About three dozen LiveWire produced by Harley-Davidson and tested by 6,800 people at dealer events around the U.S and in Europe have brought to the company a lot of information about what riders like about the prototype electric motorcycle and their expectations. An unanimous positive is the LiveWire design and black & gray color combination and clutch free accelerations. The low-pitched whine is not an obstacle and doesn’t bother many, especially younger riders.
But new President & CEO Matt Levatich said that potential buyers want a riding range of at least 100 miles (instead of 50 miles with the prototype) before recharging the batteries , maybe less when there will be more charging stations, especially those available at a work place. Consequently, Levatich said that the LiveWire model is unlikely to hit the market before 2 or 3 years, time probably necessary to await for an improved battery technology.
Another extremely important issue is price. Maximum acceptability would be around $20,000 for the Harley LiweWire, but at this retail price the company would not make much much profit. Polaris, now owner since last January of small electric-motorcycle maker Brammo may beat Harley-Davidson in releasing an electric (Victory?) motorcycle before end of the year or next year. The company sees a higher range of 21,000 to $25,000 for its own electric project.
With Zero Motorcycles and a few other niche manufacturers, both Harley-Davidson and Polaris believe electric motorcycles will appeal to young urban adults belonging to the Gen-Xers generation, who are environment conscious, wish a cool looking lightweight machine easy to handle to zip through city traffic. Almost all big manufacturers, especially Yamaha and BMW have expressed a strong interest interest in electric motorcycle market.
Love the look. would buy one with a 100 mile range.
With any luck they’ll come to their senses before they wind up losing a bundle on the thing and it’ll never hit the streets . Cause the simple fact is with all EV’s … they’re losers straight outta the box … even with millions in tax payer funded government subsidies . Don’t believe me ? Have a look at the quarterly loses at Tesla .. despite all the government money flowing their way
So far the only market for electric bikes are municipalities who use taxpayers money to purchase them for police and such. Electric cars are a different deal, check out Tesla sales.
Interesting if the delay is really because of consumer comments desiring a 100 mile range, considering all involved knew the current state of battery technology before starting the project. What if consumers had wanted a blender and ice cream maker? 100 miles range seems a reasonable request for a cruiser/tourer, but for a sportbike/commuter style like this there are more than enough folks who haven’t done 100 miles in one sitting for years. The whole concept of a “perfect” electric bike will require new inventions in batteries, but there are plenty of short run customers out there who will buy a current-state electric now (from somebody else) if they feel the price is a good value.
TJ Marin, one mote time, shows he is a tool.
TESLA. Fourth Quarter 2014 Earnings.
On a positive note, Tesla’s gross profit margin remains a strong point. Tesla’s fourth-quarter gross profit margin was 26.7% on a non-GAAP basis and 27.4% on a GAAP basis. The company’s automotive gross margin minus benefits from its zero-emission vehicle credits was 22% — both on a non-GAAP and a GAAP basis. Tesla’s impressive gross profit margins in 2014 enabled the company to generate $882 million in gross profit, of which every dollar is needed for aggressive spending on operating expenses and capital projects to capture growth opportunities.
In 2 or 3 years I want a 150-200 mile range. Zero motorcycles already make a bike with a 100 plus mile range. Even their top of the line model Zero SR caps out at 18500.
range has to increase and that will come with better batteries and technology and hopefully prices come down 🙂
cooooooool bike
TJ Martin is a dumb shit. Everything he said is wrong.
What is Levitich even talking about? Was it ever announced that it was coming to market in the first place? I think he got years mixed up with decades………..
Meanwhile, Polaris is racing a Brammo at Isle of Mann and spotlighting that technology in one of the most prestigious races on the planet for those interested.
OK. How long does it take to recharge?
You run out of power on the road do you tow it in instead of adding a little gas to make it to a station?
Spare battery on board?
I love HD’s concept but I think it misses the target market. What little I have seen of Zeros is they are far more suited for an urban environment and short jaunts–not to mention they’re compact. The only place I’ve seen them is for pit bikes at AMCA swaps.
The zero is cheap enough, dual-sport oriented, and seems small enough to lock on a fencepost–or stash in your apartment for the winter. The live-wire is none of those, all traits that the GenX set is trending towards.
Maybe HD’s intent was for the LiveWire to act as a second bike, with room in the garage. I absolutely wouldn’t be comfortable letting the HD sit out on the rain on the city streets at night not locked up. Especially if I were an early adopter–I’m sure it would be a hot-commodity.
Dr. Rock said it, “Meanwhile, Polaris is racing a Brammo at Isle of Mann”…HD is getting it’s ass kicked right now, no matter how they spin the message about “outreach”…fail.
Best looking HD since the XR750. Too bad they don’t build a gas powered bike with the same technology and look now. ..Z
I had the opertunity to ride the live wire and it is very impressive. I too would strongly consider buying once the range is at the century mark.
Zipper I disagree, I’m still partial to the XR1200… oh yeah. lol splitting hairs I know. I do hope H-D can produce these with a profit. I think it took Toyota over a decade to break even on there Pious , I mean prius, so it may take them a while to recoup from the expense.
waiting for battery technology to catch up, size, weight, range, smart decision on HD’s part
Every time I see this bike I see a great platform for the 750cc-1200cc Sporty motor. I’m sure the younger crowd would really go for something like that. A slight frame mod might be to possibly arch the area from the upper mount (under the front gas tank area) to the rear swing arm.
100 miles is just not enough range for a Sunday ride, but if I had the money it would make a nice commuter bike.
$20000.00 is waaaaaaaaaaaay too much for any motorcycle,
C’mon guys. Do you really want to sell them?