by Johnson
Which would be the first company to mass produce a powerful Electric Bike?... Honda?...Yamaha? … Ducati?
Wrong…the answer is Harley!... Yep you heard it right Harley Davidson!
Wrong…the answer is Harley!... Yep you heard it right Harley Davidson!
How about an Harley-Davidson that doesn’t make noise? How about a bunch of Harley-Davidson riders at full speed and still not kicking up a rattle? Well this exact scene might soon come to pass, as Harley Davidson bikes are going electric!
Hold on…don’t fall from your chair… they would still be manufacturing twin engines…
but just a matter of time ;-)
Harley Davidson Bikes are an icon, one that brings to mind big, loud bikes ridden by burly men with tattoos and beards. These are the folks who like to rumble V-twin engines on the open road… to live and ride as a way of life… although the bike offers an entertaining blend of power and comfort, the hell’s angels wouldn’t be riding them anytime soon.
Hold on…don’t fall from your chair… they would still be manufacturing twin engines…
but just a matter of time ;-)
Harley Davidson Bikes are an icon, one that brings to mind big, loud bikes ridden by burly men with tattoos and beards. These are the folks who like to rumble V-twin engines on the open road… to live and ride as a way of life… although the bike offers an entertaining blend of power and comfort, the hell’s angels wouldn’t be riding them anytime soon.
Motor cycles will never be the same again!
LED lights looking great!
The website announces "Project LiveWire™ is the next major milestone in the history of The Motor Company – The first Harley-Davidson® motorcycle with an electric engine. We’re developing this motorcycle the Harley-Davidson® way by bringing this innovation to the street to gain feedback from customers. We’re inviting customers to ride the motorcycle and tell us what they think. Even those who don’t ride yet can take a ride on Jumpstart™ Demo, a simulated riding experience that doesn’t require any experience or a motorcycle license."
The digital Speedometer looks a tad tiny for the bike.
Harley isn’t saying when it will start mass production nor are they telling much about the drivetrain beyond saying that the bike uses a lithium-ion battery with a range of 53 miles. It charges in 3.5 hours at 220 volts, 74 horsepower and 52 foot-pounds of torque.
The prototype features an aluminum frame, adjustable rear monoshock suspension, upside-down style front forks, rearsets, a single disc brake up front (and in the back) and a street-fighter riding position, so it should be comfortable.
The prototype features an aluminum frame, adjustable rear monoshock suspension, upside-down style front forks, rearsets, a single disc brake up front (and in the back) and a street-fighter riding position, so it should be comfortable.
Motor mounted longitudinally at the bottom of the frame.
The LiveWire rides on sportbike rubber and the simple belt drive mated to the liquid-cooled single-speed electric motor. That motor is mounted longitudinally at the bottom of the frame. The classic tank-mounted round gauges are gone in favor of an LCD info panel
The sound signature of this Harley is supposed to resemble that of a fighter jet landing on a aircraft carrier, according to their press release.
The sound signature of this Harley is supposed to resemble that of a fighter jet landing on a aircraft carrier, according to their press release.
“Project LiveWire is a bold statement for us as a company and a brand,” Mark-Hans Richer, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Harley-Davidson said in their press release, and he is exactly correct. For Harley to undertake this project and bring it to this level, a project that is diametrically opposed to what their traditional and very hard-core buyer base wants, shows the Motor Company is taking a huge gamble, far larger than they did with liquid-cooled V-Rod line and the new lightweight, hipster-targeted Street machines.
Right now Harley is taking a few dozen LiveWires on a tour of the United States and Europe. It will invite people in each city to “check out the bike and provide feedback”. This means they don’t intend to seriously go into production… they are kind of time-passing… Heck nobody announces petrol cars and ask people for feedback… do they?
Right now Harley is taking a few dozen LiveWires on a tour of the United States and Europe. It will invite people in each city to “check out the bike and provide feedback”. This means they don’t intend to seriously go into production… they are kind of time-passing… Heck nobody announces petrol cars and ask people for feedback… do they?
The most important message that should be picked up from the market is that the end of the petrol bike & car is very near and most of the Automobile companies have developed a few electric models that they are improving in labs and even on roads. They would bring these products out in large numbers only when they can no longer deal with the dwindling sales. But trust these companies to put these electric machines in the cold storage for quite some time.
The next 2 to 5 yr window period is exactly the time for small time bike manufacturers, especially in India to develop their own electric bike, keep the speed below the limit of (25 kmph) so that these bikes do not fall in the automobile law of the country and the bike owners and makers do not need any specific license or permit to ride this bike. This is the time for the startup companies to reach out, in numbers, to the people who are willing to buy electric bikes.
The question is… “Are Indian vehicle companies ready to take the plunge and sell electric motor bikes”?
The question is… “Are Indian vehicle companies ready to take the plunge and sell electric motor bikes”?
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