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[Richard230]

I just picked up the March issue of City Bike, a free San Francisco monthly newspaper-style magazine. The new 2013 Empulse R is reviewed in a full single-page article on page 19. Unfortunately, it didn't make the front cover (like my Zero did last April).  (The cover story is labeled “Splitting Headache”, about motorcyclists splitting lanes in California.) Here are some riding impression excerpts from the article:

One review was written by Gabe Ets-Hokin, the magazine's editor-in-Chief, (titled “Lost in Transmission”) and the other review was written by Alan Lapp, Art Director, (titled “Assault with a battery”).

Gabe praises the Empulse for its top speed, mid-range power, good handling and decent range. However, he says that it still does not have enough range for sporting weekend rides and you may be disappointed. “Until range gets longer and charging stations become ubiquitous, electric vehicles are best for trips of defined range.” (Nothing new there.)

Things get a little ugly when he starts talking about the gearbox:  “Which brings me to the gearbox. I don't get it. It's adds little to the experience, if you ask me. Neutral is in between second and third for some reason, but you don't really need neutral – the bike rolls freely in gear with the clutch engaged. Comes to think of it, you don't really need the clutch, either, although it does make getting under way smoother, a role throttle-management software handles on other e-bikes.  I found myself shifting out of habit, but it felt like I was playing a video game with a disconnected joystick. I'm sure if I was doing a trackday – or just spent a lot more time on the bike – I would start to figure out how to best use it, but my quick impression is Brammo should bin the clutch, make the transmission a two-speed (city and highway), and carve 40 pounds off the bike – or use the extra space and weight for more battery capacity.”

“So I am surprised I'm saying this, as I've been champing at the bit to ride this thing for years, but I found it to be too much like a conventional motorcycle. It''s 470 pounds, and though you don't really feel the weight most of the time – the CG is comically low, like a scooter's – you know it's there, which diminished the playful character of the electric motor.”

Gabe finishes his review with:  “And it's really fun to ride, giving up little to any middleweight commuter I've ridden. Would it be a rational purchase? Not really. But what motorcycle really is?”

Alan Lapp says:  “It was disappointing how the motor controller – the computerized rain that examines rider input, and manages bike output – steps in and nannies all the fun out of having a clutch to play with. Should a rider try to do a wheelie (the motor is definitely powerful enough) by revving the motor and dumping the clutch, all that results is a lurch as the controller compensates to eradicate this hooliganism. 

Regarding the transmission, more oddness ensues: neutral is between 2nd and 3rd. The rations are very closely spaced, and launching the Empulse R in 1st gear results in satisfying acceleration. However, launching in 3rd or 4th gear does not blunt the acceleration very noticeably. I suspect that most riders will tire of the notchy, clunky shifting and leave it in 3rd around town, only shifting to 6th on the freeway.”

Mr. Lap goes on to praise the Empulse's performance, ride, stability, handling and brakes and he says the “design is handsome”. He finishes his review with: “It seems to me that e-bikes are maturing rapidly, but are suffering some growing pains.”

[flar]

It seems like the biggest problem with the clutch there was that they had no idea how to use it on an electric motorcycle.  I'm curious who let them take the bike out without even the most basic instruction on how best to use the transmission?

Needing the clutch to get a smooth start?  I can't imagine using the clutch to start up - you'd just end up redlining the motor and miss out on the best way to launch this bike - just twist the throttle and hang on for dear life.  He probably felt the gear lash, had no clue how to get rid of it with throttle management, and assumed that he had to use the clutch - exactly the wrong conclusion.  You simply roll backwards 2 inches or slightly preload the throttle while waiting for the light to change and when you are ready to go you twist and launch just as smoothly as you can imagine - at any desired level from creeping to guided missile.

Dumping the clutch?  Does he have *ANY* idea how small an electric motor is?  The controller isn't getting in the way of a dumped clutch moving you - the complete lack of any rotational inertia (one of the things that makes electric motors so responsive) is what gets in the way of his completely mistaken idea of how to use the bike.  Electric motors are all about applied torque and nothing about rotational inertia - if you want the power then the only way to get it is to leave it in gear and use the throttle.

Leave it in 3rd around town?  1st can deal with *ANY* speed "around town" (you can just about do 0-60 in 1st gear).  Why go to 3rd when you can leave it in first around town and only go to the higher gears on the highway?  I fear that the red markings on the tach which start much lower than the actual redline combined with the green lights lighting up on the dash would imply to someone not properly educated about the bike into thinking that 1st has a much lower range than it really has.  It is true that you can pick "a" gear and leave it in that gear for a wide range of riding, but once you have the ability to change gears at all, then you might as well take a stock 6-gear gear set rather than invent your own and enjoy smoother shifts with lower inter-gear ratios while being able to fine tune the RPMs to stay right near the efficiency peak for extended range.

Sporting weekend rides? Last weekend I rode the entire length of Skyline from 92 to 9 and then down into Saratoga on a little more than half a charge.  Admittedly, I had to use a combination of Level 2 charging while I ate and using some surface streets to make it a round trip to home, but the ride was a heck of a lot of fun.  If only I lived closer to the route (I live 15 miles north of any point on that route so I waste a bit of energy just to get to the fun roads in the first place, and then repeat that on the way home again) then I probably could have done the entire trip with just some surface street riding to bridge the 2 end points.  I can't wait to see L2 chargers at Alice's and/or Boulder Creek to make a nice Santa Cruz run more feasible, though.  (A future all-day adventure will be to see what it takes to actually do the SSF to Santa Cruz mountain round trip...)

[Richard230]

Although the article didn't mention who supplied their Empulse R test bike, I would assume that it was Scuderia West in San Francisco.  (The City Bike offices used to be located directly above the store.)  I have no idea what riding instructions they were provided before their ride.  I suspect about the same as provided to any prospective customer before giving a test ride on their demonstrator model.

[Richard230]

Here is the entire City Bike article as posted by Motorcycle Daily :  http://www.motorcycledaily.com/2013/02/md-double-take-2013-brammo-empulse-r/