ENERTIA ELECTRIC

Brammo Motorcycle

Why design an electric motorcycle when gas motorcycles are already so efficient? Right?... Not quite! Compared to your run-of-the-mill car, a motorcycle is about double the efficiency, but compared to the Enertia, the average motorcycle loses by a huge margin. Modern motorcycles currently produce up to 15 times the emissions per mile as the average new car or light-duty truck! Even the California Air Resources Board has tightened emissions regulations for motorcylce manufacturers to bring them in line with emissions on other road vehicles. The Enertia solves both issues with a more efficient drivetrain versus a conventional motorcycle and far less “well to wheel” emissions.

With a low moment of inertia and agressive rake angle, this motorcycle handles like a dream and has an affinity for changing direction. Couple that with the smooth, efficient power delivery from the electric drivetrain, and you’ve got a recipe for excitement. With 100% of it’s torque available from 0 rpm, the Enertia is certainly no slouch off the line. At it’s quickest setting, the Enertia will sprint from 0 to 30 mph in 3.8 seconds! Special Edition MKIII-R!

Beyond the obvious of empowering customers to enjoy guilt-free transporation, Brammo wants to empower customers to set their own performance limits on the Enertia. If you’re a beginner or would like to achieve maximum range on every ride, perhaps you should start at a lower power setting than someone with either a very short commute or an ambitious right wrist.

Our Momentum software will enable you to download information about your driving habits from the Enertia and customize your bike to the performance setting that fits you and your environment best.

The Enertia has been shaped as much by current events and our cultural history as the pencil of the one designing it. With global warming and dependence on foreign oil becoming increasing important social issues and a response from the transportation industry seeming elusive, the Enertia was designed as a solution to a problem.

The designers of the Enertia focused on eliminating elements that contributed to intimidation and instead emphasized the ones that exposed the pure joy of motorcycling. The lightweight motorcycle has a magical history in the US and worldwide, changing attitudes and capturing the imagination of the people everytime we needed a more efficient, friendlier mode of transportation. Celebrating the spirit of these iconic bikes was a design goal for the Enertia. A dichotomy of old school purist values and new school technology, the Enertia hits that perfect balance between the familiar and the future.

Truly Designed from the inside out, the Enertia’s sculpted form hints at the geometric order within. Major components are either exposed, like the chassis, or referenced, like the logo plates, which have the same diameter and plan view location as the electric motor they shield. The design details have not been left to chance either, with materials, colors and textures reminding you that you’re riding a motorcycle of the highest quality.

The Enertia chassis is basically an “H” shaped beam visible from the side of the Enertia as the exposed flat surface from the head tube down to the suspension pivot. This “H” beam carries the batteries by forming two opposing trays which hold 3 upward-facing batteries and 3 downward-facing batteries. The head tube area of the chassis provides incredible tracking stiffness through the “box” section and head tube internal gusset. The motor is structurally face-mounted in the motor bay, upon which the rear suspension pivot is located. This ingenious design of structures results in a very compact motorcycle with excellent stiffness and mass centralization, making it easy to handle and maneuver at both slow and high speeds.

The Enertia chassis is similar to a Formula One race car chassis in that it is a carbon fiber monocoque structure*. The term “monocoque” refers to a single load carrying shell, and this construction lends itself perfectly to this application. The chassis is designed to be extremely light and stiff while at the same time being extremely simple. The chassis weighs in at a scant 16 lbs (7.3 kg), making it considerably lighter than chassis structures found on modern production motorcycles.

The enertia is expected to be out late in 2009 and have a price tag of around $12,000