Harley-Davidson will release an electric motorcycle

Project LiveWire Presentation Held in 2014

Harley-Davidson has finally officially announced the production of an electric motorcycle and called the deadlines in 2019 (after 18 months). The announcement took place on January 30, 2018 during a routine teleconference dedicated to the financial activities of the company, writes Bloomberg Pursuits .

But almost four years have passed since the presentation of the prototype of the electric motorcycle LiveWire (in the photo), which took place in 2014. But apparently, the technical and economic difficulties did not allow then to implement this project.

The future model of the electric motorcycle is the implementation of the LiveWire prototype. As usual, the real model may differ slightly from the prototype, but in general it will look about the same.



“You heard from us talking about the LiveWire project,” said Harley-Davidson President and CEO Matt Levatich during a newsgroup. “This is an active project that we are preparing to launch on the market within 18 months.”

Thus, the start of LiveWire sales will begin around July 2019. Although the name of the motorcycle is likely to change, but it does not matter.

If the commercial model meets the specifications stated for the prototype, the motorcycle will accelerate to 100 km / h in 4 seconds and will be able to drive approximately 80 km on a single battery charge.


Motorcycle LiveWire in the movie "The Avengers" (Avengers)

For comparison, the electric motorcycle Zero SR , which already sells for $ 16,695, accelerates to a hundred in 3.3 seconds, and the Mission R racing model ($ 29,999) from the Mission Motorcycles company is faster than three seconds. The maximum speed of the latter is 240 km / h.

In Europe, BMW sells a C Evolution e-Scooter electric scooter for $ 23,000.

In appearance, LiveWire is very similar to Zero SR. It can be assumed that the cost will be approximately in the same range, that is, a little more than $ 15,000.

Other specifications announced for the Harley-Davidson LiveWire prototype:

Engine : 55 kW, three-phase asynchronous, oil cooling
Power : 74 hp (55 kW)
Torque : 71 N⋅m
Frame type : cast aluminum lattice frame
Tires : 17 inches (rear), 18 inches (front)
Weight : 210 kg



Although competitors have the first models of electric cycles already on sale, it is impossible to say that Harley-Davidson was late. This is a new market that has just formed and is starting to grow. For example, in 2016, analysts from TechNavio predicted its growth by 45% in a five-year term. This does not seem to be such a big number, but the market for conventional gasoline motorcycles is generally shrinking: −6.5% in the 4th quarter. 2017 in the US, and sales of Harley-Davidson for the same period fell by 11% altogether (and by 8.5% year-on-year).

Therefore, if motorcycle manufacturers want to keep sales (and financial income) at the same level, the only way out for them is to produce models with an electric power plant. Of course, this will require investment in research and development. Thus, Harley-Davidson’s CFO at the same newsgroup said that over the next few years, the company will invest annually from $ 25 million to $ 50 million in this technology in order to become a world leader in the production of electric motorcycles.

The company, which has become famous for powerful snarling monsters, is now changing its image. Electric LiveWire is a small budget electric cycle that runs completely silently. Surely he will find his buyer among geeks and city dwellers who never owned a real “Harley”. A company is entering new markets and can benefit from it.

Independent experts believe that LiveWire has good prospects: “I feel that this bike will be well received by the public and new customers, which Harley really needs, but not by the people who usually ride Harleys,” says Alan Stulberg from the workshop of Revival Motorcycles. - This is cool. It's necessary. The more people come to the market, the better. ”