Harley-Davidson Updates LiveWire Electric, Boots Range

The iconic American motorcycle company has announced that the updated LiveWire electric motorcycle will be available for US$29,799, not including mandatory delivery charges, at Harley-Davidson dealerships starting in August 2019.

It also released more detailed specifications about the electric motorcycle. Harley estimates the LiveWire’s range at 225km from a lithium-ion battery pack that sits on top of the longitudinal, permanent magnet motor sitting at the bottom of the frame to lower the bike’s center of gravity. The company didn’t release the battery size.

A CCS Combo charge port will sit under the port where the gas cap would be on most bikes. It can give the LiveWire a full charge on a Level 3 fast-charge port in a little over a half-hour. The bike also comes with a 110-volt cord-set to charge overnight in owners’ garages. Strangely, plugging into a standard Level 2 electric-car charger won’t deliver any faster charge than using a standard outlet.

Harley also quotes a 0-60 mph acceleration time of fewer than 3.5 seconds—seriously quick, but not as quick as a Tesla Model S P100D in Ludicrous mode at a drag strip. (A bike probably doesn’t need to be.)

The LiveWire’s instruments sit on a full-color, 4.3-inch touchscreen that can show navigation and audio streaming information (for helmet speakers), as well as speed, remaining range, and other driving displays.

Riders can choose custom performance settings such as efficiency and “throttle” response. An adjustable Showa suspension allows riders to dial in their own settings for comfort and performance.

An H-D Connect cell phone app will allow owners to monitor charging and efficiency as well as get security alerts if the parked bike gets bumped, moved, or tampered with. It will deliver maintenance reminders and let owners set “riding challenges” for the number of miles in a day, week, or month and track their efficiency over time. Location data will show where the bike was parked and provide a tracking service if it is stolen. The bike has its own cellular data connection and the services are powered by Panasonic’s cloud computing.