether or not Brammo stays in the electric motorcycle business. That conversation with Ted would have been the perfect time to drop hints about what features were coming on a 2015 Brammo if there is in fact going to be one. Brammo is definitely operating in a different world than the rest of the motorcycle community if they are staying in the motorcycle business. With many 2015 models already in the hands of customers and news of them having been out for months the fact that Brammo has shown nothing is not a good sign.
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Here is the latest from Ted: http://insideevs.com/new-years-predictions-brammo-polaris-empulse-2015-op-ed/ (http://insideevs.com/new-years-predictions-brammo-polaris-empulse-2015-op-ed/)
While Ted doesn't think that Polaris would have a use for Brammo technology in their utility vehicles, I think it would work very well in their jet skis and snowmobiles. Both of those vehicles are under heavy pressure from environmental regulators in many areas of the country. Making them run on batteries would solve a lot of issues and potentially open up riding areas on lakes and federal lands where they are prohibited due to the pollution that their IC engines cause. They probably wouldn't need the transmission tech for these uses though. ;)
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I want an electric jetski so bad then I could use it in the very restricted Monterey bay. O my Lordy that would be fun
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Sort of sad to say it, but I nailed it.
http://insideevs.com/polaris-buys-electric-motorcycle-brammo/ (http://insideevs.com/polaris-buys-electric-motorcycle-brammo/)
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While Ted doesn't think that Polaris would have a use for Brammo technology in their utility vehicles, I think it would work very well in their jet skis and snowmobiles.
If I had to guess it will be an electric motorcycle, probably another empulse type bike, but the cruiser sounds like it could be a possibility in the future. It's just most of the current cruiser crowd I've ever met seems a little slow to adopt new things, so my guess the market is a lot less for now.
As far as a jet ski or snowmobile? While a good idea from an environmental standpoint, difficult from a practical one. I was discussing this with a friend of mine and he mentioned how there aren't any small displacement machines like this for a reason. Most have huge engines like 1100, 1200 cc and higher. The power requirement to push through snow or water is many times higher than rolling down the road.
So not only sustained power would need to higher as far as power delivery, but the battery might need to be so large as to be cost preventative for a decade or more or until a major size, weight, cost breakthrough is achieved. Having a jetski that runs for 3-4 minutes before it needs to dock and charge for an hour might not be fun. And a snowmobile that does the same, and then either won't charge because of low temperatures or has voltage and power sag after running for a few minutes could have issues with consumer adoption as well.
So based on what I've seen in the electric motorcycle industry from between 2006 and 2015, I'm not counting any chickens in the alternative powersports industry for perhaps a decade or more, and even then it will be mostly a novelty item for those who need the silence factor and can afford the highest end toys money can buy. Because one thing is certain: These will not be affordable by most people, or be severely limited in their performance or both for quite a while.
However all profitability and practicality aside, I'd love to see one of these available too!
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Although a counterpoint to the slow adoption of new technology of the cruiser crowd is that they are getting older and having simpler technology (no clutch or maintenance) will be a draw for some. Even though riding without a clutch takes getting used to for those with years of experience.
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Good point Terry. But then I live in a place where it never snows and I have never seen a snowmobile in person. Plus, jet skis have been run out of the ocean and our lakes are so low right now that jet skis would work better as air-boats powered by fans. Say, maybe an electric-powered air boat would work for alligator hunter in the Bayou. ::)
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While Ted doesn't think that Polaris would have a use for Brammo technology in their utility vehicles, I think it would work very well in their jet skis and snowmobiles.
If I had to guess it will be an electric motorcycle, probably another empulse type bike, but the cruiser sounds like it could be a possibility in the future. It's just most of the current cruiser crowd I've ever met seems a little slow to adopt new things, so my guess the market is a lot less for now.
As far as a jet ski or snowmobile? While a good idea from an environmental standpoint, difficult from a practical one. I was discussing this with a friend of mine and he mentioned how there aren't any small displacement machines like this for a reason. Most have huge engines like 1100, 1200 cc and higher. The power requirement to push through snow or water is many times higher than rolling down the road.
So not only sustained power would need to higher as far as power delivery, but the battery might need to be so large as to be cost preventative for a decade or more or until a major size, weight, cost breakthrough is achieved. Having a jetski that runs for 3-4 minutes before it needs to dock and charge for an hour might not be fun. And a snowmobile that does the same, and then either won't charge because of low temperatures or has voltage and power sag after running for a few minutes could have issues with consumer adoption as well.
So based on what I've seen in the electric motorcycle industry from between 2006 and 2015, I'm not counting any chickens in the alternative powersports industry for perhaps a decade or more, and even then it will be mostly a novelty item for those who need the silence factor and can afford the highest end toys money can buy. Because one thing is certain: These will not be affordable by most people, or be severely limited in their performance or both for quite a while.
However all profitability and practicality aside, I'd love to see one of these available too!
Dual battery mmx setup (what you need for a jetski) would give you about 20 min of fun per charge
But my lord it would be a fun 20 min
Terry Monterey bay is off limit to jetskis only because of environmental protection, so being the first to use one in the bay would be elocally fun
I just want to get some air of a wave or 2