Born to be sustainable

They might not have a patriotic gas tank to hide your drug money in, but today’s models of electric motorcycles entering the market maintain the sense of freedom and rebellion that their gas-guzzling cousins have made so famous.

Will you be hitting a stretch of black top for a long road trip? Probably not. The bikes hitting the streets are geared more towards commuters and your basic get-around-town needs. But still, it beats being trapped in your car or paying for gas as it fluctuates between high prices and not-as-high prices. One bike from Oregon is sure to have you easy riding through town.

Brammo out of Ashland currently produces one model, the Enertia. So far it has been rather popular, keeping this small company busy with orders. And they’ll only be getting busier with their current partnership with mega-chain store Best Buy, who has begun to carry the bikes in their big-box locations. Retailing at $7,995, buyers benefit from a 10 percent federal tax credit in addition to the State of Oregon’s own tax incentives for all electric vehicles.

It is by far one of the more aesthetically pleasing electric bikes on the market. At first glance, you might not realize it is electric, which is a real plus given the range of oddball-looking electric bikes we’ve seen so far. The Enertia strikes the eye as somewhere between a cafe racer and a Harley Sportster.

The bike’s body is mainly centered in a diamond-shaped housing, causing second glances from those wondering where the engine might be. The one downside is the limited choice of colors, none of which are terribly appealing—the least abrasive being white and grey. But at least you’ll get noticed riding an offensively bright orange or green bike down the road.

The Enertia will take its rider up to 60 mph, and in the city, will travel a distance of around 40 miles on a single charge. The company claims that their bike is around five times more energy efficient than a Toyota Prius, and even if the electricity is coming from a coal burning power plant, its total emissions are still under its tail-piped counterparts out on the road.

Four hours is needed to fully charge the six lithium iron phosphate batteries—that is, if you maxed them out. You can plug the bike into the average wall socket overnight and it will be all set for tomorrow’s ride.

“Ah ha,” you say, thinking this is where the true costs factor in. After all, fuel, even electric, has to cost something right? According to Brammo, the Enertia will cost its rider around one cent per mile in electric costs, which boils down to about forty cents per day if you are fully draining the batteries. All in all, if you are maxing out the bike’s distance and energy needs seven days a week, this equals about $11.20 per month. Now depending upon the rate your usual car is guzzling down gasoline, this can either be an improvement, or not so impressive.

Sitting atop the bike, experienced bikers will begin scratching their heads as they search for the gearshift. It’s not under your left foot, and it’s not a suicide shift (which would be awesome)—in fact, it’s just not there at all. There is no transmission on the Enertia, or most electric bikes in general. Being an electric motorcycle, the current, and thus force, is routed directly into the motor and onto the wheel. Skipping past the second law of thermodynamics among other things, this means that the need for gears is bypassed. The bike will get up to speed without any need for the assistance of a transmission.

In the end, the Enertia is the perfect commuting vehicle. Easy to ride, easy to maintain, and any biker will tell you, easy to park—which works out great when downtown.

To add yet another benefit, not only is Brammo from Oregon, but the motorcycles themselves are mostly locally produced. About 70 percent of the bike, save a few parts originating in Europe and Asia, comes from within the United States—making this bike, for the most part, home grown.