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Best Buy Entering Motorcycle Biz: Report

Ashland, Ore. — 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 onboard 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.

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