Harley Davidson made worldwide news when they announced they were making an electric motorbike. This company is famous for that Harley sound, so making a bike that has a completely different, electric motor whir instead of the burbles from the exhaust pipe was certainly controversial.
Thankfully the people at Harley Davidson have shown they understand what’s happening to the industry and the shift to EV is on. Instead of resisting it, they’re embracing it, introducing an EV product to the market.
It is also worth noting that if you’re chasing performance and a smooth ride, then an electric powertrain goes hand-in-hand in achieving those two characteristics.
That future-leaning all-electric LiveWire Harley Davidson has been spotted in Australia, charging up, ahead of its release later this year. The expected launch is thought to be somewhere around September, so to see the bike more than 2 months ahead of the launch is substantial.
Naturally Harley Davidson would want to test the bike in Australian conditions, as well as ensure it works well with our charging infrastructure.
The 2020 Harley Davidson LiveWire starts at US$29,799 and will be available in vivid black, orange fuse and yellow fuse. The bike’s 15.5 kWh battery is capable of up to 235km of range on a single charge.
When it comes to charging, the bike features an on-board level 1 charger which supports a regular 240v charger, or if you find your way to a Level 3 DC fast charger (CCS2), you can achieve an 80% charge in around 40 minutes, or 100% in an hour.
As with most EVs, this is also a very connected vehicle, featuring a 4.3” WQVGA 480×272 display with Ambient Light Sensor, 9 warning lights, Real Time Clock and Integrated Bluetooth Connectivity with your phone. This provides infotainment features including turn-by-turn navigation, telephone, music, and voice recognition.
I just bought one from SunCity Harley-Davidson in Townsville, Australia (Big Shout to them). The bike is a damn live wire (pun intended!)! Deliberate in its intensity. Definitely have to keep one eye peeled on the power/life bar though. Absolutely a need for more charge stations out there.
Excellent, congrats on the purchase. Haven’t ridden it myself, but I trust it’s a pretty lively experience. Ride on!