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[Richard230]

Wow, that is really bad news.  I wonder how it happened?  Their bikes seemed well designed and innovative.  If this report is true, then something must have been off with the management and business plan.  (I have my own thoughts about that, but I will keep them to myself.)

It would appear that another chapter closes on the early history of electric motorcycle companies.   

I have no doubt that Zero could profit from some of the Brammo technicians if they can afford more staff to expand their technical base.

[Brammofan]

Just a caution, Richard - this user has a total post count of 1, and he is newly registered as of today. Don't believe everything you read and only about half of what you see, as they say. I haven't been as "in the loop" as I used to, but haven't heard anything to support this.

[GarrysGhost]

Thank you for pointing that out Brammofan. Exactly how many posts do I need to make to be worthy? Should I start my own forum maybe?
As someone that works on a daily basis in the electric motorcycle industry, unlike yourself, I may just have a small amount of insight into what is going on.
Also, I pointed out, this info was not from me directly but our local rep, someone I would believe also has more knowledge about what is happening than yourself.
I hope Brammo does indeed stick around but let's just look at the facts shall we?
1. Huge discounts of $5,000 a $7,000.
2. Looking for Crowd Funding all over the web.
3. No announcement of a 2015 or any kind of representation at any of the motorcycle shows, internationally or here in the U.S. Even their distributor in Europe said at Eicma that Brammo could not even give him one penny toward attending.
4. A Face Book post of an empty warehouse....... No bikes to sell, no 2015 means no revenue.
Garry.

[Brammofan]

All I am saying is:
1. as any brand new member of any forum anywhere, you have no reputation equity. How many posts do you need to make to be worth? Well, more than one.  You didn't post in the introductory "Welcome" thread. We know nothing about you.
2. The fact that the information you are sharing is second hand, further diminishes the integrity of that information as now we have to trust you AND the integrity of the anonymous source of your information.
3. You state that you work on a daily basis in the electric motorcycle industry. This could mean that you work for Brammo or Zero or any of their competitors. The fact that you say you work in the industry does not boost your credibility by itself. As I said, we don't know you.
4. This is not the first instance of company bashing on this forum. Once, it was traced right to the IP address of the competing motorcycle manufacturer's headquarters. So generally, I don't believe much of anything people post when they are insinuating the death of a particular brand.

[Doug S]

Not to take a side in the "yes they are"/"no they aren't" discussion (I personally would take ANYBODY's information with a grain of salt until there's an official announcement), it would be a shame to see Brammo go under. Elon Musk is right that there's room for a lot more players in the EV market; increased competition is GOOD for the market and even the manufacturers at this stage.

I do have to admit I always wondered how the Empulse could sell for the same price Zero sells the S for. It's got a transmission, a water-cooling system, and all the engineering that goes along with those things to support; expenses that Zero doesn't have on their bikes.

Which is a big part of the reason I think Zero's approach is better: Simplify where you can, not just because it's better for weight management and reliability reasons, but it's cheaper besides. At this point in their development, range and purchase price are the two biggest barriers to increased popularity of EVs.

[Richard230]

After going for a long walk and thinking about this information, it would seem that any such closing of the Brammo factory would be certainly covered by the local news media.  Perhaps someone who knows how to find local news stories on the internet can do a little research into this report.

[Richard230]

It has just occurred to me that the closed factory that GarrysGhost's source saw may have been the old Brammo factory in Ashland that was closed when Brammo (was it this year?) moved to their new (formally a Walmart store) digs.

I have no idea if Garry's story is correct or not, I am just trying to explore all of the angles in the hopes that his information is incorrect. 

[frodus]

Hold tight, there should be a response soon, from the horses mouth.

[Richard230]

Hold tight, there should be a response soon, from the horses mouth.

Would that be Mr. Ed?   

[kingcharles]

Hold tight, there should be a response soon, from the horses mouth.

I hope it's a positive response, after my troubles with Vectrix I would like to own a bike with support for a while...

Here in the EU the Empulse is selling quite well from what I can see/hear.

[MotoRyder]

Not Brammo-bashing at all...it's just that I find it very interesting that a representative from Brammo wouldn't switch on and rectify the loosely-coupled information that we have here on the forum.

I'm very aware of 'corporate-speak' and keeping business and marketing plans curtailed until the 'proper time' for a PR announcement, however, this forum represents an important base of EV Motorcycle and Scooter supporters, so keeping things on-track here should be paramount.

I'm located in the Seattle area, just up the coast from Brammo in Talent, OR, and Zero in Scotts Valley, CA, and am a fan of both companies.  The industry needs to have several strong, committed brands to help it evolve and gain traction in the overall marketplace. 

This topic will be must-read until we get a definitive and authoritative announcement on what's happening.

[frodus]

I know they said to me they'd respond soon. We'll see.

[teddillard]

...Exactly how many posts do I need to make to be worthy? ...

None.  Anyone who'd post this sort of speculation and rumor publicly and without any effort to validate it about a company, any company, has no credibility whatsoever, no matter how many posts you make. 

Game over, thanks for playing. 

[MotoRyder]

I found an article in the Ashland Daily Tidings online news site (By Greg Stiles for the Tidings Posted Aug. 27, 2014) that can be read at the following URL:
http://www.dailytidings.com/article/20140827/News/140829737

In the article, it proclaimed that, "...the electric motorcycle maker has room to grow in multiple directions. And that manufacturing growth will occur at home rather than overseas."

This was a little over 3 months ago.  Craig Bramscher, the CEO is quoted in the article saying, "We have a bunch of things on the whiteboard we'd like to bring into production." "The Empulse was an evolution from the Enertia and then we've got more products coming."

And he also stated, "...we're finding is that expertise we've developed in trying to build a product like the Empulse and bringing it to market, is that we've created a set of skills and capabilities that are beyond motorcycles. I didn't really think we'd get into business-to-business side and start supplying batteries, motors, controllers and a complete solution to other companies, but that's actually a very big growth area for us."

Another telling quote is, "The battery lab capacity far exceeds those needed for its motorcycles. Within two years, Bramscher said, 50 percent of Brammo's business will revolve around batteries, creating a job boom locally for electrical engineers, mechanical engineers and software engineers."

This is a considerable amount of information from the CEO on meaningful opportunities for the company, and it's as much about them being a supplier to others that want to market EV's, where Brammo is a supplier of the technology and not necessarily the Brand marketing it.

[oregonrider89]

I live in Salem, Oregon and I no longer have an electric motorcycle but  I really, really want one. I am about 4 hours from Brammo's production facility in Ashland. I had been scheduled to attend a factory tour in March but they cancelled my slot a week before the visit and said they would reschedule sometime in the summer (Hmmm #1). They have never rescheduled the visit and I have been unable to connect with them since.
Fast forward to the fire sale in the fall. (Hmmm #2) and the various comments made by Craig regarding the company's direction (Hmmmm #3 if you read between the lines).

I would love a Brammo. I test rode one and I thought it was really fun to ride. When the fire sale was first announced I seriously considered jumping on the deal but I wanted to wait until they announced a new model year just to see what I would be missing out on in exchange for a great price. We are all still waiting.

My own opinion (and this is decidedly un-informed and not based in fact) is that Brammo will be the electric component provider for Polaris eATVs (Can you imagine how many deer you would sneak up on in stealth mode?).

I would be happy if I am wrong. I think ATVs are for fat, lazy people while motorcycles are for fit, sexy people! I would rather see Brammo cater to the sexy people.