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[radams]

Wow!

http://hellforleathermagazine.com/2009/11/brammo-enertia-drops-price-to.html

[skadamo]

Haha, i posted this in the News section. I think it is worth a double post

Basically, Bramscher implies that the price of a given technological (is that a word?) iteration of an electric motorcycle will come down the way they do with electronics. 33% in this case. How about them apples.

http://brammofan.wordpress.com/2009/11/10/get-set-go-brammo-enertia-now-7995/

Side note: this is before tax credits...

@brammofan said: Brammo Enertia $7995 - fed tax credit ($800) = $7195. Minus $1500 tax credit in Oregon = $5695 ! What about your State?

[skadamo]

Honestly I am skeptical that we will see another 33% drop in the current iteration of the Enertia in the next few years but I hope I'm wrong.

[guity]

So does radams get a refund?

[picasso]

WOW tempting! If only CA would fund the rebate account.

[radams]

So does radams get a refund?

I received an email yesterday from Brammo informing me that I would be reading about the price drop today and to "Rest assured we will be passing on this saving to you at the earliest opportunity". That sounds like a refund to me. 

I still can't believe the price drop... I am very happy with the bike, and with that new price it's a great deal! This really is a game changer.

[Brammofan]

So does radams get a refund?

I received an email yesterday from Brammo informing me that I would be reading about the price drop today and to "Rest assured we will be passing on this saving to you at the earliest opportunity". That sounds like a refund to me. 

I still can't believe the price drop... I am very happy with the bike, and with that new price it's a great deal! This really is a game changer.

"Game change" is definitely an apt way to describe this.  Trying to think of any other big ticket product that announced a 33% discount like this, and I can't come up with one.

[skadamo]

Radams, that is so cool. I honestly did not expect that they would refund you money but I was very hopeful. Proves Brammo is more than a company and the investors behind them have not taken over. Love it!

[NomadRip]

I thought you might be one of the people not as excited to hear about the price drop. That is just awesome. I love Brammo.

[guity]

So does radams get a refund?

I received an email yesterday from Brammo informing me that I would be reading about the price drop today and to "Rest assured we will be passing on this saving to you at the earliest opportunity". That sounds like a refund to me. 

I still can't believe the price drop... I am very happy with the bike, and with that new price it's a great deal! This really is a game changer.

Wow!  These Brammonian guys are really kicking some butt right now!  Congratulations radams, it looks like you made a great decision to go with the Brammo. 

[skadamo]

guity, next question is will other mfr's follow suit? Electric Motorsport probably won't since their bikes are made to order. That is really cool flexibility but probably eats into their profit margin. Seems like every GPR-S is one off. Guess we will wait and see.

[guity]

Skadamo, I really don't think EM can match this kind of pricing.  I think Brammo is biting the bullet on price to achieve market share, which is not really an option for a smaller company like EM.  So for now Brammo has totally out maneuvered Electric Motorsport, the smaller company, and Zero, the slower more expensive company.  I wonder what Brammo's plan looks like as far as making a profit is concerned?  I guess while they establish market share they are figuring the cost of goods sold will get lower and lower until they are actually making money at those prices.  So if their pockets are deep enough to keep selling at these prices for long enough, maybe Brammo can dominate this market...

I still only feel slightly dumb for buying a GPR-S, because I have had so much fun with the damned thing over the past couple months when no other options were available...

[skadamo]

The joys of early adoption. It could be a lot worse. I bought a Cannondale e440 back in 02. That was stupid LOL. But I was passionate about the product.

You have a solid product from a company that has been doing this a long time. I am enjoying your reports on it so maybe I am a little selfish.

You are probably right about Brammo scenario. The Enertia is probably a "loss leader" / move to gain marketshare and demad for future products. Sounds like they plan to sell 10,000 units.

This announcement comes after Brammo produced its 100th motorcycle, meaning the Oregon-based production line has passed its initial shakedown tests and is now capable of producing up to 10,000 bikes per year. That volume may seem ambitious, but Brammo already has plans to open two more Best Buy retail locations in the San Francisco area in the next few days and hopes to expand to all 20 stores that already carry other personal transportation devices. Additionally, bikes are available directly from the company.

[leph]

IMHO Honda will bury all these marginal startups in a year or two when they enter this space. Just a matter of time.

Re Bramscher's idea that these bikes will become mass commodites akin to cellphones and the like, I find this to be a very dicey and ill-conceived concept given the huge discrepancies in scale, mfg and support costs, etc. (See Vectrix et al.) And the recent pricing debacle only tells me Brammo failed to do the most basic marketing research before releasing these at $12K.

Bottom line: this is a niche market product suited only to short-distance commuting. Brammo's own people are admitting that if you pin the throttle out on the highway your run time will be all of 20 minutes/miles. How many consumers will be content with this very limited range even at $8K?
And how can you possibly equate these bikes with a mass market commodity like cellphones? Makes no sense. I give them 24 months before they fold their tent.

[guity]

I'm not sure where you get the "24 months" prediction -- you might have a better feel for how Brammo is capitalized, and be able to calculate how long before the money will run out. 

But another aspect of Brammo's plan is that even if they drive themselves into the ground financially, they might well end up winning anyway by generating a substantial market share.  This is because some major player like Honda could easily decide to buy them out with enough pocket change to make the failed venture very profitable...