Brammo, makers of the electric Empulse and Enertia motorcycles, announced the release of an upgraded Enertia Plus with a doubled operating range of 80 miles. This has been made possible by adopting the Empulse-style Lithium-ion 6 kWh battery.
@FunkmasterFlex

Other refinements accompany this change. First, the plug-in charging process has been simplified. Second, starting the vehicle is now a key-only operation, rather than the previous key-and-button sequence.

The Empulse 6 kWh battery has a recharge time of 2.4 hours from a 220V line (as used to power electric clothes dryers) or 8 hours on a 110V household outlet.

Steering has been lightened by increasing fork offset to reduce trail. Handlebars now come an inch closer to the rider, which is said to considerably increase comfort. This model has also been homologated for European sales, a process that required a tighter turning capability.

There is an option for hard bags—useful in this machine’s likely principal application as a commuter or shopping vehicle. To increase machine appeal to fleet operators, a centerstand has been added. Four new colors are offered: Eclipsed Black, Aluminum Silver, True Blood-Red or Peacekeeping Blue.

CEO Craig Bramscher mentioned his company’s alliance with Flextronics, a large supplier of electronics services, saying that it moves his products to higher value more quickly than simple reliance on by-the-component purchasing. Although it is possible to build electric vehicles from equipment catalogs, this “science-fair approach” ignores the gains to be made by engineering the vehicle as an integrated system of designed-for-the-job elements.

There may be some early Enertia buyers wanting to know if their machines can be upgraded to the new specification. As this is not easily done, these owners will be offered a $2500 factory rebate if they buy a new model at the suggested retail of $8995.

Bramscher noted that the Federal tax credit for purchase of such a plug-in electric vehicle is “at least 10 percent” under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and that at state level, tax credits or incentives may provide another 10-20 percent, leaving the final price in the $5000-6000 range.

-Kevin Cameron