Motorcyle and Biker Ride Reports and General Info

Best Buy may begin selling motorcycles at five West Coast stores this spring.

According to a report in Greentech Media, the CE chain will carry a $12,000 electric motorcycle in select West Coast stores starting in May, with Geek Squad workers possibly providing repair services in empty car A/V installation bays.

The bike, called Enertia, was developed by Brammo, an Oregon business that Best Buy’s venture capital arm invested in last year. The 7-year-old company said it designs and manufactures sustainable specialty vehicles and "performance products for the next generation of transportation."

CEO Craig Bramscher told attendees at the Pacific Crest Clean Technology Conference last week in San Francisco that Geek Squad agents will perform "level one" repairs on the bikes’ brakes, tires and electronics components, Greentech said. The latter include a built-in Web server, open-platform software applications and possible add-ons like on board cameras that could download images to travel blogs.

"What we're selling is a lot closer to consumer electronics than to transportation," Bramscher said.

The Enertia uses six lithium-phosphate battery modules that take about three hours to charge using a standard electrical outlet. The bike is highway legal with a 45-mile range and a maximum speed of 53 miles per hour, and the company is working on a two-seater model with a range of about 100 miles and a cruising speed of 75 miles per hour that may also be sold through Best Buy, Bramscher said.

I must admit, although I love to ride my Harley Davidson, I am intrigued by the thought of riding an electric motorcycle. I am sure it is super quiet, (which may be a negative safety issue) and should accelerate fast.

This particular model is probably intended as an around town motorcycle because it only has a range of 45 miles at a maximum of 53 miles per hour. I am sure in the future motorcycles such as this will get much more range, and go much faster.

What blows me away is that “The Geek Squad” will be servicing this thing? They are going to be doing brakes and tires? Well, it is what it is.

I look forward to hopefully testing one of these babies out. You can check out the Brammo website by clicking here.

By California Motorcycle Accident Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez, © 2009