Electric motorcycle revolution means business not-as-usual
Looking back, 2009 may be seen as the year that electric motorcycles began their rise to market dominance. If that is to happen, the start-ups in that sector will have to be successful in the execution of their various business models. What they are trying to do with the motorized two-wheeler is more revolutionary then evolutionary and so their approach to the market must be distinct, perhaps diametric to that of the companies that currently occupy the landscape. In a series of articles at Asphalt & Rubber under the caption Tradition is Not a Business Model, Jensen Beeler talks with the heads of Zero Motorcycles, Brammo, MotoCzysz and Mission Motors about their views on the topic. The posts discuss the company's ideas about engineering, education, identity and platform design that is quite insightful and worth the time spent reading.
Even if motorcycles really aren't your thing, it's interesting how the principles discussed are also easily applied to other types of electric vehicles. Before you immerse yourself in this thought-provoking series though, hit the jump for a great video by vlogger Paul Maverick showing part of Brammo's business plan in action as potential customers check out their product at the El Segundo Best Buy with (mostly) positive results.
[Source: Asphalt & Rubber]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Brammofan 5:04PM (10/29/2009)
Ha! That's not Brammo's "official" logo! Have you been crowdsourcing your graphics work again?
Jensen's series was really great, by the way, and had me looking forward to Mondays, so much so that, when he missed a week, I had to thrash him.
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gorr 6:51PM (10/29/2009)
I think it cannot be a success without a small gasoline generator pluggued in serie for unlimited range. Few regenerative braking is available because it's the rear wheel
that have the motor and motorcycle brake 70% on the front wheel. I think that a serial volt like motorcycle should return par performance with 2x mpg.
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kert 7:26PM (10/29/2009)
Dude, gas bikes do not have an "unlimited range". My 150cc 2 banger could never go further than about 100 miles on a tank.
gorr 8:07PM (10/29/2009)
I meant unlimited range with gasoline fueling once in a while, LOL. The battery is constantly slow recharged by the generator and the battery give the instant power to the motor.
John Pelletier 9:10PM (10/29/2009)
thats a beautiful sound. good to see the bikes out there for the public, its very important and I feel Brammo has gone a really good rout working with geek squad and these best buy outlets to get the bike out there.
nice to see
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Marc 11:01AM (10/30/2009)
I think the company is going to have to drop the prices quite a bit. $11,999 is the prices of a very good gas motorcycle and even more expensive then the 600 class motorcycles which still have a lot better performance. I am a big time electric fan you can ask anyone that knows me but these companies need to stop trying to make a huge profit on each vehicle and instead sell quantity. I think in most cases these companies know how much the customer will be getting in tax credit so they increase the price of the vehicle, even though they do not add any enhancements, so its really the company that is getting the tax credit not you.
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