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Mark Hinchliffe·
Harley DavidsonBy manufacturerMotorbikes
··9 Comments·2 min read

Harley-Davidson reveals electric LiveWire price

Harley electric LiveWire Harley and Indian announce 2018 sales results AKO
Harley LiveWire

The Harley-Davidson electric LiveWire motorcycle will cost about $A40,000 when it is released in Australia late in 2020 with range of about 177km.

It will be available for sale in North America and Europe in the third quarter of this year for $US29,799 ($A41,699) plus on-road costs.

That is about the same price Americans pay for a top-of-the-line Ultra Limited tourer with luggage, infotainment and all the bells and whistles. (In Australia, an Ultra Limited costs $A40,995 ride away.)

That’s not as much as the world’s fastest electric motorcycle, the 351km/h Lightning Motorcycle LS-218 at $US38,888 (about $A51,150).

Lightning electric motorcycle fast electric LiveWire
Lightning record-holding electric race bike

The LiveWire price and more specifications were unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas over night. They also revealed artwork for two smaller electric motorcycles, plus concepts of an electric bicycle and scooter.

Click here to read more.

Harley electric LiveWire
Electric motorcycle artwork and concepts for and electric bicycle and scooter

Electric LiveWire details

Most of the electric LiveWire details have already been revealed in Milwuakee during the company’s 115th birthday celebrations. Click here for details.

They include premium components such as Brembo brakes with cornering ABS, fully adjustable Showa suspension, Michelin sport tyres and traction control.Harley electric LiveWire

But the magic specification for an electric bike is range and while Zero electric motorcycles offer up to 360km of range with a special battery, the Harley will manage just 177km.

There were few other details about the bike such as battery size, charging times and power. that’s probably because the battery may change yet again before launch.

However, they did say it would reach speeds up to 190-km/h and accelerate to 100km/h in “under 3.5 seconds”, which is okay, but not as quick as most sportsbikes.

It has a twist-and-go throttle with no gears or clutch lever like most scooters and unlike the Brammo electric bike, later known as the Victory Empulse.

ConnectivityHarley electric LiveWire

The other new details are that the LiveWire comes with H-D Connect that pairs the rider and bikes through an LTE-enabled Telematics Control Unit.

It’s partnership with Panasonic and it connects with your smartphone via Bluetooth and uses the latest version of the Harley-Davidson App.

See also

The app sends battery data to the app about range and will even guide the rider to the nearest charging station.

It includes tamper alerts if someone tries to steal the bike and a location device to track it if it’s been stolen. This is only available “in some markets” and is dependent on law enforcement assistance.

Harley-Davidson Australia says this is still being determined for our market.

There are also service reminders and notifications.

 

 

 

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Mark Hinchliffe
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9 Comments

  3. The range and the price are not compatible with each other. For such a limited range the price is ridiculous. I do like the look of the electric bicycle though.

  4. Harley-Davidson is being very smart here, getting into the electric vehicle market. The acceleration at 3.5 secs for 0 – 100 kph is on par with most sports tourers so it is no slouch. The big issue remains range and recharge time. Once those two issues are solved the future will indeed be electric.

  5. Am I missing something ? Why would anyone want to own an electric bike ffs ! Now I don’t have a loud bike and its only a 650cc but I like to hear the engine rev and go through its various sounds and vibrations as I ride, to me its 50% of the reason I like riding bikes. (The other 50% is to keep my sanity).

  6. Judging by the comments here, I don’t think this will sell. Look at what happened to Zero in Australia, and their bikes were vastly superior in terms of performance.

    The whole Live wire project is a bit ridiculous when you think about it: Harley, manufacturer of the most obnoxiously loud, gas guzzling motorcycles, is the first major manufacturer to bring out a production electric motorcycle? It just doesn’t even seem believable. Then we find out it’ll have average performance and pretty dismal range.

    There’s no reason electric motorcycles can’t be genuine competitors to ICE motorcycles, but you need to start with realistic performance.

  8. 44grand on the road. A Toyota Prius is only 40g onthe road and they chuck in a petrol engine with the deal.

  9. I think Super Soco has the right idea for electric bikes, due to the current limitations of battery technology their targeting their bikes at at urban riders, top speed of 70-100km/h range of 100-220km, dual removable battery, so one can be on charge while you still ride, no special charging stations required, and a price tag of $4,500-$5,500. so for those that are looking for a cheap means of puttering around town, which lets face it until there’s some major advancement in battery technology that’s all an electric bike will be good for any way.

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