"Not only is Icon’s involvement important for Brammo, it’s also important for the sport of electric motorcycle racing," states Brammo designer Brian Wismann. "Here is a brand that is known for being innovative and different, stepping up to support an entirely new genre in the motorcycle world - electrics. Last year was a huge milestone with Steve Atlas (pictured) bringing home our first TTXGP championship and we’re excited to have the opportunity to defend that championship with a great partner in Icon Motosports. With the bike’s distinctive design, you’ll be hard pressed to miss Team Icon Brammo on the track this year."

As for performance, writing on Brammo's blog, Steve says, "On the dyno this new engine spun the drum at an extemely respectible 130hp. And though this number may not drop your jaw by itself, considering our peak output last year was roughly 88hp, a jump of over 40hp is pretty darn impressive. Add to that a winter diet that shaved off 35 pounds and a torque output that has doubled -- yes, doubled -- and the end result should surely be a noticeable difference."

"In fact, after the first session at Oregon Raceway Park, a track I had never ridden before, I was nearly speachless," he continues. "Can you say a totally new motorcycle? Everything felt so alien it was like I had never ridden the bike before! The added power had me carrying straightaway speeds double-digits above anything seen last year and this was at a track with relatively short straights. And dispite the reduced weight, this added pace increased braking forces so heavily that I was bottoming the forks with ease. Another byproduct of this addition oomph was fairly heavy spinning of the rear tire exiting several of the medium speed corners. And while the linear torque production of the electric motor makes controlling them relatively easy, last year's bike simply didn't have the power to break the Pirelli stick loose, so this was something new to get used to."

"In total we did five, 3-5 lap sessions on the new Empulse RR and even though the track was totally new to me, by the final session we were on pace, if not slightly quicker, than what the fastest gas-powered bike has ever done there before, so this was encouraging," concludes Steve. "But because this was just a word-of-mouth comparison and no really big racing organizations go to ORP, it's hard to tell just how fast we were going. Either way, I can assure you it was several seconds, if not more, quicker than what last year's bike would have been capable of, so I can quite confidently say that our Infineon lap record from last year should be broken very quickly and by a healthy margin."

Top comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
Comment!
Got a tip for us? Email: tips@rideapart.com