2014 Brammo Empulse R Review

Brammo is in a unique position, being a small company in the ever-advancing electric motorcycle world. It has the ability to adapt quickly to change. Case in point? The 2014 Brammo Empulse R. We’ve ridden the mighty Brammo a few times over the past 18 months, and while the bike you see in these pictures might appear identical to the ones we’ve ridden before, a peek under its skin will reveal several updates.
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[@YoushaAhmad]

It seems that the electric motorcycle industry is evolving much quicker than the electric car industry. I must applaud.

[@Adrastos34]

They cut that price to about 10-11k and increase the range up to 150miles and I would absolutely buy one.

[@LemonySnicket-EUC]

They have cut the price by 6k

[@nerdglider]

I honestly think when charging stations become more common the issue of range will become less problematic, especially when charge times goes down.

[@LukeFlegg]

I'm confused why people think it's expensive to buy? How much have you spent buying fossil fuel already in your life? (polluting the air and causing diplomatic tension across countries) In my opinion, this is just what it costs to pay for our childrens' future, not steal it.

[@odokeesmalls2335]

Looks Awsome!

[@flitsies]

Just thought of another few potential issues, in some countries and parts of the USA they suffer extreme weather conditions going very cold and wet including snow, how do these perform under these conditions?

[@Fathead758]

Can u get regen from braking or is the tech not there yet

[@churchofmarcus]

The point is not to save money. The point is to feel good about your fun. I for one like the idea of commuting gas, c02 and oil free. Unfortunately i can't afford to.

[@ThrottleKnife]

I feel good about my riding on a gas bike already so that dosn't fly, If Al Gore and made up hockeystick curves are crying because of it doesn't bother my one bit. Only reason to get a electric is if they make them good enough to be a straight swap when it comes to performance, price, looks and with range of a full tank of gas on standard gas bike, And that has to be combined with either cheaply replaced or non-deteriorating batteries. Then i would get it to make the riding cheaper and because full torque across the range sounds fun.-

[@hawkermustang]

ThrottleKnife This makes dumb rich liberals feel like they are captain save the planet.

[@CharlesJones40]

I am in Texas. How would I find out about the charging stations in TX? Is there a cellphone app for that?

[@flitsies]

This is definitely one of better thought out motorcycles on the market today, just a couple things though, 1 battery life still a bit short, 2 no fairing for weather protection and radio installation. But other than that I would buy one, 6 speed gearbox to keep power usage low yes, good looks yes reasonably quick yes. So far everything I've seen about this bike is pretty much good. What is the tank for though other than housing a charge point?

[@Death666wish]

"I'm so sorry, I didn't hear him coming!!"

[@Death666wish]

***** Yes, because I'll believe you and disbelieve my ears...

[@michaellovell2518]

Just put a train horn on it.

[@phreakwars]

I just read that Polaris has acquired Brammo, and will be making them in Spirit Lake Iowa along side the Victory, Indian and Slingshot. That's gonna be a huge bump for the electric bikes. They'll surely go far with Polaris taking them under their wing.

[@1975acidburn]

Turn off would be charging time, and locations that actually has the ability to charge the bike. Also is there an alternative way to charge like plugging into a wall outlet without any type of bulky charging adapters or devices

[@numberxx7]

OUt of a wall outlet - Zero motorcycles. And their SR has 106 ft/lb torque..

[@PT111111]

Why do you need transmission for electric motors? They got their max torque from the get go.

[@JoeGP]

well for almost the same reason as gas motors, to make the best use out of the power, but also in an opposite way (not for the torque but for the high speed) Also a lot of guys like shifting for some reason.

[@Zanpaa]

Exactly. A manual transmission with fixed gears is very much a sub-optimal choice for an electric motor.

[@MatthewShermanHappy420]

its about time all electric cars/vehicles come with transmissions, it can improve performance in many ways!!

[@PT111111]

Joe G.P. I'd rather do away with the transmission and add more battery cells for better range. Shifting is only awesome when you got the noise to go with it. A buzzing/whizzing sound just ain't the same.

[@mghought2599]

Transmissions multiply torque by dividing speed. Without a transmission, either acceleration or top speed (or both) would suffer depending on which single gear ratio you choose to replace it with.

[@crisdavid803]

Do these come in automatic transmission?

[@eternitynaut]

Now called Victory Empulse TT and no, it's not automatic as of yet and likely will never be, they'd rather use a single speed instead if the option was ever made available.

[@timjones1863]

The bikes are cool, very cool. If the riders get a bit closer they could jump start themselves. The guy behind the other could scratch his pals balls if he wanted. How about a bit of space, you know a gap of a few yards. Not inches. Maybe the boys are a item?

[@abadijaya81]

just add some sound synthesizer, so we can choose sound of inline4, L, V, or boxer engine, that'll be fun! :D

[@CharlesJones40]

And what about the charging time? If it is taking 7 hours to get a full charge, then how practical is this for long distance travel?

[@DreamboyCAT]

Charging time to 100% is about 3 hours. And you have 80% in about 2 hours.

[@redsmaroon8906]

Does Troy (Associate Editor) family from indonesia? his last name sound indonesian

[@HanScorpion20]

Oh wait I think there is something missing -yeah that's right - THE SOUND

[@numberxx7]

I am surprised they use heavy chain.. The belt, as used on Zero, is virtually no maintenance and lasts forever.. Also, two riders or one??

[@grimr550]

New eara stuff bra!!!!

[@RobinDobbie]

Kinda surprising you can't just turn the key and go. At least you don't have to wait for the bike to get up to temperature like you should do with a gas bike.

[@TheCanadianCyclist]

I'd ride that!

[@joseeduarmendoza1113]

How velocity haves

[@joaosoares3719]

Hmm?

[@tonikirilov3925]

I,ve got a Hornet 600, but let's face the reality, sooner or later oil will be over, and that's the future of bikes and cars

[@Wookflu420]

I live near the factory to this place

[@leftcoaster67]

Sounds like Tie Fighters!

[@orastojames7468]

This really e bike by you need to work on your charging system it should be in build so that you do not waste time charging at the charging station, other wise the i dea and your project it's really brilliant men keep it up.

[@KelvinSmoke]

I would love to check this out....but its price is to close to that of a superbike with performance of a 500.

[@LemonySnicket-EUC]

6k price drop

[@wafi0123]

Doesn't matter motor got torque transmission need to manage the torque in a low rpm high speed...or high rpm high climbing power..fix pulley drive zero if need to torque high to high speed but gearbox helps to keep motors in less rpm to high speed.

[@Auronkatamail]

Considering that in many countries electric power comes from fossil fuel or nuclear energy, I see a lot of time for them to be useful.

[@michaellovell2518]

Water cooled so you can "enjoy that power all day long," but after 70 miles, you're sitting at a charging station with over 3 hours left to charge? Sounds legit...

[@govnor1495]

These bikes are cool. This is a good testing bed for electric bikes. Sure, the range is crap, they're over the top expensive and the re-charge takes forever, but in their favor electric motors last forever with no maintenance and these are good looking machines. If you have a lot of money laying around and live in a big city this thing would be perfect. If I had a million in the bank I would definitely buy one as a toy. That said I just paid $8500 for a brand new Kawasaki Z1000. It will take a while before electric bikes and the price point match up.

[@africanhistory]

In 6 years the price will drop to compete with gas bikes. I am sure in our lifetime we will own one. I care about the environment so I can give up the perks of petrol and go silent and green.

[@jaasonbee]

3 hour charge to get back home 70 miles.....not quite appealing enough yet.

[@MatthewShermanHappy420]

nice review fellas, alot better than your previous electric bike reviews! keep up the good work! you never realize how in-convenient convenience stations are until you never have to go to one again! fuck fossil fuel and their dark energy denialist consumers of death...killing the world one tank at a time

[@wafi0123]

Sugar and Algae batteries are coming then you guys will see the power ....

[@bentaylor9248]

Fuck electric bike I need the deep growl of the engine

[@lionnelari9361]

Useless bike. Why wouldnt u ride a bike with sick awesome sounds like an R6 or R1? Bikers need loud machine no toilet flashing sound. Damn.

[@TheRacerRich]

70 mile range is pretty useless. Much of the country doesn't have a gas station every 70 miles, let alone a charging port.

[@AngryRoomba692]

In Switzeland, whe don't have distances like you in the USA. So why not;)

[@TheRacerRich]

Joel Studer Having been to Switzerland many times, if I were so lucky as to live there I would find a way to ride at least 100 miles every single day.Such a beautiful country.

[@saksit247]

TheRacerRich ...this wasn't made to ride across the country. I have been riding since 2006 (not an expert by any means) but it is rare that I will put up triple digits during one ride. Most commuter ride 25-35 miles. This is what this bike is made for.

[@TheRacerRich]

saksit247 I guess it just is the way I enjoy motorcycling: my only vehicle is my motorcycle for the last 2 years, so I do plenty of commuting, but the real enjoyable motorcycling doesn't start until I'm doing at least 300 miles in a day.

[@Mikolaj_u]

Looks really good. Way too expensive though. The entire point of an electric bike is to save money. Charging, as near as makes no difference, 20k for one doesn't make ANY sense at all.

[@LemonySnicket-EUC]

6k price drop.

[@saksit247]

Mikolaj1406 ......Other points of this bike include helping the environment, not having to ever pay for gas again, and virtually zero maintenance.

[@lionnelari9361]

Stupid bike

[@astifcaulkinyeras]

Reminds me of those silly toys made by Wham-O.

[@c__walker__jr]

wham-o makes toys capable of 100mph?

[@saksit247]

C. Walker and cost $18,000? Man your parents got ripped off when they bought your toys ryan.

[@weirdshibainu]

People also said that beta tape would fail...wait..never mind.

[@laxdog6515]

Dude Really? Electric Bikes are the only avail review? When do the new gas eaters come out? Ps. Thanks for chatting in that coffee house in Seattle. My kids asked if you were my KZbin Hero. When you review a gas bike, maybe.

[@Gixxer983]

Zero SR

[@joaosoares3719]

70 mile range for $19k? We're a looooong way from these bikes being anything more than a toy for the rich...

[@homeontherange733]

They are having a sale right now with a brand new 2013 going for 10,000!

[@rocaho001]

They have a $17k Zero electric motorbike that has a 180 mile range.

[@Dallas-Nyberg]

Toys for Yuppies

[@boarder989]

Yep I'm so sick of seeing these electrics "bikes/vehicles"!

[@DragoVids]

Get used to it, assuming society doesnt crumble before then this is the future

[@LemonySnicket-EUC]

Alexander Dragomir agree.

[@hanestetico]

Brammo / Brembo ahahah 'Sti americani so peggio dei cinesi!

[@grimr550]

New eara stuff bra!!!!