Brammo Empulse

For that price, you'd think it would not be quite so ugly... and it certainly does not look at all comfortable to ride.

@JayArr you have never ridden a motorcycle in your life have you? 14,000 is not that much. that is just over the price of mid range sport bikes like CBR and Ninja.

That thing is FAR from ugly. it looks AMAZING. it also look VERY comfterbal to ride.
its a sport bike. not a honda goldwing wanna-be.

just about the best bike you can buy in the world is an Aprila. good that and you will see the the riding position and seating are simalr.

the bad thing about this bike is the 100 mile limit. touring is 100% out. but as a daily rider that you plug in every night. it would be fine.

Agreed. Not ugly, and the price point is surprisingly low. The design seems to be pretty similar to some ducati and buells. Also reminds me of KTM.

It's too bad Brammo doesn't recognize old farts who just want a cruiser with electrical power. Something like the Honda Fury or any major brand cruiser bikes with low seats please!!

@JayArr - this picture is of an earlier prototype that used clip-ons instead of a handlebar. They have since changed it out and, having sat on it, I can tell you that it's plenty comfortable. Looks, of course, are subjective, so if you think it's ugly, that's cool. My mama always taught me, however, that if you can't say something nice, don't say anything.

@gizmowiz - an electric cruiser is a great idea. Right now, however, the range is limited by current battery technology, so a long weekend ride would be a bit of a challenge. Stay tuned, though, and perhaps we'll see some technology that allows longer rides and shorter re-charge times.

This type of electric motorcycle is long over do. I believe the technology has been around longer. I am glad to see it hit the market now. It does to be a more modern popular race type bike. I hope the manufacture also produces the cruiser type bike too. I never own a motorcycle, but I would very much enjoy owning an electric motorcycle cruiser type. Cruiser bikes also have a lower center of gravity and are easier to drive for the beginner.

Great technology!

.............................
Science sees no further than what it can sense.
Religion sees beyond the senses.

Looks very good, I may look at buying one of these in the future. Always wanted a electric vehicle but never liked the car designs (they look too girlish LOL) but this bike looks fine. Resembles a dirt bike a bit but that's nothing to worry about.

Also I wonder when we will see the new age lithium ion batteries that charge 10x faster or whatever it was and hold more power. That coupled with this bike would make it a no brainer.

This bike is vaporware - I've been waiting two years to even ride one. I can't believe a respected magazine like Popular Science would give an award to a non-existent, non-production bike. I was so psyched when they first announced it in 2010 but waiting for reality has made it suck. When will it really be here? And gears - anybody who knows electrics will wince when they know what Tesla went through grinding up transmissions. I bet it will be even worse on this kind of bike. I'm seriously thinking about one of the new bikes from Zero Motorcycles which look real. They say range > 100 miles and 88mph - bring it on! No more waiting for ghost bikes! Shame on you PopSci for being fooled!

I went back and forth on buying one of these bikes last summer. There were three main issues that made me decide to go with a high efficiency car instead.

- There is no way to test ride the bike. The bike looks small and uncomfortable to ride. I am large (although not extraordinarily large) and was not sure about fit and handling of such a small bike. There not one even near me to sit on and look at.

- My particular commuting path is 40 miles each way on the interstate. I had no way of knowing if the bike was capable of doing this every day or battery fatigue from the constant cycles would kill it.

- Because there are no dealers near me I was wondering about warranty service. I know nothing about the working of electric cars and there was no way for me to account for maintenance.

Even so I like the concept. It is time but not all the mechanisms are in place yet.

I am just a little worried about how noticeable the bike would be to other drivers. The electric engine would be nearly silent so if a driver doesn't see you, they have no way of knowing you are even around.