Posted on 01/30/2018 11:02:12 AM PST by Red Badger
Harley-Davidson, not always the last word in cutting-edge technology, will enter the 21st century with a possibly LiveWire-based production electric motorcycle later this year.
Harley-Davidson, that supremely American bastion of two-wheeled culture, is building a production electric motorcycle based on its excellent LiveWire concept from 2014 and we're stoked because it's supposed to hit dealers this year.
Let's face it, Harley-Davidson is a weird company. It always just does its own thing and generally manages to just skate by, ignoring the ups and downs of the motorcycle industry as a whole, and that's why its LiveWire concept was both utterly shocking (pun intended) and not, all at the same time.
"The EV motorcycle market is in its infancy today, but we believe premium Harley-Davidson electric motorcycles will help drive excitement and participation in the sport globally," said Matt Levatich, Harley-Davidson's president and CEO. "As we expand our EV capabilities and commitment, we get even more excited about the role electric motorcycles will play in growing our business."
The LiveWire concept seemed odd on the surface, but when you break it down, the design hewed reasonably close to the traditional Harley riding experience, sans that famous potato-potato exhaust note. It didn't produce huge torque numbers, just 58 lb-ft but because that figure was available at zero RPM, it wasn't entirely dissimilar to the low-down torque one gets from a colossal V-Twin. It also didn't make a ton of horsepower, a Harley-Davidson tradition but by Motor Company standards, it was light at under 500 lbs.
In all, the LiveWire was a really good electric bike in 2014, when many of its competitors still felt a little toy-like and under-developed. Hopefully, HD has funneled some development dollars its way in the last four years and brought it in line with the excellent electric motorcycles that can be had today from companies like Zero and Lightning.
So far, details on the new production electric bike are thin on the ground, but we've reached out to Harley-Davidson for further information and will update this story accordingly.
Motorcycle ping!......................
Will come with MP3 player for Engine Sounds
ELECTRIC HOGS?????..............
Call me when there’s an electric ATV that’s worth a crap.
Well, they’re ALL worth a crap......................
We used cardboard and saved our cards but our Mothers still threw them out anyway
I drove an electric cycle one time a few years ago. It was FAST! Quite a thrill.
Yes, people tend to forget electric motors have enormous torque from the get go..................
Well...elctric sheep has been done. So...
BMW (Bikes Made Weird) on the other hand...
That looks like something from TRON.
Harley owners are about being loud and obnoxious (90% or so); look at me types. An electric bike doesn’t do that.
Electric bikes can be plenty fast. I have seen a couple compete in short track events and they do very well. You just don’t have that pit of the stomach rumble.
The prototype in 2014 had only a 60 mile range.
If they can triple that and get the charge time down to less than an hour it might sell.........
>Will come with MP3 player for Engine Sounds
LOL! Just what I was thinking. Without the noise it ain’t a Harley.
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