Brammo Shifts Gears - First Look

Brammo, makers of electric motorcycles, announced several new 2012 models today, divided into two families. The first, called Engage, consists of the MX, SMR and SMS, which stand for Motocross, Super Moto Race and Super Moto Street. These bikes are quite differently styled than what we have seen previously from Brammo. Instead of shouting, "I am electric!" they proclaim, "I am first and foremost a motorcycle." Add to that the surprising fact that these machines are each equipped with a six-speed, foot-shift gearbox and conventional manual clutch.

I spoke with Brammo CEO Craig Bramscher about this innovation. “One of the common beliefs is that electric motors give their best ‘out-of-the-gate’ at zero speed,” said Bramscher. “But peak motor efficiency—the place where the motor is happiest—is not down at zero. Tesla has faced this problem, too, and they began to talk about needing two speeds.

“On a motorcycle, part of the deal is that we want to be able to smoke the tire, lift the front wheel.” That requires torque multiplication, which is what gears do. “But there’s too big a jump with only two speeds,” added Bramscher. “There’s a problem of synchronization.

“Our research turned up a company in Italy with experience here. It turns out that with traditional motorcycle gear ratios, the bike starts to feel regular, and motorcycle riders know just what to do. And it revs very quickly. We’ve been working on this for six months.

"Our first products definitely still have a market; our 'on-ramp' was the Enertia . But there is a lower sales threshold for experienced riders, because they already have the license, the clothing, the helmet. A first-timer has none of those things."

Brammo calls its second family of new models “Encite,” which consists of the MMX Pro and MMX mini motocrossers.

“The MMX will be racing on Friday at the Las Vegas Mini Moto SX,” said Bramscher, “an event that was opened to electrics two years ago.”

As to how all the new elements fit into the picture, Bramscher said, “The integration is where the magic is going to be. Part of that is making the components work together, and part is the human interface. Our overall ambition is to one day be among the top 10 motorcycle manufacturers on the planet.”

Brammo Engage Launch - 6 speed electric motorcycle

Sliding! Spinning! Wheelying! As seen in this promotional video, Brammo is clearly reaching out to experienced riders with its new six-speed, manual-clutch Engage SMS ($11,995), SMR ($9995) and MX ($9995). Integrated Electric Transmission (IET) was developed by S.M.R.E. Engineering in Italy.