Howdy from Northern Virginia.
Gut wrenchingly quick. A mobile work of art. Worth the two bikes I traded for it.
I was not impressed with Harley’s electric bike, the Livewire, when I participated in the corporate demo they took on the road in 2019. The ride was too controlled and did not include any highway time. As cool as it was not to have to think about shifting and all that goes with it I did not fall in love with it. I thought it might be a fine commuter bike but since I don’t really commute I thought the range would be too limited to make it practical for me.
Then I watched Long Way Up, the story of Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman riding prototypes of the Livewire from the southernmost tip of South America to Los Angeles in 2019.
If they can ride that route (albeit with significant assistance) then surely I can manage Northern Virginia. I discovered a wealth of charging stations suitable for the Harley and concluded I could ride my usual 175 mile weekend loop over the Blue Ridge Mountains on a Livewire.
Harley-Davidson sweetened the deal by sending me an email adding another $2000 on a trade if done by the end of 2020. I visited my local dealer, Patriot H-D, and arranged a real demo ride. I had a very different experience on a short ride that include some highways. I kept the bike in Road mode and could not believe the acceleration. I did not even try Sport mode.
Rode back to the dealer and the sales person that has sold me two other Harleys to arrange the trade in of my 2018 Harley-Davidson Fat Bob (with a Stage 4 Screaming Eagle setup no less) and my 2018 Z900RS Cafe Kawasaki.
I love both of those bikes but I can’t really keep up with riding four let alone five (I know, tough problem to have). Besides, the Fat Bob really performs with the engine modes but it still pales in comparison to the Livewire.
The next day I dropped of the two bikes and rode into the future on my first electric motorcycle.
My first full weekend on the bike more than met my expectations of being able to ride it like my other bikes which means I completed a 140 mile ride on Saturday and my usual 175 mile ride through the hills of Virginia up Highway 211 over the Blue Ridge Mountains, north to Front Royal (the starting/ending point of Skyline Drive) and back home. Most decidedly not a commute.
I started the ride from home with a full Level 1 charge overnight with an indicated range of 105 miles. I rode 30 miles out to a Walmart in Haymarket with an installation of four Level 3 charges from Electrify America to top off. Level 3 charge provides 80% charge in 40 minutes and a full charge in an hour. Level 1 chargers like a home 110 outlet charge at the rate of 13 miles per hour so really meant for overnight. Level 3 is harder on batteries and the guidance is four Level 1 charges to each Level 3 to maintain battery health.
This was my second time using this Electrify America station. They supposedly support NFC and the app does add a card to Apple Wallet but I’ve twice gotten a “no account found” error when trying to use it that way. Phone support (24x7) walked me through how to initiate charging via the app which worked. I submitted the NFC problem via the app and got a call back a few hours later to discuss. They recommended calling them the next time I’m at the charger so they can watch what happens on their end when I try to use NFC. Nice.
I plugged in and made a mobile order at the nearby Starbucks and by the time I walked to Starbucks and back I had 10 minutes until a full charge.
I used InRoute
inRoute Route Planner to figure out the mileage from where I topped off to my usual route and back to the charging location and it came out to 114 miles so maybe I could make the loop on a single charge. Maybe.
Next destination was Sperryville, Virginia heading up the mountain over Thornton Gap at 2,460 feet elevation. As it turned out I had a minor head wind on the way to Thornton Gap and I could see the impact on energy usage via one of the widgets on the Livewire TFT display. It was 40 miles of travel but instead of the 60 miles I expected to have when I got to the top of the pass I had 42 miles. I dialed it way back on the ride up compared to how I would normally ride the great turns on this route. I was still passing all the cars but doing it as gently as possible.
The good news was the regeneration I got on the way down. When coming off throttle the system charges the battery, more like engine braking than using the actual brakes. The bike has four different modes with different levels of acceleration and regeneration plus three custom modes. I used Eco mode on this ride to maximize the battery. In Eco mode there is so much regeneration that I barely need to use the excellent Brembo brakes.
I had not used any additional battery due to regeneration by the time I got off the mountain. I had a few miles to go to get back to cellular coverage and a chance to check the mileage to the next way point, Front Royal, Virginia.
I had 38 miles of charge and 25 miles to go. I realized that did not account for the elevation changes, wind, and speed. By this time I knew I was not going to make it back to the fast charger where I started but thanks to the great app PlugShare that can filter based on charge points that have the right connections for the Livewire and show Level 1 and 3 chargers I knew there was a fast charger in Front Royal. The day before this ride I went directly out to Front Royal to check out the free Level 3 charger at the local Chevy dealer. It was really there and really worked. No fee, no signup, not even a sign indicating what it was for. Just pull up, plug in and get a fast charge.
I set the cruise control for 55 and kept passing to a minimum. I made it to Front Royal with 10 miles to spare and grabbed some lunch and then over to the Chevy dealer to get enough juice to get back home (64 miles). I let it charge for 40 minutes while I relaxed under an awning and did some reading at the closed dealership. If I been more comfortable leaving the bike charging in this location I could have walked to lunch and by the time I got back would have had a full charge.
Got back on the bike with 80 miles of charge and took the backroads as much as possible before hitting the speedway that is Interstate 66 for the last 30 miles home. Arrived home with 14 miles left which included some time spent in Sport mode for passing. Hit the mode button on the right hand control twice to go from Eco to Sport, pass, and then tap twice more to get back to Eco mode. The difference between the modes is very noticeable with Sport having much, much more acceleration and less regen when off the throttle than Eco.
I like the H-D Connect app more now that I have a bike that supports the connect features. For the Livewire it is especially nice to see charge status along with security status, mileage and power stats, and all the push notifications related to charging . The app does have its own navigation system which does display directions on the TFT but I’d rather use Apple Maps and have audio via my Sena Bluetooth communicator. I don’t have time to look at the display for directions anyway.
I did have some concerns about the Motor Company’s commitment to electric vehicles. The CEO that pushed for the Livewire was replaced and the new CEO did cut some models. The Livewire was not cut and the marketing has remained prominent, more so with Long Way Up on Apple TV+. But then, I have a history of liking bikes that H-D does not keep around long (XLCR and a XR1200 which has been turned into a modern XLCR).
I was aware of the Long Way series but had not seen any of them. Greatly enjoying Long Way Up each Friday and in between watched the other two series, Long Way Round and Long Way Down, both free on AppleTV+. Surprisingly entertaining.
