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[jazclrint]

No the Empulse does not have a filter, and I don't believe there is a pump in there per se.  You simply drain and fill the 1 liter of oil every 3000 miles.

I see Richard's point, but I still feel the Empulse and the Zero SR are different enough that Zero will not see much if any sales slip from Hollywood Electrics. Merely that Harlan will sell a lot more bikes as now the folks looking to buy a more sport focus elmoto can get one from him. And as far as the complaints about the transmission, it is what makes Brammo, and particularly the Empulse unique.  And I know for a fact that at one point in time if you told Shelina Moreda you were going to take away her transmission she'd go all farm girl on your you know what. But that transmission is exactly why the Brammo has a higher top speed, and is not getting left in the dust by an SR with a less powerful motor. It does it's job, and helps Brammo meet what they feel are demands from sport bike focused customers, while Zero continues to provide bikes that cater to the utilitarian focused rider, who also like to go fast.  And I just don't see Zero putting out a focused sport bike, at least not yet.  Yes people race their bikes, and they help with development, but Zero themselves don't have a racing program (MotoZero is an employee backed effort not a proper factory team like BRT).  What would they do about the chassis without some serious time on the track to sort things out?  I know it has not been an easy road for Brammo.  That electric motor changes things, and they were chasing their tails for a while trying to get the RR sorted and calmed down as they added power to it.  Of course, I do realize this is a little above and beyond what you guys are talking about.

[protomech]

But that transmission is exactly why the Brammo has a higher top speed, and is not getting left in the dust by an SR with a less powerful motor.

It's not ideal, but Cycle World's instrumented tests (2013 Empulse R vs 2013 Zero S, 2014 Zero SR) show otherwise. The Zero SR with a power tank (nearly the same weight as the Empulse) was half a second faster to 60 mph, and almost a full second faster through the quarter mile. A direct-drive system is a little less flexible than a multi-gear system, but both are compromises. That's why some Empulse owners (including Brian!) are switching to a 42 tooth rear sprocket for faster low-speed acceleration at the expense of top speed.

2014 Zero SR w/ power tank: 450 pounds
30 front, 132 rear: 4.3s (CW tested), 102 mph top speed (spec)
25 front, 98 rear: 4.8s (extrapolate), 114 mph top speed (extrapolate assuming RPM-limited)

2013 Empulse R: 470 pounds
38 tooth rear: 4.8s (CW tested), 108 mph top speed (spec, 2014 R 110 mph)
42 tooth rear: 4.3s (extrapolate), 98 mph top speed (2014 R 100 mph .. possibly a little higher depending on motor power curve)

The 2014 Zero SR w/ Power Tank is a good match up against the Empulse R. Almost the same cost, almost the same weight. The Brammo delivers higher-spec components, onboard L2 charger, liquid cooling, higher top speed, multi-speed transmission, and a little bit of regular owner maintenance so gas owners don't have to quit cold turkey. The Zero SR delivers more power and stronger stock acceleration, 35-50% more range, lower maintenance (not counting glitches), app-tunable riding modes, etc.

Neither bike will sell to someone dead-set against electrics, but there's plenty of differentiation for both bikes to serve a unique market.