brammo

Say you were running an electric-vehicle start-up and trying to figure out how to sell your cars. You might find an instant dealer network of 1,000-plus stores pretty attractive.

At least that's the hope of Best Buy, the Minneapolis-based retail chain.

The consumer electronics chain has been edging into electric transportation, selling Brammo electric motorcycles and winning contracts to install home chargers for the Ford Focus Electric and Mitsubishi i EVs. Best Buy will begin those installations this year.

Chad Bell, a senior director who oversees Best Buy's efforts in mobility and transportation, says Best Buy also … Read more

Brammo will offer its electric motorcycles with a six-speed transmission beginning in 2012, the company announced today.

The bikes will be unveiled this Friday in Las Vegas shortly before competing in the MiniMotoSX race.

Motorcycle manufacturer Brammo could make a big impact on the motorcycle world with this change.

While electric motorcycles have been around for some time, and even had their own race on the Isle of Man in June 2009, up until now they've mainly been seen as bikes for early adopters interested in green tech, or those who might otherwise consider a moped.

Electric motorcycles are relatively quiet, have a limited range, and arguably offer limited speed and performance when compared to comparable racing bikes with internal combustion engines. They're also fighting an image problem in a market famous for exuding a longstanding sexy, powerful, and adventurous appeal.

"Electric motorcycle design has always been a bit of a balancing act in direct drive systems where great acceleration performance comes at the expense of low top-end speed," Brian Wismann, director of product development at Brammo, said in a statement.… Read more

Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, and martial artist Jackie Chan has teamed up with Ashland, Oregon-based Brammo Inc., maker of electric motorcycles.

Brammo's first product is the Enertia, a fully electric motorcycle that became available in select Best Buy stores in August 2009. It has a top speed of over 60 miles per hour (95 km/h), a range of 42 miles (68 kilometers), and a charging time of about 4 hours.The Enertia sells for $7,995.

The deal will have Jackie Chan's company, JCAM Advanced Mobility Company Ltd., sell the Brammo electric motorcycle product line in Hong … Read more

Is Best Buy getting into the motorcycle business?

If speculation is correct, yeah, it is. But these aren't just your average hogs. Starting in May at five stores on the West Coast, Best Buy will be selling the Brammo Enertia, an all-electric motorcycle that has potential to become the Chumby of the motorcycle world (well, perhaps that's not the best metaphor...).

Brammo CEO Craig Bramscher told attendees at the Pacific Crest Clean Technology Conference that the bikes' electronics components include a built-in Web server, open-platform software applications, and possible add-ons like onboard cameras that could download images to travel blogs. "What we're selling is a lot closer to consumer electronics than to transportation," he said.

The Enertia draws power from a bank of six lithium phosphate batteries. Charging takes three hours on a standard electrical outlet and should yield a range of about 45 miles. After crunching the numbers, Brammo reckons that works out to 40 cents per charge or about 1 cent per mile to keep the Enertia running.… Read more

At the rate they're being churned out, one might think the whole world will soon be ditching their cars for electric motorcycles. Whether they be breaking speed records or doing Harley impersonations, new models seem to be coming out all the time.

The latest to roll into our view is Brammo's "Enertia," which is scheduled to go into production next year. The bike, which runs on six lithium phosphate batteries, has a range of 45 miles per three-hour charge and can reportedly hit a top speed of 50 mph. What makes it stand apart from other … Read more