When Polaris recently bought the motorcycle-making business from Brammo, we were left with more than a few questions. Now, at least one of these may have been answered – which brand Polaris will use to market its electric bikes.
It seems the powersports company has recently trademarked the name Victory Charger for "Electric motorcycles and structural parts therefor." From this we might infer a few things. For one, the Brammo Empulse and Enertia Plus are, quite probably, a part of history. Though Brammo still exists as an electric powertrain development entity, we are unlikely to see the brand name back on bikes.
Further, Polaris will use its existing Victory Motorcycles dealership channels to leverage sales and provide service. While it could be argued that drivetrain specs might have been the reason Zero Motorcycles outsold its erstwhile competitor by a comfortable margin, it's worth noting that Brammo had about a third fewer outlets in the US. Since people won't typically buy something they can't see and touch, having models on many more showroom floors should certainly help sales.
What we don't know, of course, is what the Victory Charger will look like. Will it be a rebranded Empulse R with a 6-speed transmission, a bike based on the high performance Empulse RR, or a reworking of either of these. What we're pretty sure it won't be is new-from-the-ground-up cruiser. Although the Victory range currently consists of big bikes in bagger, touring, and basic cruiser trim, designing and engineering an electric equivalent will take some amount of time. Plus, to our minds, the name Charger connotes something a little more sporty than the feet-ahead-of-the-seat segment.
While we leave you to make your own suggestions about what Polaris has in mind for its new-technology motorcycles in Comments, we will note that whatever is up its sleeve will probably be revealed sooner than later. During the acquisition, the company stated it would begin production in the second quarter, which is just a few months from now.
It seems the powersports company has recently trademarked the name Victory Charger for "Electric motorcycles and structural parts therefor." From this we might infer a few things. For one, the Brammo Empulse and Enertia Plus are, quite probably, a part of history. Though Brammo still exists as an electric powertrain development entity, we are unlikely to see the brand name back on bikes.
Further, Polaris will use its existing Victory Motorcycles dealership channels to leverage sales and provide service. While it could be argued that drivetrain specs might have been the reason Zero Motorcycles outsold its erstwhile competitor by a comfortable margin, it's worth noting that Brammo had about a third fewer outlets in the US. Since people won't typically buy something they can't see and touch, having models on many more showroom floors should certainly help sales.
What we don't know, of course, is what the Victory Charger will look like. Will it be a rebranded Empulse R with a 6-speed transmission, a bike based on the high performance Empulse RR, or a reworking of either of these. What we're pretty sure it won't be is new-from-the-ground-up cruiser. Although the Victory range currently consists of big bikes in bagger, touring, and basic cruiser trim, designing and engineering an electric equivalent will take some amount of time. Plus, to our minds, the name Charger connotes something a little more sporty than the feet-ahead-of-the-seat segment.
While we leave you to make your own suggestions about what Polaris has in mind for its new-technology motorcycles in Comments, we will note that whatever is up its sleeve will probably be revealed sooner than later. During the acquisition, the company stated it would begin production in the second quarter, which is just a few months from now.
Featured Gallery 2014 Brammo Empulse
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