scot in exile

Living Legend
Joined
Jan 14, 2006
Messages
9,387
Location
Fort walton Beach FL, Glenrothes Fife
Ride
2011 Rocket
Shame to see a once great company going down so fast, but it has happened to many before(Triumph)

Harley-Davidson Finally, Finally Releases The Livewire





Harley-Davidson has been teasing its first electric motorcycle, the Livewire, since dinosaurs roamed the earth. We first rode it way back in 2014. It seemed as much a part of Marvel's fantasy world as the superheroes themselves. Harley has been teasing us about the Livewire for at least five years now, showing it off from time to time but never giving us any more significant information about it, even at the 115th-anniversary opportunity. That ends today, however.

https://www.bing.com/aclick?ld=d36s...sclkid}&rlid=7e946fa9a9f014ebf265339a48a6f50d
Today's news came not at a motorcycle show, but at CES 2019, which focuses more on electronics and technology. Vehicles have become a much bigger part of the show in recent years, though, as the line between them and high-tech gadgetry becomes more and more blurred. Not only was the Livewire there in all its glory, but Harley also showed off prototypes of an electric dirt bike and scooter, as well as a concept drawing for four potential models. We'll write about these in another article.

Finally, we get some official specifications of the Livewire's performance. It'll do 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds. The range will be about 110 miles. It will charge off any standard household outlet at Level 1, as well as support Level 3 fast charging. H-D did not provide any charge times. But it did provide a price: $29,799. You can now look up a dealer that will be able to sell you the Livewire on H-D's website.

© RideApart.com/Hersteller Harley-Davidson Livewire
There's still a great deal that we don't know—the size of the battery or the power of the electric motor, for example. Harley's always a little bit cagey about ratings like this anyway. The Zero SR is known to have a similar 120 mile mixed city/highway range with a 14.4-kilowatt-hour battery. The Livewire is probably a bit heavier than the SR, so we could be looking at a low to mid-teens kilowatt-hour battery. The range is not out of line with other comparable electric bikes, but certainly short of a typical Harley touring bike. You'll be hard-pressed to finish your poker or toy runs on the Livewire.

While performance specs are scarce, we do have lots of information about the H-D Connect Service, "an LTE-enabled Telematics Control Unit coupled with connectivity and cloud services using the latest version of the Harley-Davidson App." The bike will be connected to the cloud. Owners can check the battery charge and expected range remotely, know where it is and if it's been tampered with or moved, and automatically receive service reminders. Perhaps this is why the Livewire was revealed at an electronics show rather than a motorcycle show.

Finally, since a giant part of the Harley experience is the sound, the Livewire promises "a new signature Harley-Davidson sound as it accelerates and gains speed. This new futuristic sound represents the smooth, electric power of the LiveWire motorcycle." We don't know if this will be the turbine whoosh of KITT from Knight Rider or a modernized version of the classic "potato-potato" sound. What we do know is that unlike other Harleys, adding loud pipes to the Livewire won't help amplify the sound.

© Provided by The Motorsport Network Harley-Davidson Livewire and Concepts
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Why is Harley made an Electric M/C? - Well I can think of several reasons. None of which apply to me.

  1. They may already be losing potential customers to ZERO.
  2. Some countries taxation systems may well be VERY punitive regarding emissions - and they need to show they actually offer something. (this reminds me of the start of Catalysts in Germany).
  3. Most large EU cities are making life down right difficult as of Euro5 (1/1/2020) to move about on days of "smog" with anything non-ecological. Some have already started. So for anybody who does light commuting or is basically an Urban rider - Electric makes sense. Urban riders are a HUGE market here.
  4. FASHION. I can't comment on the rest of you, but here I am definitely way out of step with the world. I am in the position that I have to buy a new car, soon. From budgetary as well as other reasons it will most likely be a "soccer mom mid-sized SUV" - 90% of the "goodies" that come standard have zero interest for me. Seriously! - only found one make so far that offers a full size spare wheel.

tbh - my only regular runs at the moment - could be covered by a 100mile range. I would however go for a smaller engine and something nimble rather than Electric for the moment. The R3 I did not buy to do this with and it does not do it well. This does NOT mean I plan to sell it either.
 
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