Kudos for getting this bike street-ready so quickly. Victory Motorcycles unveils their first all-electric motorcycle, the 2016 Empulse TT. A few previously announced all-electric notables, i.e., Harley-Davidson LiveWire and Mission Motors are still concept prototypes. This bike is really a slightly modified Brammo Empulse – Victory bought the Brammo motorcycle business in January 2015 and very little has changed in the Victory model except for a notable modification of reducing the Brammo 180-section rear tire to a 160 rear tire – a size seen on the race circuit. A lithium-ion battery pack gets a 10% boost in capacity (now rated nominally at 10.4 kilowatt hours), a new seat material and a rubber damper drive setup in the sprocket to ease abrupt throttle transitions.
Powering the machine is a permanent magnet ac (PMAC) motor. PMAC motors are suitable for variable or constant-torque applications, and this flexibility also makes PMACs suitable for variable-speed operation requiring ultra-high motor efficiency. But this efficiency does not necessarily help the driving range. This is really a city bike with a 60-mile range. A controversial feature is a six-speed transmission. This is the only electric that has a transmission, all others use clutchless direct drives. The gears put a 10-15% drain on efficiency.
Waiting to see if second generation TT will have improved styling, a belt-drive to mirror the almost silent motor and will it still sport the 6-speed gearbox. But hey, looking good in this video…
[ specs ]
maximum power> 54 hp (claimed)
maximum torque> 65 lb-ft. (claimed)
max speed> 100+ mph (claimed)
drivetrain> 6-speed transmission
battery> brammo power lithium-ion
battery capacity> 10.4 kw-hr
charge time> 2 hrs (level i: 20-80%) / 3.5 hrs (level ii: 0-100%) / 8 hrs (level i: 0-100%)
front suspension> adjustable 43mm inverted fork
rear suspension> adjustable direct-acting shock
front brakes> dual 310mm floating discs with four-piston radial-mount calipers from brembo
rear brakes> single disc with dual-piston hydraulic brembo caliper
wheel rims> 17″ lightweight cast aluminum
dry weight> 460 lb
price> $19,999 usd. goes on sale late 2015 [ victory motorcycles ]
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