Polaris is now in the e-motorbike business after buying Brammo

Polaris has acquired e-bike maker Brammo in a deal that leaves the future of the Brammo name and its Oregon-based factory in limbo. Brammo has been building the Empulse/R and Enertia e-bikes for several years, but the models haven't changed much since they first arrived -- and the company has been discounting them drastically of late. Polaris is one of Brammo's biggest investors, but decided to "recapitalize" it and "focus exclusively on the design, development and integration of electric vehicle powertrains." Polaris also said it would "begin manufacturing electric motorcycles in the second half of 2015 at its Spirit Lake, IA facility."

That last part is no doubt bad news for employees at Brammo's Talent, Oregon based manufacturing facility, where the two models are currently built. Polaris said that the move "frees Brammo to continue developing its innovative electric vehicle powertrains," which implies that Brammo's R&D department will carry on, even if manufacturing shuts down. Meanwhile, Polaris already owns legendary motorbike maker Indian and builds the quirky Slingshot three-wheeler, along with various off-road vehicles and watercraft. We'll have to wait and see what kind of e-bikes it releases later this year, but an Indian e-motorcycle would be even crazier than an electric Harley.