Brammo Empulse and Empulse R finally unveiled: 100-mph speeds and raised prices

Brammo has suffered some major setbacks in getting its latest Empulse electric motorcycle to market, but the company has stuck to its revised launch date: it unveiled the 2013 model last night. The key specs haven’t changed during the delay — we’re still looking at a six-speed gearbox, a max speed of 100 mph and a fast-recharge time of 3.5 hours — but the price has jumped from $14,000 to $16,995. There’s also the Empluse R, a more premium model that will go on sale for $18,995 in June. The main difference between the base model and the R is the material: the Empulse has a plastic body, while the R uses carbon fiber. Check out the full presser below the break — and if you’re holding out for the 2013 Empulse, the gallery pics of the R will have to tide you over till the base model launches early next year.

Asphalt and Rubber

Ecotricity looks to break 100 mph barrier with Ion Horse electric bike, at Isle of Man TT (video)

More than two years after breaking the world land speed record with its wind-powered Greenbird, Ecotricity has its eyes set on the record books once again. This time around, the UK-based green energy company is bringing its Ion Horse superbike to the Isle of Man TT raceway, in the hopes that it will become the first electric bike to average 100 mph over the course of the one-lap race. Developed by a team from Kingston University London and constructed in seven months, the Ion Horse is powered by a set of lithium polymer cobalt batteries, allowing it to blast from zero to 60 in three seconds, before topping out at 140 mph. Its engine also boasts up to 100kW of power, which should help the Horse make its way around the Isle of Man’s sinuous, 37-mile circuit. The bike cost some £150,000 (about $245,000) to produce, but if Ecotricity breaks the aforementioned barrier during this week’s TT Zero race, the team will receive an extra £10,000 (roughly $16,370) from the Isle of Man Government, in addition to all kinds of street cred. The race was originally scheduled for yesterday, but has since been postponed due to rain. In the meantime, though, you can head past the break for a video of the Ion Horse during a recent practice run, followed by the full PR.

Grace One electric bicycle is ready for purchase, our bank accounts are still preparing (video)

Your average electric bicycle has a basket on the front and a lot of shame in the rear. Not the Grace One. When we first saw it almost two years ago, in the fall of 2009, it looked… well it looked like a pretty kickass bike. Since then the design has been thoroughly refined, the frame redesigned, but still the stacked projector headlamps remain in their aluminum housing in front of the bars. They’re a hint at the high-tech nature of this bike, which features integrated Li-ion batteries that charge in about an hour and spin a hub-mounted motor in the rear wheel, giving you a top speed of 30MPH and a range of up to 31 miles — all for a mere €4,199 ($6,000). If your finances can manage it the bike is available now, but if they can’t you’ll have to make do with a celebratory video of the thing in action after the break. Word of advice: get those glow sticks cracked and shaken up before you hit play.

Brammo delays flagship Empulse electric motobike to 2012, teases new transmission tech

Bad news for Brammo’s electric bikers: according to Asphalt and Rubber, word has it that the company’s flagship Empulse motorbike will now be delayed to 2012, citing CEO Craig Bramscher’s decision to integrate a certain new technology before launch. What could this be? Well, the site speculates that this has something to do with the six-speed Integrated Electric Transmission (IET) that Brammo recently licensed from Italian firm S.M.R.E., and this technology’s already featured on the company’s Engage and Encite dirt bikes announced last week. That said, there’s also a rumor that Brammo didn’t reach its pre-order goal of 1,000 units, which would certainly make sense for the company to delay the launch to pimp up its 100mph ride. We asked the Stig for a comment, and he wasn’t impressed.