Brammo Empulse RR may be racing at 2015 TT Zero

If loose lips sink ships and a picture is worth a thousand words, we can't help but wonder what sort of damage a photo hoisted up onto Twitter can do. Certainly, it seems, it can remove the element of surprise. For example, motorcycle racer Lee Johnston appears to have flashed some cards by uploading a picture of himself onto the social media site, an image which was then retweeted by the Mugen TT Zero team.

Taken at Thunderhill Raceway in California, the background shows what appears to be a Brammo Empulse RR wearing a decal of his number "13" on its nose. Putting two-and-two together, we come up with the UK native taking the saddle for the former motorcycle producer, now electric drivetrain developer at the 2015 running of the TT Zero.

It makes sense, too. The Ashland Talent, Oregon-based firm has already sunk a lot of effort into producing a top-tier electric race bike – it set a new SportElectric TT record at last summer's Refuel event – and as the company goes forward in its new role, a competition like the TT Zero can serve as a terrific test bench, as well as a great marketing tool.

Which leads us to our to our final pondering – under which flag will this race bike fly? Will it be a Brammo, or could it possibly campaign as a Victory. Given the somewhat intertwined nature of the two companies' relationship, either is possible. If it's the latter, certainly the headlines would write themselves. Polaris, which owns the brand, isn't yet known for electric motorcycles, but does have a history of racing its snowmobiles and other recreational vehicles. An international event of this nature could be a boost to both its battery-based efforts and hint at the nature of its first model, possibly named the Victory Charger. Whatever the case, we'll keep our eyes open and let you know.