Harley Davidson Confirms Their First Electric Motorcycle

A few years back, I was invited to test-ride an electric motorcycle. It was all very “hush-hush” at the time, non-disclosure agreements were signed, and we were not to know who was behind it all.

Everybody was trying to guess the manufacturer behind the blacked-out bike we rode, but one name that seemed keep cropping up, surprisingly, was Harley Davidson.

Since that time, it has become less of a secret that Harley Davidson have been testing, and offering test rides, of a concept electric motorcycle, called the “LiveWire”.

Now, it seems that the wait is (nearly) over. Harley Davidson just announced that they are going into production with their new electric motorcycle.

Performance should be good, for the “Livewire” concept could easily reach 100 MPH, and get from zero-to-sixty in under four seconds. What held things back before was the usual problem with electrics—range. The “LiveWire” could barely manage fifty-five miles between charges.

However, battery and motor technology have improved much in the last five years, and other current electric motorcycles now have a range of two hundred miles, so I expect that to have been improved greatly.

Now I’ve got you all excited, you’ll have to wait up eighteen months to get your hands on one of these. The bike has yet to be given a name.

Harley will, of course, continue to offer their thumping iron horses, so beloved of the older crowd, but they seem to be setting their sights at the younger crowd. The Tesla and, dare I say it, Prius crowd? This is a wise move, in my view, given the ageing and diminishing demographic they currently cater to.

As for me, did I enjoy test-riding the “LiveWire”? I loved it. Watch this space!

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