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[Low On Cash]

Electric motorcycles is off the plate for Polaris - they got their ass whiped and lost millions thanks to the effort of Zero - Anyone coming in the market will have some big shoes to fill now.

The only company that has the technology and ability to shut down Zero is Honda - if they take a notion to do electric they will be successful because they have the technology, money and reputation to back it up. 

[protomech]

Electric motorcycles is off the plate for Polaris - they got their ass whiped and lost millions thanks to the effort of Zero - Anyone coming in the market will have some big shoes to fill now.

Victory didn't seem to put a ton of energy into selling the Empulse.

Their website was pretty barebones - didn't even have a range spec. They made one nicely executed ad - did it see any play on TV? They funded the Isle of Man TT efforts in 2015 and 2016, as well as the Pikes Peak 2016 effort. But the bike itself was curiously even more expensive than at its introduction in 2012, and lost the carbon fiber and higher-spec suspension bits. Brammo owners had difficulty getting support, though perhaps Victory Empulse owners will do better?

It certainly doesn't help that Zero has made huge strides and cut their prices significantly since 2012, but Polaris's real opportunity was selling to the huge percentage of motorcycle customers that have barely heard of Zero and who would vastly prefer to purchase a bike from a traditional manufacturer.

And they blew it.

[benswing]

It's not just the Empulse that is gone from Victory, it is Victory that is gone.  Polaris pulled the plug on the brand entirely.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonfogelson/2017/01/11/polaris-industries-kills-off-victory-motorcycles/#5de326e5221b

[Richard230]

Not a peep in that article about their Empulse TT electric motorcycle model though. 

[acacia1731]

So is Polaris going to offer an Indian Empulse (yeah right) or is the old Brammo line done?  I'd guess that latter.

Looks like there will be electric Indian bikes by 2020, with a new design...
http://www.ien.com/product-development/video/20853558/indian-sparking-new-life-in-polaris-electric-motorcycles

[JaimeC]

According to A&R, they seem to be more interested in building an "Electric Toy" than a practical urban commuter, though:

http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/news/indian-electric-motorcycle/

[KrazyEd]

The link indicates a 120 to 140 mile range "when ridden at an aggressive pace", so 20% to 40% greater than
Zero S 13 with power tank at 70 mph ( not aggressive in my book ). Doesn't sound like a toy to me.
But, this is several years away so we will see. Hopefully Indian is a more credible / established manufacturer.

[JaimeC]

Right.  They can say anything they want... it's what they DELIVER that counts.

[Low On Cash]

So is Polaris going to offer an Indian Empulse (yeah right) or is the old Brammo line done?  I'd guess that latter.

Looks like there will be electric Indian bikes by 2020, with a new design...
http://www.ien.com/product-development/video/20853558/indian-sparking-new-life-in-polaris-electric-motorcycles

That video has to be the best definition of fake news I've seen on bikes! 

Rest totally assured that you'll never see and electric with the Indian name - it makes no sense, the whole concept of the Indian brand is to bring back the vintage looks of Indian motorcycles. I'm not saying that Polaris won't re-introduce another electric buts its highly unlikely. Polaris was dumping the Empulse over a year ago - they never could sell that bike and all the dealers hated it.

Polaris's biggest problem is Zero since it has easily twice the performance of the Empulse at less money. Polaris loss millions on acquiring that machine - if there is a new electric they will have to start from scratch since there is nothing on the Empulse that is usable except for the chassis.

Regards

[shayan]

I would certainly bet its going to be a Polaris branded bike and not Indian. Just like how they have the Slingshot under Polaris. Just like how people have pointed out here, it does not make sense for an electric Indian, unless its something in the likes of LiveWire.

"The characteristics of the new powertrain are going to be more applicable to be able to ride a bike in pleasure and twisties, and kind of how you would use pleasure bikes today," says Steve Menneto of Polaris' motorcycle division.

So maybe they are going to use the Empulse platform (atleast the chassis). Considering that its a few years away, they will most certainly make use of the Brammo patents to develop a new powertrain and a battery system. At best this is probably an educated guess.

On a side note, t would be great if polaris is back to TT Zero and Pikes Peak!

[Low On Cash]

There really is no 2017 models There is left over 16's parts

Polaris is just building out and clearing their existing Victory parts to make room additional Indian expansion.

Regards

[acacia1731]

That video has to be the best definition of fake news I've seen on bikes! 

Other sources:
http://www.reuters.com/article/polaris-inds-products-idUSL4N1G849V

http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2017/03/03/polaris-planning-an-electric-indian-motorcycle.html