After several months of testing and refining the BRD RedShift electric motorcycle, pricing and technical specifications from BRD Motorcycles has just graced our inbox. Wanting to make sure the BRD RedShift SM & RedShift MX lived up to the company’s hype, BRD has been reluctant to quote exact figures and prices until the San Francisco startup was confident it could back up those announcements with actual product performance. True to our prediction at the time of the BRD RedShift SM’s launch, the MX version will come with a $14,995 price tag, while the SM supermotard will tack on an extra $500 for a $15,495 MSRP.
Making 40 peak-horsepower, the BRD RedShift touts 250cc bike specs, especially with its 260/265 lbs (SM/MX) curb weight for street use (headlight and switchgear). In racing trim, both the SM & MX shed an additional 10 lbs. Because of the interest being generated in the police-style model (RedShift PD), BRD will make the model available with its more robust tail section, hard luggage, and more powerful electrical system for powering electrical components. These added components add an additional 35 lbs to the RedShift’s base weight, though the PD model is expected to be the company’s best selling model, as public and private fleet vehicles are increasingly pressured to include electrics into their vehicle pools.
Touting the company’s ICE performance parity, BRD is quick to point out not only the BRD RedShift’s spec sheet advantage over say, a Honda CRF250, but in real-world application the RedShift exemplifies the advantages that electrics bring over gas-powered equivalents. For instance with the gearing and shifting necessary for ICE machines, the BRD RedShift creates and maintains more at-the-wheel torque, meaning the electric motorcycle hooks up with the tarmac/dirt with greater force and over a greater duration than its gas counterparts.
A better known advantage for electric motorcycles is their total cost of ownership value compared to internal combustion machines (we’ll leave the net present value (NPV) argument for another day). Though coming with a larger price tag up-front ($14,995/$15,495) compared to ICE motorcycles’ ($7,410 for the Honda CRF250X), the added cost of motor rebuilds, oil changes, and other ICE-specific maintenance items make the savings of an electric motorcycle add-up, even after just 200 hrs of ownership on the MX model. This doesn’t include the Federal and State subsidies currently available for street-legal electric motorcycles, which can drop the cost of bikes like the BRD RedShift by an additional several thousand dollars.
The BRD RedShift still packs a premium over other electric motorcycle manufacturers, namely Zero Motorcycles which has been leading off-road electric space. Part of that added cost comes from the RedShift’s 5.2 kWh battery pack, the largest in its class (the Brammo Enertia comes with a 3.1 kWh pack, while the Zero S comes with 3.9 kWh on-board). BRD also leads the class with the most horsepower, with 40 five second peak horsepower (25hp continuous), which compares favorably to Brammo’s 17hp motor, and Zero’s 31hp peak power figures.
Source: BRD Motorcycles
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