All I wanted was an Arnold Palmer. That was my goal when I set out on a Sunday afternoon for the top of Angeles Crest and its roadside grub house 38 miles away. The only thing standing between me and a frosty glass was a stretch of inclining twisties and Victory Motorcycles’ all-electric Empulse TT, which boasts an estimated range of up to 140 miles per charge.
The day prior I had successfully ridden the Empulse 45 highway miles over flat land, arriving at my destination with a little less than half a charge still intact. Not bad for an electric.
But a 5,000-foot elevation increase and off-and-on throttle are a different story. Range claims notwithstanding, I wasn’t convinced I’d get to Newcomb’s Ranch. And even if I did, that was no guarantee I’d get home.
It’s telling that Victory Motorcycles’ first foray into electrics would be called the Empulse. That’s also the name of the electric motorcycle from Oregon startup Brammo, which Victory’s parent company, Polaris, purchased earlier this year.
The two bikes not only share a name but many of the same specs, from horsepower and weight to seat height and wheelbase, with nearly identical figures for torque, top speed and recharge times.
In fact, the only major upgrades from the Brammo to the Victory Empulse are new body plastics, a different dash, an upgraded lithium-ion battery with 10 percent more capacity and lighter, cast-aluminum wheels rimmed with a slightly smaller tread on the rear tire.
No wonder riding the Victory Empulse left me with a distinct feeling of deja vu. I’ve been testing the Empulse since 2013, and the bike hasn’t had a radical update since, including the Victory version.
Like the Brammo, Victory’s Empulse TT is stunning to behold in a streetfighter style that displays its 10.4 kilowatt-hours of lithium ion batteries as proudly as a Harley-Davidson V-twin. Its “tank” is merely a shell that tops the battery pack with a charge port where the fuel nozzle would normally go in.
Turning on the Empulse is virtually silent. The only indicator that it’s running is an orange dashboard light that flashes “on” and a very slight hum that’s hard to hear through a full face helmet. Twist the grip, and the bike is likewise quiet except for the whine of the chain and motor.
The Empulse is equipped with a six-speed gearbox that is unlike any other I’ve encountered. Neutral is between second and third gears, but shifting is largely unnecessary, as is pulling in the clutch or down shifting to first when stopped.
It’s possible to take off in any of the six gears from zero, all of which begs the question: Why even have a transmission?
It’s a play for traditional sport bikers, who like to rev it up and let it rip. Another indication that Victory is pursuing technologists with a need for speed: The focal point of its dash is an analog tachometer. Secondary is the LCD that provides the most actionable data, including the speedometer, gear indicator and battery level gauge, all of which are basic black on a gray screen.
For my Angeles Crest experiment, I set off from my house with a full charge and rode 10 freeway miles to the Shell station at the base of the 2. Riding an electric, I didn’t need gas. But I intended to use it as a way station for data comparison and to survey its usual Sunday clientele of sport bikers about to attack the hill.
Silently, I wheeled up to a group of youngish men on the usual assortment of Japanese 600s. All of them agreed the Victory was a good looking machine. About half had heard of the Empulse. One boasted that its speed was on par with comparable gas-powered bikes at this year’s running of the Isle of Man TT.
But none of them had any interest in swapping their wheels for the bike I was riding.
Looking at my dashboard, I didn’t blame them. I had burned through 16 percent of my charge traveling 10 miles, and I had another 28 miles to go uphill before turning around to head back home.
I suppose I should have waited to push the fun button until I got to the Crest, but it was too late. Like the Brammo Empulse, the Victory version can be operated in two drive modes: Sport or Eco. Unlike the Brammo, riders can now toggle between the two modes while riding, not only when stopped. The same switch on the right hand grip that is used to fire up the permanent magnet AC electric motor can be pressed and held down to switch between the two.
Eco mode feels plenty quick off the line, despite the moderate bridling of its torque. Sport mode unleashes full torque and maximizes the regenerative braking, though the increased regen doesn’t have the same immediacy as engine braking with a gas-powered motorcycle and isn’t enough to compensate for the increased drain on the battery from riding Sport.
Still, the Empulse is well balanced, nimble and quick. The acceleration is particularly heave-worthy in sport mode, though there is a slight lag between throttle roll on and power delivery to the back wheel. But as I wound my way up the hill, I was impressed with how easily it sashayed, how unaware I was of its 470-pound curb weight.
I had only traveled another 10 miles, and used 35 percent of my charge, when traffic came to a standstill. Being on two wheels, I negotiated the obstacle course of cars to the front of the line to learn what was happening. A motorcycle had crashed and was being cleared from the road, so in the down time, I continued my electric likelihood survey with the rider of a Triumph Scrambler.
He, at least, had considered buying Brammo’s version, but he bought the Triumph instead. Electric technology isn’t there yet, he rationalized. And his carbon footprint didn’t justify the price premium considering how little he rides. The Victory Empulse TT costs $19,999. His Scrambler: $9,399.
It’s a difficult math problem to overcome, which is why all the major motorcycle makers continue to sit on the sidelines, despite showing numerous electric concepts over the years. At least Victory had the guts to pull the trigger.
Once the ambulance doubled back to head down the hill with a motorcyclist, minus his bike, I continued heading upward. I refused to baby the Empulse. No one is going to drop that kind of money on a bike only to nurse the throttle, so I braked hard going into the corners and cranked it accelerating out.
With a 43 mm inverted fork in front and direct-acting coil shock in the rear, the suspension felt poised. Dual Brembo 310 mm discs out front were more than ample for the job of slowing a bike that easily achieves 100 mph. I would have liked more engine braking feel, but the level of regenerative braking can’t be altered independently. It’s coupled with preset drive modes.
As I blissfully enjoyed my time on the Empulse, there was, however, that nagging fear: Was I going to be able to get where I needed to go? Having traveled 24 miles toward my destination 38 miles away and used 44 percent of my charge, I came to the sad realization there was no way I was going to be drinking my Arnold Palmer – at least at Newcomb’s. More likely, I’d be making one at home, and a lot sooner than I thought.
At the start of my day, I had resolved to turn around at 50 percent of my battery charge, even though I knew I would recoup some juice and therefore range on the downhill. I just didn’t know how much. I had traveled 29, mostly uphill, high-speed miles when I hit the halfway mark on my battery charge and decided to circle back.
I’m well versed in electrics’ shortcomings, having driven a Nissan Leaf for three years. Like the Leaf, the Empulse has a portable charge cord, so I could have plugged in at Newcomb’s once I got there. But the amount of time it would have taken to recharge would have been far longer than it took to down a cold drink. It takes almost nine hours to fully recharge the battery with a regular wall outlet – 3.9 hours with a level 2.
The Empulse has a J1772 charge port built into the part of the bike that looks like a gas tank. The charge port is compatible with a level 2 charger or a regular 110-volt wall outlet. The problem is you need to know where to find the level 2 chargers, and if your destination only has a regular outlet, you’re stuck hauling the Brammo charger with you on your back. It’s heavy, but the alternative is even worse: running out of charge without knowing where to find a level 2.
At least the charger comes with its own backpack. Emblazoned with the Victory logo, it has enough room to be utilitarian for other items, including a laptop, lunch and wallet.
I recognize that speed and inclines are problematic when it comes to range, and the Empulse proved that point. It used 34 percent of its battery life to travel 19 miles uphill from Shell; traveling the same route back down used just 18 percent.
When I reached the Shell on my return trip, I had 32 percent of my battery left to travel the 10 miles back home. That was more than enough cushion, so I did what any rational motorcyclist would do in a similar circumstance: I took off from a dead stop in fifth gear and accelerated down the on-ramp. Without shifting or redlining, I arrived at the bike’s top claimed speed within seconds.
That is the promise of an electric motorcycle, and at that, the Victory Empulse delivers.
But in the end, Victory’s rebadged Empulse has the same problem with limited range and high price as its Brammo progenitor – and most other electrics, regardless of the number of wheels.
Contact the writer: scarpenter@ocregister.com On Twitter: @OCRegCarpenter
