Harley-Davidson LiveWire Electric Motorcycle – First Ride

Love the look of the thing! The sound I'm a little dubious about. It sounds good in what I've heard but I wonder how it would grow on you at highway speeds. I think it would get a bit much.
But otherwise, love it! I'd ride one for sure. From the short info on specs I've read up, the motor has plenty of grunt to match it with the rest of the EV's but it is lacking a bit on battery - improve that area and they are onto a winner!

Yep and don't worry about the battery... that will all come in the near future ... HD is poised ....

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This horse is being ridden ~daily by the main stream..

http://www.npr.org/2014/06/28/32643...lectric-hog-will-appeal-to-young-urban-riders

Jiri Marousek of Fitchburg, Wis., says he loves the acceleration of LiveWire. "It just has so much more instant power than almost any other motorcycle I've owned," he says, "which is smile-inducing — or grin-inducing, actually."

Jiri words are what I always disliked on the few Japan bikes I rode ... All the power was down like in the first 1\8 or less of the throttle turn ... After that, the rest of the throttle turn was, was... ~pantywaste or something... just more engine noise maybe ... You can have that sort of bike ...


With no clutch lever to disengage the engine if something bad happens, I certainly hope these things have a huge kill switch to stop the engine from pulling.

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Becareful because here's an ELEC gang! Scary cool, huh? This stuff is so funny to an old guy like me :0)


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You gotta remember, there are people right here who have never ridden a 2t bike due to their age ... There are people on the way who have never ridden a gas-powered bike ..

HD is approaching 300,000 buyers ... Numbers are numbers... that's a big fat number of riders.

I seeing articles on this big very often on the web ... Someone is spending advertising dollars that they hope to reap dividends on in the near future ... This article dropped some price numbers also ..

Someone is really trying to grease the transition off those loud bikes to this future machine. I'm not in their ream so it just sounds funny to read.
http://blogs.seattletimes.com/brier...ewire-prototypes-whir-into-microsoft-country/


“My expectations have been exceeded,” Henshaw, 44, said after two rides on the prototypes.
“It’s such a dramatic performance change from anything I’ve ridden before – the electric motor is completely smooth as the power is rolled onto the throttle.”
Henshaw said electric motorcycles are “still a very polarizing technology” and the tour is a way for Harley to gather feedback and get people comfortable with the concept.
“People have associated motorcycles with internal combustion engines since the beginning of motorcycles and so when a radically new technology comes along it’s disruptive,” he said.
“In Harley’s case it’s disruptive to people’s self-image because that V-Twin, rumbling hog is part of their persona,” he said. “So when something radically new and different comes along, when a new technology is injected, it disrupts everyone and it makes them uncomfortable.”
Harley hasn’t said yet when LiveWire bikes will go on sale. Spokesman Tony Macrito said they won’t launch during the tour, which will continue into 2015.
Pricing also hasn’t been revealed but Henshaw thinks – or hopes - Livewire bikes will be under $20,000.
“They’re definitely trying to diversify their audience and diversifying the audience means $10,000 to $15,000, not $20,000 to $30,000,” he said.

$10-$15k US will be $25-$30k AUD unfortunately

Be proud when you can't build a dependable motorcycle that runs on gas how are you going to make a reliable electric motorcycle? Will they keep the vibration in the electric motor somehow? Sorry I'll pass. I'm afraid to follow behind them for the fear of the nuts and bolts falling off.

Harley Davidson has a cult following from cafe' to cafe' meaning Dunkin doughnuts to dunkin dounuts they park and drink coffee you can't trust them to stay running. I ask why?

I would like a big HD vee twin but I'll build one someday on my own terms.

I let my buddy ride my son's built honda 125cr and he said it's faster than my Harley.

I purchased a new Subaru in '97 because of problems I had with new American made cars. My dirtbikes have always been husqvarna and my streetbikes was a 1200 bandit.

As I get older I'm getting closer to my bucket list I have no time for bikes that break down. I GOTS to ride every minute I can.

Born to ride, live to ride, ride till we die that's Bigbills quote.

Like I said for me to have a Harley I'd have to build and restore my own bike. I want to know every bolt and nut on a personal basis. I'm interested in a knuckle head. My buddy has one sitting in the garage. I'm just waiting for him to move it out. I just want to make it my own. I been telling my son for years let's build choppers. There are some awesome bike builders out there and a few clowns too. If I were to build one I'd buy all top quality components. Fab my own frame. I think it would be fun.

Think about tesla's theory about getting free electricity from the earth. What if we could power electric vehicles in the same way. No charging, no batteries? The oil and electrical tycoons are holding this development back for decades. They pulled the plug on tesla.