Coming Soon: "The Anti-Scooter" from Brammo
What, exactly, is an Anti-Scooter? Well, that's a really good question, and we wish we had a good answer for you. Instead, all we have is rumor and innuendo... but that'll have to do for now. According to our friends at Asphalt and Rubber, Brammo is getting ready to launch its second two-wheeled electric vehicle, and it's known internally as the Anti-Scooter.
Unlike the Enertia, which just began hitting the market at select Best Buy locations along the West Coast, the so-called Anti-Scooter won't be shaped like a motorcycle. Instead, expect the next Brammo to be a step-through design like a typical scooter. According to A&R, the bike will look something like the extremely popular Honda Ruckus seen above.
While the Enertia has a top speed surpassing 50 miles per hour, the Anti-Scooter will reportedly include a speed limiter that can be tailored to the specific laws of the state where the bike is sold. As such, it won't be necessary to have a motorcycle license to ride this electric two-wheeler. We look forward to hearing from Brammo in the next 60 days or so.
[Source: Asphalt and Rubber]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Rick 1:28PM (9/22/2009)
It's a Honda Ruckus, no?
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Boyprodigy1 1:53PM (9/22/2009)
Segway?
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nicpottier101 2:18PM (9/22/2009)
Funny, I was just looking at one of these the other day thinking they would make a perfect electric conversion platform given all the free space on them. (and small wheels)
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George Krpan 5:41PM (9/22/2009)
This is a scooter. Hence, it would have to be driven in the traffic lanes, not on the side of the road or on bike paths.
I think that someone who were to get one of these with no prior scooter or motorcycle experience would be in for quite a shock when they discover how miserable it is to share the road with cars, and, how dangerous it is.
Brammo would have spent their time better by designing a really good electric bicycle.
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Maluk 7:27PM (9/22/2009)
The biggest problem with riding a motorcycle with other cars around is that they drive too slow and the exhaust smells terrible. Not being enclosed in a steel & glass bubble really isn't that bad, give it a try.
I'm really stoked to start seeing more electric motorcycles being released. If I hadn't just bought one last year I'd be all over them. Once the the top speed goes up 50% and range gets doubled I'll get one for sure.
Matt 7:51PM (9/22/2009)
There are quite a few cities and college campuses that work fine for scooters because you can navigate on neighborhood streets as opposed to major thoroughfares. For that use, 30-40mph is acceptable. It will be interesting to see how long it takes people to figure out how to override the limiter that will be present in lower-speed states.
I own multiple electric bikes and they're very cool, but many people prefer the scooter format and look. A scooter also gets to ditch the pedal drivetrain and requisite geometry to make the bike somewhat efficient when pedalling. And once you add the weight of the batteries and motor, it makes the bicycle dynamics more scooter-like and heavy enough you don't want to pedal it too much. Finally, I think there will be a bigger audience for an electric scooter in the $5k range (guessing) than a $2k electric bike.
I'd really like to see more choices in both products. Somebody needs to make a lightweight electric city/commuter bike (hopefully under 30 pounds) with small and light batteries and motor for minimal assist (maybe for maintaining cruise speed or battling headwinds). The 50lb+ bikes I have are cumbersome to pedal, lift, etc. And I think electric scooters are the ideal EV platform. They should be the lightest of the scooter/motorcycle/car powered vehicles. Since they're low speed, you don't waste as much power due to aero drag by trying to go 50+ mph. Due to that low top speed, they're not long-distance vehicles in need of 50 mile range. Although scooters are kind of a niche vehicle, I think scooters will be the first transportation segment where electric versions compete with gas versions in both price and the performance expectation of the riders. Gas scooters will still have longer range on a tank of gas, but if the price were to become equal, I don't know that an electric scooter with a 20-30 mile range would be that much less atrractive than a gas scooter with a 60 or 80 mile range on a tank.
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