Harley-Davidson now taking orders for its first electric motorcycle.

MSN ^ | 01-08-2019 | MSN

[Captain Peter Blood]

The electric motorcycle that Harley-Davidson announced back in 2014 is finally hitting the market this year.

Since 2014, Harley-Davidson has been working on developing its first electric motorcycle; at the Consumer Electronics Show on Monday, the company announced that the 2020 LiveWire model is finally available for pre-order before its official August launch.

[dinodino]

An EV does not have to stop for hours to recharge at a high-current charger. Tesla’s Superchargers can have the drivers on their way in as few as 15 minutes.

[Do_Tar]

My '07 Electra Glide will go 200 miles on its 5 gallon tank. However at 200 miles there better be a gas station within coasting distance.

[EasySt]

All true but unlike this little beast, I can’t ride any of those on the local bicycle trails. And the suspension on this thing is one of its most surprising qualities. It’s not going to hop any fallen trees, but rocky gravel or dirt trails are no problem. (It even has electric reverse like my Goldwing!)

Between this and the Goldwing, there might be room for one of those awesome Dual Sport bug-out bikes somewhere in my garage, but I’m getting too old for tree hopping, alas.

[PLMerite]

This is a custom electric HD from 2002:

It looks a lot meaner, but still weird.

[albertabound]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vfpv4o5lsc

[bmwcyle]

YAWN

[Keyhopper]

Our roads are okay since we haven’t had snow since 1977.
Our problem is people just can’t drive worth a crap. I think the state gives them a DL when the get off the boat. They don’t have insurance and the vehicle isn’t maintained. And of course everybody is on their phone.

[wally_bert]

The plan is to send my eldest Jeep to the shop for one grand push to get it roadworthy. I.E. transmission, suspension, and other stuff that needs a lift and adult supervision.

While it’s out, I plan to bring the 750 home from storage into the land of light and power. No juice where it is. Still plenty of wife’s stuff in the garage after the big move.

I got compliments on it even as it sits.

[adorno]

An EV does not have to stop for hours to recharge at a high-current charger.

It is my understanding that, faster charging of a battery makes it age faster and leads to charges that don't last as long.

Tesla’s Superchargers can have the drivers on their way in as few as 15 minutes.

That's supposedly, from what I've read, to get around 80% charge, which means stopping more frequently to recharge, and, like I said and according to what I've read, the battery ages faster and leads to more frequent stops and faster depletion of the smaller charges.

But still, how many 'superchargers' does Tesla have on the road, and how convenient are they to get to? Some of the power in a battery would be wasted just getting to an inconvenient charger location, if one is anywhere close.

[dinodino]

There are lots of Superchargers, and they are convenient. In the interest of full disclosure, I drive a Tesla Model S. As for battery life, I believe the battery is designed to retain no less than 80% capacity at the 100k mile mark, and is warrantied to 125k miles against failure.

[Red Badger]

Motorcycle(?) Ping!........................

[Red Badger]

110 Miles on a charge is not very far compared to the gasoline engine that will give you several hundred miles on a tank.

Obviously you don't ride a Harley................................8^)

[Red Badger]

I’m deaf in one ear and mostly deaf in the other.

I don’t hear my bike anyway!...................

[Teacher317]

It will go a whopping 110 miles on a full charge

That's the typical range on one tank for most bikes.

[adorno]

There are lots of Superchargers, and they are convenient. In the interest of full disclosure, I drive a Tesla Model S. As for battery life, I believe the battery is designed to retain no less than 80% capacity at the 100k mile mark, and is warrantied to 125k miles against failure.

That's not what I've read:

In October 2014, there were 119 standard Tesla Supercharger stations operating in the United States, 76 in Europe, and 26 in Asia. On 31 March 2016, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the number of Supercharger stations would be doubled (from 613 stations with 3,628 chargers) by 2017.

Or what I've seen:

https://insideevs.com/watch-time-lapse-of-tesla-model-3-supercharging-from-0-100/

IN OTHER WORDS...

Not even close (yet) to an ICE vehicle, which can go 300-400 miles before needing refueling, where refueling takes between 2-5 minutes. I can refuel my vehicle in about 4 minutes and I'm good for another 350-380 miles on the highway (I drive an SUV, but not a big one).

BTW, you do realize that you are purchasing your 'fuel' UP-FRONT when you buy an EV vehicle, don't you? And that your 'fuel' will end up costing you more during the lifetime or just the first 10 years, than for a comparably-sized vehicle?

[KC Burke]

Daughter has the new winged three row Tesla. X Talked to them about recharging. The strategically situated Tesla speed charging stations will give them an 80% recharge in 50 minutes. So, for example, if running between two cities that are outside the maximum range of 295, they set their route for having a recharge and lunch about 200 miles from their destination.

Drive for four hours, eat lunch and recharge, drive for three hours and they are home. The thing is gimmicky so the kids love it. The acceleration can be blinding if you floor it.

[Constitution Day]

Super mega ultra gay.

[dinodino]

I can go in excess of 300 miles without refueling, and have had zero difficulty on road trips finding Superchargers. In addition, I have a J-1772 adapter which allows me to use non-Tesla chargers, of which there are thousands.

Regarding cost of fuel: you are assuming that my motivation for driving the Tesla is fuel cost, which is absolutely incorrect. This is a blazingly fast, quiet, well-built, and gorgeous luxury car, which is why I bought it. It is faster than the BMW M car which was its predecessor. The fact that the car has lifetime free charging at Superchargers is just icing on the cake.

I’m a longtime gearhead, and have owned close to 150 classic, sports, and high performance cars and motorcycles. I love the sound of an engine as much as anyone, but I have to say that anyone who says the Model S is a bad car is not being objective, or has never touched one.

[dinodino]

Your Supercharger numbers are off, by the way. As of December 2018, there are 11,400 Superchargers. By the end of 2019, there will be 23,000.

[adorno]

Sure, you can go 300 miles, and then, you have to recharge, and recharging, as shown in the video, is not as short as in and out in a matter of minutes. A Honda Civic can go some 440 miles before needing to refuel, and it only takes 5 minutes or less. The cost of fuel is not what I was pointing out. What I was simply pointing out is that, you are being sold the 'fuel' for your vehicle, up front. Most EV buyers think about their 'fuel' as being just the electricity it takes for a recharge. But, the majority of the cost of the 'fuel' was bought up-front when the vehicle was purchased new. IOW, the battery is the 'fuel', and that is the most expensive part of an EV, where batteries can cost, initially, between $5,000 to $20,000 or more, depending upon the vehicle purchased. EV makes will never point that out, and that is lying by omission about the true cost of 'refueling'.

Regarding the 'blazingly fast' driving, the question is, WHY?, why would a person buy a vehicle which can be blazingly fast in city driving, or even on highways where most of the speed limits are 65 MPH? When people look to save on EVs, they're not thinking about driving blazinly fast. EVs are supposed to be for the regular consumer, and the driving enthusiasts are not the bigger target market.

I never said that a Tesla is a bad car. What I do point out is that, it's not a practical car; not for economic reasons, and not for longer distance driving, and not economical when it comes to 'fuel', and 'fuel' costs is what the EVs tout as their advantages.