Test Ride: Brammo Enertia Electric Motorcycle
Cooler Than a Scooter, But Just As Easy—The Brammo Enertia
Brammo is rolling out test bikes at Best Buy locations as quickly as they can, and on Sunday I had a chance to take one for a spin at Best Buy in El Segundo, CA. David, Brammo’s Service Manager and Josh, Brammo’s Southern California Marketing Manager, were on hand to answer questions about the bike—of which I had plenty.
There was only one bike available for us to test and it only had 55% of battery life in it when I took for a test ride, which held me back from going all out because I was trying to keep it alive for others to test it after me. Even so, I managed to reduce it to 29% battery life in 20 minutes.
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To conserve the battery, I took my time getting up to 55 mph to join the flow of traffic on Sepulveda, which was an interesting experience (death defying?). I currently ride a 166 HP bike, so it’s a bit unfair to compare the Brammo Enertia to that, but keeping in mind my early days of riding, the Enertia was plenty fast for a new rider.
The bike has a cute pushbutton starter where you might expect a gas cap, and it makes a noise through a tiny speaker to let you know it’s starting up. They explained to me that Brammo may even make custom sounds available, to make firing up the silent beast a little more fun. Silence is definitely not golden when you’re on a vehicle nobody sees, so it won’t be long before the motorcycle version of “ringtones for cars” becomes available.
How Much Does Size Matter?
Do not be deceived by the photograph of the 6′ tall test rider, this is a full-sized motorcycle. The Enertia is comfortable and fun, and definitely handles much more like a real motorcycle than the last entry-level motorcycle I rode, a BMW F650CS. Thankfully, BMW no longer manufactures that mistake. The Enertia’s pegs are so low my friends were able to scrape the pegs just making tight turns in the parking lot. The seating position is upright, with a cool café racer style seat that can also be customized. David explained that they will be offering a version with a slightly lower seat, as seat height is often an issue for new riders as well.
Brammo’s main target is new riders, and they feel that e-bikes are ideal starter bikes because the lack of a gearbox drastically simplifies the learning process. Given that there is already so much for a new rider to pay attention to, it’s good if they have one less thing to learn. However, the powerband was also severely and intentionally crippled, both to keep new riders from abusing the massive torque electric motors are capable of and to conserve the batteries. This is something I’d want to modify immediately, but then, I’m not their target customer. And no matter how many ways and times I asked, they still insisted nobody would be allowed to test-ride their $50,000+ podium-finishing TTXGP bike.
Photo Courtesy Brammo Racing
The Enertia handled well enough in the curves I invented in the parking lot, and the two bends I encountered on the test ride. However, the battery will not last long enough to get from Venice Beach to the Rock Store, so it’s still not quite ready for serious canyon carving. Charging time is 3.5 hours to full charge, and the battery will last about 30 minutes at 55mph.
I wouldn’t recommend this bike for normal Los Angeles commuting, as the range and acceleration just aren’t quite adequate. Your typical scooterist may disagree and think it’s plenty powerful, which it probably is for cities with calmer drivers. However, the aggressive nature of Los Angeles area traffic requires a vehicle capable of responding in kind, and the Enertia is not that bike. I doubt the Zero S is either, but I tested that in completely different circumstances.
In case you’re not a lime fan, rest assured the Enertia isn’t only available in “Kawasaki,” err, I mean, “Subliminal” Green, it’s also sold in four other lovely colors. It’s great to see an American-made electric motorcycle in production and capable of filling the needs of most normal commuters. With the 10% tax credit and drastically lower maintenance costs, the price tag on these bikes is even decent. Add up what you’d spend in gas and oil changes before balking at the price. On my 35mpg motorcycle that adds up to about $1,000/year for gas and oil.
Good review. I wish I’d had time to test ride. It’s perfect for over here.
“With the 10% tax credit and drastically lower maintenance costs, the price tag on these bikes is even decent. Add up what you’d spend in gas and oil changes before balking at the price.”
Um, OK, so what IS the retail price? I would think that would be one of the most important pieces of information for your readers.
Hey, I like my BMW F650CS. It gets 60 mpg, goes for 200 miles, only takes 2 minutes to refuel but can go 110 mph if you want or 75 all day long. It has ABS brakes and heated grips. Handling is excellent. The Brammo may be a cool tech novelty, but it will never be a serious bike with its limited range, limited speed, long fill-up time and high cost.
Nevermind, I found the retail price in another story: $11,995 base price (although you can get a 10% federal tax credit on the purchase price). Yikes! And batteries will last for about 35K miles, after which they can be replaced for $3000.
Nice High Heels in the photo.
I am supposed to take a reviewer who is wearing torn jeans, high heals, and has a messenger bag slung over her shoulder to ride a motorcycle seriously? Then you throw in an insult to a non-comparable BMW you previously reviewed. If you want anyone to respect the bike reviews you do, you are going to have to try harder.
I think this is another feel good but not really so good idea. If I wanted a comparable gas bike I’d be getting 60mpg on a bike with a huge range and a very comparable ecological foot print. How many toxins are being put into the air by the plants that generate the electricity these things need? What are they doing with the extremely toxic batteries that need to be changed every 3,000 miles? Like I said a feel good novelty item not a useful replacement.
>> What are they doing with the extremely toxic batteries that need to be changed every 3,000 miles? <<
They are changed every 35,000 miles, not 3,000. They cost $3,000. According to an article in motorcyle-usa.com, “the old batteries would be re-used in other applications, like backups and power sources for medical equipment.” I don’t know if I would want to be hooked up to a medical device that relied on a used battery, though.
Sasha, so sorry you don’t like my street gear. In 25 years of riding in city traffic, I’ve found a good helmet to be the most important safety gear I need. The few times I’ve crashed, jeans have done me quite well. You should see what I rode in as a teenager…
Actually, the Scarver and the Enertia are both billed as entry level motorcycles, therefore absolutely comparable. I certainly wouldn’t compare either to my R1 or my RS250.
Rich, you’ve got a good point there. The Enertia uses very little electricity to recharge, I forget how much though. Some eco-conscious EV owners do take the extra step and power their vehicles with solar or wind energy.
Ron is right, Lithium Ion batteries last around 35k miles, much longer than the nickel hydride that’s in your gas-powered bike.
This is a great step forward, and it takes brave souls like this pushing the envelope to bring us into the future. Without innovators such as these, we won’t get to the zero-emission, “perfect for everyone” motorcycle we all dream of.