Harley Davidson has revealed the official specs of the Livewire at the Geneva Motor Show. The official production range is now slightly higher than the original 110 mile estimate, with the company stating it can do up to 140 miles in and urban environment. 3.0 second 0-60 sprint and just 1.9 to accelerate from 60 to 80mph. Charging time is now 40 minutes from 0-80%. https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/2019-harley-davidson-livewire-electric-motorcycle/
It's good that the specs have increased, but these are only minor improvements. Harley has obviously recognized that the Livewire might be a tough sell when compared to other electric models already on the market.
We also don't know what these figures will be in the real world. This estimated 140 mile range is likely only possible in the most ideal conditions. Wonder if you could reduce the charge time on the Livewire further with a home system.
40 minutes does still seem like a lot when there are newer electric crossovers that can reach 80% in less than 30 minutes. I'm guessing there are more restrictions on a bike due not being able to place a larger thermal management system.
HD screwed the pooch by not having a real Level 2 charging method. Sure, you can plug into Level 2 chargers, but it only charges at the Level 1 rate. Where I'm from, over 90% of the available chargers are Level 2. That's a huge mistake on HD's part. Why would they do that?
They may have been limited by cost restrictions, which has already resulted in a very expensive bike. I am curious to see what the real world charge times are and if there are any concerns over successive rapid charges in a given day.
Might be safe to say HD could have launched a 'flagship' electric bike around the $50k range or something cheaper and not as fun. So here we have what's the perfect medium to test to the market. IMO it meets the perfect medium of that and other areas to factor when building out a new era of bikes.
Until the Livewire is out, we can't speak to its driving dynamics or whether or not the associated cost is justified. It will only be a matter of time before we get some head to head performance tests between it and competitors that are half the cost.
The spec sheet is underwhelming to say the least, but the overall fit and finish of the bike seems to deliver on expectations. Real world numbers are going to be much different that these estimations however, which will limit its appeal even further.
Demand for these with the highly defined target demographic ensures all electric HD's will sell.
Its a fact and probably why they didn't target cheaper motorcycle segments for their first dive into electric.
With brands like Zero coming along selling electric bikes from $10,000 and up if Harley doesn't act fast enough to target those markets, they could lose out big time!
Go ride one. I just did today ----- Aaaaaamazing 30-80 almostas fast as you can turn the throttle. HD had a Bunch of them at Bikers Blues and BBQ. Eveyone in my group was grinning and complimentary
As someone who works on the Livewire, has been to factory training for Livewire. I can tell you that the limitations that come with this motorcycle, are directly a consequence of how much space youre limited to by a motorcycle. I.E. Charge times/capabilities, mileage, battery life. All of these things will only get better as technology improves.
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