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Detroit, 5:22 PM
Fri Nov 20
23 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/11/09
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11/11/09
My commute every day is 23 miles each way. That lets me roll in to work, park and plug in indoors. We have a few coworkers on the overnight shift who bring their motorcycles through the building to park in the courtyard overnight, so their rides won't be molested by our less-than-honest clientele. I fuss at them because of bringing petrochemicals and oil leaks through the building. This would dodge that.
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That being said, I'm still open to electric anything, although a 42 mile range is limiting to basically in-city commuting. #brammoenertia
11/11/09
The motorists there are required to turn their brain off when in a vehicle, it seems.
/lived there four years, pretty country, pretty idiotic population #brammoenertia
11/12/09
I'm living in Portland for the year and have thought about purchasing one of these. Right now I'm commuting by bus an hour each way. At 7000$, the price seems great but that doesn't include any future ortho/neurosurg/icu/funeral arrangements. The roads here are always wet, it's dark by 5pm and I can't imagine that thing makes much noise. I think it's a great bike and I really do want one, somebody just has to convince me I'd live out the year intact. #brammoenertia
11/12/09
Isn't it interesting how it's not rainy much, yet wet from September-June?
I thought it was odd how D/FW and Portland have nearly identical rainfall amounts, yet Portland is though of a 'rainy'. That's Seattle, however, D/FW gets its rain over 8 days...Portland, 8 months.
Noise, contrary to bonehead biker lore, does little to make your presence "known", all it really does is piss people off. Two wheels is ALL ABOUT realizing you are effectively invisible, regardless of passive safety measures (the main one rendered almost worthless thanks to GM's cheapness and DRL's) and always watching for 'outs' for when some idiot cager tries to violate a law of physics.
Two objects, same space, etc.
I know the bus blows, but my wife and I had all the catastrophic orthopedic surgeons busy for a weekend in '01 in the Portland/Couve area. It's not a good thing.
Do I wish I'd had another 'hobby'? A safe one like skiing or some shit like that? No, not at all. Just wish we'd not gone out that day.
And no, I don't ride anymore. #brammoenertia
11/13/09
I guess I'd feel better about maiming myself skiing (something I love) rather than commuting to work (something I suffer-no matter what the mode). Sadly, I also commute much more than I ski so the odds are favorable that that's where I'd crash.
If I can think of a safe way of enjoying one of these Brammos, I'll buy one. Since I can't, I'll have to wait till they make a car. #brammoenertia
11/13/09
I've accepted life is dangerous, and living it properly can shorten it. However, I'd much rather die doing something I enjoy, even if it's dangerous, than having a tree fall on me while walking outta the house, or some other common crap.
What bugs the living hell out of me is people say, "well, I bet you won't get on a deathmachine, again". Um, these are the same idiots who get behind people who nearly die doing other things which are, for some reason, perceived as less-dangerous. Skiing comes to mind, immediately.
Thanks, Hardly-Ableson riding morans...I really appreciate you repeatedly banging into people's heads "loud pipes save lives (and we're all ultra-dickheads about it)". #brammoenertia
11/11/09
However, with the limited use of motorcycles and their relatively high fuel economy, the energy impact of an electric bike is minimal.
With that, the Brammo still a little goofy looking (and has a stupid name), and the rationale behind this over a gas powered bike is a bit iffy, but judged on utility alone, this could make a decent commuter for me, as my commute is 32 miles round trip. I'm just wary of the diminishing capability of batteries. How long could I ride this before it will no longer make it 32 miles on a "full" charge?
I think I'll hang onto my Honda and my Husqvarna. #brammoenertia
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There is still not much chance that I'll be buying one, but it does seem that it would suit my commute fairly well. #brammoenertia
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It's nice that we constantly talk about how great it would be to make them, but the hardware needed to support them has not been put in place, save for a very few places.
Assuming that all this needs is a fairly standard electrical socket, that would be a simple enough thing to install in parking garages and the like, but none have even bothered with the thought of doing so.
Until that happens, my guess is that the Brammo is a great option for people who have a motorcycle license and work less than 20 miles away; which is sadly a very small demographic. #brammoenertia
11/11/09
I've recharged electric cars out of my apartment with an extension cord quite a few times, I can get an electric bike much closer to the plug. Sure, not every parking space has its own dedicated plug, but if you're willing to be a little creative you can find juice. It costs like 10 cents to do a full charge on one of these, I hardly think anyone's going to begrudge you use of an outlet. #brammoenertia
11/11/09
Your point about your apartment is certainly valid, but let me give you an alternative context:
I work in a large corporate plaza with a large parking structure, and employees are assigned parking spots. Fortunately, mine is on the first floor where I can easily walk into the back of the lobby, as opposed to other poor devils who have their parking spots several levels underground.
But our parking structure is 800ft x 800ft, and the nearest electrical outlet is inside the lobby behind the security guard's desk. I can't afford to buy 800ft worth of extension cords, let alone store or carry them with me. On the other hand, I can't exactly take a motorcycle in and park it behind the security guard's desk.
This is the kind of thing that I am talking about when I refer to a lack of infrastructure. When places like the corporate plaza that I work in start making accommodations such as provided a dedicated place for electric vehicles to park and recharge for a small fee, those of us with long commutes are somewhat screwed. #brammoenertia
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11/10/09
"Lou Rhodes, who was in charge of ENVI, continues to oversee electrical vehicle development for both companies." #chryslerenvi
11/10/09
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11/10/09
Its like they are running a bakery with an easy bake oven. And the light bulb inside keeps burning out. And truth be told, even when the oven is working at its best and the bulb stays on -- whatever you bake in it is going to suck -- because its not a real oven. Its a piece of plastic shit with a dim light bulb.
This is not a real car company. What's the last mainstream platform they developed? The K car? Half-baked cars built with very dim light bulbs. #chryslerenvi