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[Richard230]

It looks like the Brammo "fire sale" has been extended on all of their models until the end of the year.  A new Brammo Empulse would make a great Christmas present and you can't beat the prices.  All you have to do is to find one:  http://www.brammo.com/us-incentives/

[ultrarnr]

I wonder if "Underwhelming" is a more acurate reason for the sale extension. Also no mention of the Brammo 2015 models.

[Richard230]

Well, it certainly is a mystery to me.  You would think that at those prices all of the 2013 and 2014 Brammo production would be already sold out.    And I agree that it is certainly odd that there has been no mention of Brammo 2015 models at any of the recent motorcycle shows, in the internet rumor mills, or even on the Brammo Fan site.  It certainly makes you wonder.  I really hope that Brammo will be producing 2015 bikes and that they will be a big improvement over the previous models.  But, from a marketing standpoint, you would think they would be promoting the new models now, if for no other reason than to cut into 2015 Zero sales that will commence around the end of this year. 

Just look at what BMW has done with their new water-cooled R and R1200RS models.  Non-running examples have been exhibited at all of the European and U.S. motorcycle shows recently, even though they will not be available for sale in th U.S. until next May and retail prices have not been established yet.  But just the announcement of these new models has many BMW enthusiasts drooling and placing deposits for the RS with their dealers right now.  The same is true for most of the other established motorcycle brands that showed off their new 2015 models and Zero also followed that marketing strategy.  So what is up with Brammo?   

[ultrarnr]

I really thought that when Brammo got backing by Polaris you would really see the brand take off. That you would see Brammo sold where ever there was a Polaris dealer. I thought that would have been the reason for the two companies coming together. Brammo would have tapped into Polaris's R&D budget and just completely blown Zero away. Obviously I was completely wrong on all of this but it sure sounds nice! I am also wondering if we are going to see a 2015 Brammo. Heck, I am wondering if we will see a Mission bike and a Lightening bike in 2015. Energica looks interesting to for 2015. Considering the resources behind that company they could rapidly become the next major e-bike brand here. Time will tell.

[benswing]

Well, at least Lightning has delivered a bike so far. 

[CrashCash]

Yes, I was really surprised to not see Brammo at AIMExpo and I have not heard anything marketing-wise from them.

Everybody, their dog, and their little brother was at AIMExpo. Hell, I even got to meet Abe Askenazi & Scot Harden of Zero!!

[Richard230]

I really expected to see Brammo at Milan as most of their chassis parts and their gearbox come from Italy.  Plus, I thought they were planning to make a real push into Europe next year.   

[oregonrider89]

Am I the only person that suspects brammo will no longer be producing motorcycles?

[Richard230]

Am I the only person that suspects brammo will no longer be producing motorcycles?

No. I felt that way every since I heard about the sale.  And not hearing a peep about Brammo's 2015 models (at this late date in the marketing season) tends to reinforce that thought.   

[ultrarnr]

I agree. If Brammo were to announce today about their 2015 models it would not have nearly the impact it would have had if they brought a 2015 model to one of the major motorcycle shows that were held recently. I checked the Brammo facebook page and there is a comment about how they have finally sold out of the 2013 models. That post also has two pictures on it, one shows lots of bikes and the other the same space with no bikes. Very interesting. Maybe Harlan has some insite on this?

[CliC]

That would be too bad. They offered an interesting and welcome counterpoint to Zero's approach, regardless of how one feels about transmissions on e-bikes.

[Richard230]

That would be too bad. They offered an interesting and welcome counterpoint to Zero's approach, regardless of how one feels about transmissions on e-bikes.

I certainly agree.  I am still not convinced that direct drive is always the way to go.  While you don't need 6 speeds, I think some torque multiplication device is still worth pursuing and Brammo is (or was?) leading the way.  There is no better test of design concepts than real-world use by critical owners.

Plus, Zero needs some real competition to keep their forward technical progress going and their retail prices down.

[frodus]

I doubt they're going to stop producing motorcycles (although they may move into other things). They recently moved into an old Walmart building to expand production and started building more bikes. They're spending money all over the world bringing bikes to different countries and training support staff. They just sent a couple bikes to Australia, some to Europe.

What I think that they're doing, is trying to dump as much of the 2013 and 2014 bikes before they start full production of the 2015 bikes. I bet we'll hear something in the next few months about their plans for 2015. They're not a huge company, and I don't blame them for wanting to get rid of inventory before moving into the next generation of bikes. Its a huge problem if you have inventory of last generations of bikes and start selling 2015 models.

I have no doubt that they're working on a 2015 bike.

That's my 2 cents.

[Doug S]

I doubt they're going to stop producing motorcycles (although they may move into other things). They recently moved into an old Walmart building to expand production and started building more bikes. They're spending money all over the world bringing bikes to different countries and training support staff. They just sent a couple bikes to Australia, some to Europe.

What I think that they're doing, is trying to dump as much of the 2013 and 2014 bikes before they start full production of the 2015 bikes. I bet we'll hear something in the next few months about their plans for 2015. They're not a huge company, and I don't blame them for wanting to get rid of inventory before moving into the next generation of bikes. Its a huge problem if you have inventory of last generations of bikes and start selling 2015 models.

I have no doubt that they're working on a 2015 bike.

That's my 2 cents.

I very much hope (and think) that you're right, frodus.

It's widely understood (very correctly, in my mind) that the initial purchase price of an EV is one of the few remaining obstacles to widespread adoption, but production numbers will have to increase to bring the price down. If Brammo can reduce their excess-inventory problem while priming the pump a bit, I'm all for them doing so. We're still only seeing the tip of the EV iceberg, especially motorcycles.

[GarrysGhost]

Word is Brammo has shut it's doors indefinitely. Our local rep said that the workforce had been laid off and the doors were shut.
He also said that Zero had received a lot of resumes from former Brammo employees. I hope they survive somehow.
The Empulse was not a bad bike but sales were really bad. The local Brammo dealer told us he could not give the bikes away until the "Summer Sale". He blamed bad management and a lack of honesty for most of the troubles.
Garry