Brammo Wants to Shock Barack
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Our neighbors here in Southern Oregon, Brammo Motorsports, have been making a lot of news lately. First, by pushing an improved version of the electric Enertia powercycle into production and onto the sales floor at Best Buy. Second, a prominent role in the first-ever international electric road race - the TTXGP at the Isle of Man. And now the Brammo boys are staging a savvy PR coup by delivering an Enertia to our president, Barack Obama.
Motorcycle USA tested the Enertia prototype last year and Wismann promises the production version is improved, with the top speed raised from 50s to 60s. He also assured us a test ride on the newer version in the near future. Stay tuned.
Shocking Barack is the name of the journey and the idea for the trip is quite clever. Enertia Lead Designer Brian Wismann and ad rep Dave Schiff are retracing the steps of the Big Three auto makers from Detroit to Washington, D.C. when they crawled to the capital looking for a bailout.
“Only instead of private jets and $20,000 round trip, we’re going via Brammo powercycles and about $4 worth of electricity,” said Schiff in the introductory video (see below). “And when we get there instead of asking for a handout, our hope is to present the President with what we think is a homegrown solution to the transportation crisis.”
At this time the duo are braving the weather riding their way to D.C. one power charge at a time. The Enertia has a range upward of 40 miles, depending on the way it's ridden, so lots of stops to recharge the batteries. Along the way the two are showing off the potential of the electric design to curious onlookers and having a fine time, if their blog is any indication.
But can they make it?
It’s a question they are asking themselves, with their latest blog post:
“Can we make it do DC? Can we really give a bike to Obama? From the outset we’ve asked ourselves those questions. But those aren’t the real questions, the big questions, the questions to which even an imagined “yes” generates goose bumps. Can Americans innovate? Can we create jobs? Can people go from A to B without harming the earth? These are the questions that matter, the real questions behind our trip.”
For a little inspiration the Brammo crew stopped off at a custom painter in Pittsburg to put their answer on the Enertia’s tank. The words are something the Commander in Chief should be familiar with - “Yes We Can!”
Follow Brian and Dave progress at
www.shockingbarack.com
Post Tags: electric motorcycles, barack obama
