The adventures of Dorothy, the first 100 miles..part one.

This story starts out with “once upon a time”….
Once upon a time there was a lady. She loved motorcycles. Her whole family rode them, street and dirt! So, she decided to start a “family” business and develope a motorcycle website. She wanted to provide information that her own family could use; maps, events, and lots of motorcycle information. She wanted to provide information about ALL types of motorcycles and so she decided to “surf the web” for all the latest news. She surfed day and night and, along with everything else, she found an article on a company called Brammo Motosport in Ashland, Oregon (http://www.brammo.com/home/). The lady was intrigued!!  As she read away she discovered that they produced an electric motorcycle called the Enertia. It was even made from recycled material.  Ewww…Ahhh. Her VERY green grand-daughter would think she was a hero. She had to see one, to hear one, or ‘NOT’ hear one, as is the case of an electric bike!
After much investigation, the decision was made to take a test ride on the bike. By that time, they were being sold at the local Best Buy store in Portland, Oregon, her hometown http://www.bestbuy.com/. What luck for the lady!! She made the trip to the store, located near the Portland airport. Just through the front door sat the beautiful Enertia electric motorcycle in all its glory. It was fabulous! The purchase was made on the spot, February 4,2010. The man in charge of the purchase, Chris Hertz, made the experience perfect.

As luck would have it, the weather turned bad. It toyed with the lady! She waited for days to go get her new motorcycle and bring her home to live. On the days when the heavens didn’t pour down on her, she would have to work and toil. On the days when she could go pick up the bike and ride her home, the rain came. After many…..and I do mean, MANY calls to Chris Hertz of Best Buy, there was a ray of sunshine on the horizon. Chris was so understanding and yet so tired of listening to the constant whining from the lady…she wanted her bike to come home so badly… that Chris needed to find a way to help the her and maintain his sanity.
One call to the Brammo company and a request for help brought the answer. David Murray, a Brammo tech for the same area where the lady lived, drove to the Best Buy store by the Portland airport, picked up the sweet little electic ride, tied it into the back of his pick-up, and drove it out to the ladies house! There, on March 2, 2010, the Enertia electric motorcycle and the lady were united. David Murray arrived at the house of the lady, lovingly unloaded the Enertia, went over all the aspects of the bikes elements, and even took the bike for a spin… just to make sure all was right. The lady was so happy!!
The end….. or is it? Not even…
I want to take this opportunity to thank all the participants in this little story… my story! Thank-you, Chris and Thank-you, David. My Enertia, Dorothy, and I are very happy together. We are commuter buddies and have been all over town together. And, that’s where the story goes next. Please hold for the sequel, “The Adventure of Dorothy, The First 100 Miles, Part 2..”.

Lady Godiva on wheels… all over town with Dorothy

My Enertia and the new paint…

As I have already written, my buddy Jason Sarratt is doing a custom paint job on my little electric sweetie, Dot the Enertia by Brammo Motosport out of Ashland, Oregon. My Best Buy sales person and Brammo representative, Chris Hertz, helped me purchase an additional set of panels with my rewards card points and shipped them down to Arizona to Jason’s shop at Hellcat Customs.
After close inspection, Jason decided that the pieces provided…the colored pieces on the bike…didnt give sufficient area to do the job he wanted to do and so, he requested the black pieces, as well. A phone call to the local Brammo representative, Dave Murray, had a set of black panels at my door, hand delivered and ready to pack up and send. Jason has some great ideas up his sleeve and as a master painter, I know he will turn my Enertia into a work of art. Again, if you don’t know Jason’s work…take a peek at an example at Robs blog
So, the progress is stalled until the black panels reach Arizona. I am so excited about this custom paint! My Enertia will be like no other…..

Lady Godiva on wheels…anxious as all get out!!

two things you can’t do on an electric bike…and saved by a hog!

Well, I got my bike! (story to follow) She is a kick in the butt, too. Sporty, easy to ride, quiet and a reason for people to stare. I have been stopped at restaurants and mini marts. Everyone wants to know what it is, how it works, what it costs and where they can look at one. I have become incredibly popular and I am the first electric bike in my town and in my motorcycle club, Rose City Motorcycle Club.
Now, there are differences in electric verses gas and as I have been riding, I have learned two of them the hard way! If the visual that developes in your mind doesn’t cause you to giggle, I will be surprised.

So, here I am on my maiden voyage. I am lovin’ the feel of the bike. I have my full face helmet on with the face shield slightly open so I can feel the breeze in my face. My braids are flyin’ and I’m in heaven. I pull up to the first red traffic light and stop. I’m contemplating where to go and who to see and without thinking I bend the throttle a little, just like I always do. Anticipating the roar of the motor and that rat-tat-tat,  the electic bike lurches forward and me with it. My feet fly up and back down on the asphalt while my body leans back and then snaps forward. My head kinda follows and my helmet slides down ever my eyes. When all the motion stops, I mutter, “phew” as I adjust my helmet back to where I can see again! I couldn’t help but laugh at myself! Then the light turns green and while shaking my head, I’m off again hoping to remember to put that on my list of “things you can’t do on an electric bike..#1” and to never do that again.

Like any vehicle, it takes time to get to know your electric bike. I discovered that I hadn’t quite set the bike up right to charge after having it hooked up all night. I had been in counseling all day with my grandson and the whole time I am thinking about how much I want to get home and ride. The weather was warm for a March day and the sun was out. I just couldn’t stand the thought of missing a perfect day to ride. When the session was over, I kissed my grandson and was the first person out the door. My Suburban must have known what was up because it was unusually stealthy on the freeway and managed to find every hole it could fit in to avoid the traffic.
Once home, I discovered that my hubby had already taken the Road King and was off enjoying the day. I didn’t care! I threw off my clothes and slipped into my leather pants, t-shirt and riding jacket. I grabbed my helmet and gloves, slipped on my boots and ran out the door. It was 4pm and I could still ride for a couple hours before the sun went down. I opened the garage door, unhooked the bike from the electrical outlet, put the seat on and locked it. I was ready!  I pulled it outside and started it up. I checked to see how much juice I had and noticed that it wasnt fully charged. “hmmmm”, I said. I had a little less than 20% battery. “I wonder how far you can go on 20%?”I asked?  And as I was going through what I had done wrong with the charging process in my mind, I heard the familiar sound of the Road King. After “hello’s” my hubby decided we should go to dinner and take a little spin on the bikes together . I didn’t even think to say no……really?  I figured I would have enough juice to ride around town, down to the local Nonna Emilia’s Italian restaurant and back home with no problem. And, I almost made it, too.  But, alas, about a mile from home I lost power. I checked to see how much charge was left and it was at a whopping 3%. Crap!  I started the bike up again and made it a few more feet before I depleted all the charge that was left. To my right sat my hubby on the Road King laughing his butt off. He laughed so hard he just about hurt himself…which made me laugh. So, here we are in the middle divider of the street sitting on our bikes laughing like a couple of crazy people. Too bad laughter doesnt power my bike! But, I was sure glad he decided to come along.
To make a long story short, there we were with the tow rope attached to the forks of my bike and the tail end of the Road King making the last mile home. The Road King towing the Enertia to safety! I only wish someone had taken a picture of that. It does prove that 20% doesn’t go as far as I thought and that we all need each other, gas-powered and electric.That is when I decided that I would have to go home and add to my list..”things you can’t do on an electric bike..#2″.  Just to make a point, my hubby nearly ran out of gas the other day and anticipated having to call me to come get him!!
I’m sure some of you remember having a bike with no gas gauge and having to do the “tank shimmy”, that thing you do so you can hear how much fuel is in the tank. It took some time to figure out what you were hearing meant. From time to time you had to pop off the cap and make a visual. Sometimes you didn’t quite figure right and all you had left was the reserve tank or nothing at all. Well, that’s kind of what I’m going through. I don’t know what the heck 20% charge means, yet! But, I will. 
So, to recap:
#1 thing you can’t do on an electric bike….DO NOT bend the throttle at the red traffic lights..or anywhere else you might be while at a stop. It might not turn out well and you do not hear rat-tat-tat!
#2 thing you can’t do on an electric bike….run out of gas and call AAA to come and gas you up! Its electric and unless you plan on carrying a REALLY long extension cord, consider yourself screwed.
Despite the couple of mishaps, I love this bike. If you are or know a person who would love to ride but feels a little intimidated,  consider the Enertia. Once you get some skills under your belt, you can ride anything! This bike IS the perfect commuter bike. I can’t say enough good things about it. And, the best thing of all is my very “green” grand-daughter thinks I’m wonderful! 
P.S. I have been teased insesively….and all I have to say to that is, when gas is through the roof, think of me!

The “Green” Lady Godiva on wheels….charging!!

Gotcha thinkin?

If all the recent information has you thinking you might want to consider taking a closer look at the Enertia, here is the contact information so you can take a look at these Best Buy Stores.

There are currently 6 locations on the west coast:
CALIFORNIA…
 11301 W Pico Blvd
    Los Angeles, CA 90064
    Phone: 310-268-9190
740 S Sepulveda Blvd
    El Segundo, CA 90245
    Phone: 310-416-9937
 1127 Industrial Rd
    San Carlos, CA 94070
    Phone: 650-622-0050
 Open Soon!
    1950 Santa Rosa Ave
    Santa Rosa Marketplace
    Santa Rosa, CA 95407
    Phone: 707-545-1078
OREGON…
9739 Ne Cascades Parkway
    Portland, OR 97220
    Phone: 503-249-7130
1780 Jantzen Beach Center
    Portland, OR 97217
    Phone: 503-737-3599
You can also check out all the information at http://www.brammo.com/home/ and if there aren’t any Best Buy Stores in your area, call Brammo direct at  (541) 482-9555.

Lady Godiva on wheels, keeping you informed!!