Harley Davidson’s “Project LiveWire” is the company’s first electric motorcycle.
For 111 years, the Harley Davidson Motor Company has been manufacturing some of the world’s most iconic motorcycles. While the original design had a small engine displacement of 116 cc’s, it’s their heavyweight motorcycles over 700 cc’s that made them famous. Everyone that’s ever driven on a highway knows what that distinctive “Harley potato rumble” sounds like and stares in awe whenever they witness dozens of leather-laden men on choppers zoom past them. We equate the Harley Davidson brand with toughness, but that may soon change.
Today, the legendary motorcycle brand has unveiled a design that many thought would never happen: an electric motorcycle. While electric motorcycles have been in production since the early 1900’s, Harley Davidson has always been the company people turned to when they wanted the exact opposite of an eco-friendly motorcycle with good gas mileage. Harley’s are supposed to be lean fat, mean, fighting machines; not good for the environment.
The bike, codenamed “Project LiveWire,” is not yet in production. Instead, Harley Davidson is embarking on a cross country tour that will stop at more than 30 dealerships where customers can test ride the motorcycle and provide feedback to improve on the design before it’s mass-produced. Spurred by their longtime customer-led product development approach, Harley Davidson believes this motorcycle will propel the company into the next generation of cycling.
“America at its best has always been about reinvention. And, like America, Harley-Davidson has reinvented itself many times in our history, with customers leading us every step of the way. Project LiveWire is another exciting, customer-led moment in our history.”
– Matt Levatich, President and Chief Operating Officer, Harley-Davidson Motor Company.
Recently, Harley Davidson has been marketing certain designs to consumers who may be skeptical about riding a motorcycle. Their updated touring cycle, along with the Street 500 and Street 750 series, has not only proved to be a success in urban communities, but propelled Harley Davidson to sell over 260,000 units last year. Project LiveWire aims to build upon this renewed interest in urban cycling and promises to be a success if enough people participate in the tour’s discussion panels.
Electric motorcycles could play an important part in preserving our environment. And because most riders use the great outdoors as their playground, sustainability will be a major concern for Harley Davidson going forward. According to Levatich, “Project Livewire is just one element in [Harley Davidson’s] efforts to preserve and renew the freedom to ride for generations to come. As a company that has seen success for 111 years, we think in generational terms about our great riding environments for the next 111 years.”
For those skeptical riders who think Harley Davidson has turned their back on their core audience with an electric motorcycle: think again. In a video posted on their investor relations website, we get a sneak peek at the bike in action and you’ll be surprised to hear what Project LiveWire sounds like. The chopper rumble may be gone, but we now have something that sounds like a fighter jet on an aircraft carrier. It may not sound as loud as the drag pipes on a Panhead Harley, but there is no doubt that the toughness in Harley Davidson is still there.
- Three-phase induction electric motor with 55KW of power
- 74 horsepower
- 52 foot-pounds of torque
- 0-60 mph in 4 seconds
- 92 mph top speed
- 53 miles per charge
