When Harley Davidson announced the closure of the Kansas City manufacturing plant, they also gave notice that Project LiveWire would be coming to market in 18 months. LiveWire, the new Harley Davidson electric motorcycle, is a corporate moonshot, they’re going for the high tech end of the motorcycle industry, a decidedly different environment from that occupied by the big twin cruisers that make up the rest of their product line. As the mainstay of the Motor Company’s customer base continues to age out of the market, they need to attract younger buyers. Will LiveWire be the key?
Harley-Davidson remains fully committed to investing in product development to inspire new riders through redefining its product in traditional spaces and expanding into new spaces. The company is on target to launch its first electric motorcycle within 18 months. Today, the company announces it will invest more aggressively to lead in the application of electric motorcycle technology to inspire ridership among a new audience.
“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,” stated Levatich. “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 company’s options are limited. With motorcycle sales down overall and Harley’s market down even more, how can they get back into the game? This is a bold move and it could work. Putting a big brand name on an electric motorcycle might help sales, but will these find a place in a garage next to an Electra Glide or Softail or will they be the ride of choice of riders who never considered a Harley at all?
Electric motorcycles are still a niche market and they’re the kind of product many riders will have to be convinced makes sense. The actual performance of one of these bikes will likely be far beyond the typical Harley Davidson though the usual range and recharge time questions remain. It will be a sort of high performance commuter instead of a weekend cruiser so maybe it does have a place next to that Softail after all. This will be a very interesting introduction and I truly hope it is well received and a market success. Harley has been with us for a very long time and I hope it regains its footing and is with us far into the future, whether electric or not.
Kevin says
As someone with a reasonable commute and who owns other bikes for the weekend, I’m pretty interested. I’ve been looking at other electric bikes, like Alta Motors supermoto – but it can’t really handle a commute. The specs on this bike are interesting, it’s almost 200lbs heavier than the Alta bikes, but without knowing the torque maps it looks like the livewire hp/weight ratio wins. If I’m primarily riding highway for 30 minutes and city for 15, this seems like a good option… if I can convince my boss to install a charger at work
Waah. says
I’m thinking roll on power like you never seen. But. The batteries have got to be swap outs from stations put around town or on a touring route. Another maybe is to market it for mostly around town use.
Electric motors make full torque as soon as the switch is on, except when controlled otherwise. So the potential for a fierce blast or two is here. Or just sip the electrons and ease about. Custom batteries and builders. Etc. .
One thing I saw on an electric car drag race video was the use of capacitors to store electrons for short times to be used as electric nitrous oxide . When the guy hit the switch on the caps, it almost put his helmet in the back seat, with his head in it. Nobody does it with electric cars for the street I know of. If Harley makes this thing a vmax killer? How about 2wd? With a deep dish seat to keep the rider around, computer control, abs, a $999.99 price tag, I want 3.
Gotta go, haddock is ready.
This has real potential.
Chris H says
I would like to know the voltage they’ve decided to go with. If they’re in the 250-300 range, it could be very good. If they stay in the 100 range, it will be just another electric that will lose out compared to gas bikes. A good, high voltage bike would be a nice street “bruiser” that could fit with Harley’s image.
Range, as long as it’s over 100 miles, won’t matter much. It’s a city bike, not a touring bike. They’re being smart designing it like a cafe racer (single seat, minimal tail, etc.) to discourage the idea of using it for longer rides. This is a nice mix of bikes like my cafe’d T500 and V-Max, fun to play with for short hops, nice to look at, but when it comes time to ride all day, they stay in the shop.
If they aim for a good niche, they can own it, and make the brand a tech leader. If they try and compete heads up against gas bikes, even in two years, they’ll get pummeled. Batteries and controllers are getting better, but they take too long to charge, and swapping isn’t practical. I know scooters are trying it in other countries, but that is a different animal entirely, and even then it’s not taking much of a hold.
Harley also needs to beat Polaris to market. They bought Brammo and have the old Empulse, are supposed to bring a new bike out in 2021/22. Eighteen months means the Livewire would have at least a year’s head start on Polaris, coming out in the 2020 model year.
I own bikes from nine manufacturers and have owned others, but no Harleys. If this bike can fulfill the promise Harley has put out about it in the past, I’d be happy to add it to the garage.
alex says
hmm, as someone who is probably in the target market (younger, interested in other motorcycles but not a harley fan) i have to say my biggest issue is the harley logo on the side. i don’t really want to be confused with the open-faced helmet, leather vest crowd.
seems like an interesting bike though
Charlie says
I think this will be the end, or at least the beginning of the end for Harley Davidson. A really bad business decision. They want to go from big, heavy fire breathing behemoths that are extremely overpriced to something that is still heavy and overpriced, but also boring as well. Look at whats going on with Triumph, Royal Enfield, etc. Smaller, lighter, powerful street bikes that are fun to ride and have a retro appearance. New motorcycles are like new autos in that they are horrendously ugly. When I turn the throttle I want to hear that roar that only an internal combustion engine can provide. Harley can keep their ‘lectric scooter.
Paul Crowe says
No, it won’t roar, but boring is usually associated with low performance and this will not be low performance, … one would hope.
Bob says
Once H-D’s base becomes baggage, they’ll be very glad to hear that. If alienating some customers earns them some more customers, expect no respect from the corporation.
The motorcycle business is stuck in a really deep and ugly rut – making the same old thing with the least amount of change to call it “New” isn’t working anymore – and I’m thrilled to see that..
Monty says
Got to test ride one when they were in Chicago a couple of years ago on their road tour. It was probably the only HD I would ever consider buying. It is a little bigger than the Zero electric and had a good feel. The downside and what will likely keep me from ever buying it is the HD dealer experience. Every time I have walked into one of their dealerships I felt like I was back in the 50’s and a 6’4″ black guy, not a great time for me. Too many old guys that hated anything that didn’t drip oil or was excessively loud. They acted like wearing a real helmet and jacket instead of those crappy half helms and a thin leather vest was an affront to riding. Sorry, but why attach a bike with such great potential to a stone age company.
Paul Crowe says
Don’t write it off, yet. If Harley is still not selling their regular lineup in the numbers they need to be successful by the time this hits showrooms, they may have a new found respect for customers who are interested in current technology. Of course, your low expectations may turn out to be correct, too. Time will tell.
steve says
Bob is right and so is Monty. The rut is ugly but it is ugly for almost everyone in motorcycles. And Monty isn’t alone. I worked for one of the very best aftermarket companies in the industry. I don’t look like a biker and don’t act like a biker. I look and act like a normal person off the street (but with a head full of knowledge) that’s retired. The last few shops I’ve been in, I’ve been totally ignored. One to the point after 45 minutes on a quiet day and not even a Hello, I told the wife , “I guess it’s time to leave”. That alone could be a reason for poor sales at some shops. Maybe Electric motorcycles will be a hit but then again someone had better hope so.
Big Mike says
Harley screwed the pooch with Buell, let’s hope the Company and the Dealers learned from their crappy marketing and uninformed salesmen. I’m hoping the Live Wire is so great that it’s potential customers will be able to overcome or ignore their biases long enough to test ride and purchase a Harley Davidson electric motorcycle. I’ve ridden for 50 years but have only owned Harley-Davidsons for the last 6. I rode high performance British motorcycles for 44 years but managed to overcome my prejudices once I rode a Dyna Super Glide Sport. Now the Dyna is dead long live Live Wire.