Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 24 of 27

Thread: Here is Harley's new electric bike.. and it looks good

  1. #1
    Senior Member Yearly Supporter Generic's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Arvada
    Posts
    864

    Here is Harley's new electric bike.. and it looks good

    http://rideapart.com/2014/06/harley-...orcycle-built/

    http://www.wired.com/2014/06/harley-davidson-livewire/

    The range isn't near Zero of Brammo at the moment, however they did enlist Mission Motors for the tech side of things. It sounds like they are getting feedback and once they have things dialed in they'll move to production. I expect a range increase will be forthcoming.




    2005 Kawasaki Z750S

  2. #2
    Member big_sur's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    7,434'
    Posts
    246

    Re: Here is Harley's new electric bike.. and it looks good

    Definitely a step in the right direction

  3. #3

    Re: Here is Harley's new electric bike.. and it looks good

    I'm hoping their tour stops somewhere here in Colorado, I would go check it out and ride it. I would buy an electric motorcycle for commuting, short jaunts, etc. Obviously the range limits canyon carving to an extent but it could still be fun.
    Blair
    2000 GSX750F, 2003 YZ450F, 2004 GSXR750, 2006 ZX-14
    2013 CBR500R, 2016 YZF-R6 - MRA #760

  4. #4
    Senior Member Yearly Supporter Generic's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Arvada
    Posts
    864

    Re: Here is Harley's new electric bike.. and it looks good

    I signed up for updates to I can check it out and provide feedback if they come through.
    2005 Kawasaki Z750S

  5. #5

    Re: Here is Harley's new electric bike.. and it looks good

    They are coming to Mile High Harley, Sep 16-18.
    https://project.harley-davidson.com/en_US/events/1374
    Blair
    2000 GSX750F, 2003 YZ450F, 2004 GSXR750, 2006 ZX-14
    2013 CBR500R, 2016 YZF-R6 - MRA #760

  6. #6
    Senior Member birchyboy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    1,576

    Re: Here is Harley's new electric bike.. and it looks good

    Cool. I signed up for the chance to ride in this "historic event". Their words, not mine.

  7. #7
    Senior Member Yearly Supporter Generic's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Arvada
    Posts
    864

    Re: Here is Harley's new electric bike.. and it looks good

    Quote Originally Posted by birchyboy View Post
    Cool. I signed up for the chance to ride in this "historic event". Their words, not mine.
    Ditto on that, here's hoping
    2005 Kawasaki Z750S

  8. #8
    Member Rabbie303's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Littleton, Co
    Posts
    381

    Re: Here is Harley's new electric bike.. and it looks good

    Looks like a nice updated V-rod. Finally a good looking Harley.
    Erich-
    2004 SV650S - 8K miles - SOLD
    2003 SV1000S - 15K miles - My new love!

  9. #9
    Senior Member Moderator Slo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Denver 80239
    Posts
    4,397

    Re: Here is Harley's new electric bike.. and it looks good

    edited... nevermind, signed up as well

  10. #10
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Posts
    1,770

    Re: Here is Harley's new electric bike.. and it looks good


  11. #11
    Member Yearly Supporter Skitz's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    LoDo
    Posts
    112

    Re: Here is Harley's new electric bike.. and it looks good

    Thing looks stunning. But will need to have more balls, I'd totally commute it.

  12. #12
    Senior Member Yearly Supporter Generic's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Arvada
    Posts
    864

    Re: Here is Harley's new electric bike.. and it looks good

    Cat and I were selected, booked for Tuesday the 16th in the AM. I will have video (if they let me)
    2005 Kawasaki Z750S

  13. #13
    Gold Member asp_125's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Larkspur
    Posts
    6,532

    Re: Here is Harley's new electric bike.. and it looks good

    I was at Foothills Triumph/BMW day before yesterday. I noticed they have a Brammo Empulse there. Didn't ask if they allowed test rides though.
    When life throws you curves, aim for the apex
    Current stable:09 Thruxton \ 09 FZ6S2
    Sold List:97 Ninja500R, 03 SV650K3, 01 Ducati 750Sport, 73 CB350/4, 03 F650GSA, 08 Gixxer600, 03 Gixxer600, 91 VFR750F, 09 KLX250, 06 Thruxton 900, 02 VFR800, 08 Spyder RS, 12 Street TripleR, 09 KLX250S, 16 KTMRC390, 10 F650GS
    my Facebook, SpeedShots
    Quote Originally Posted by salsashark View Post
    ... Motorcycles are kind of like Baskin Robbins... You're looking at 31 flavors of ice cream, don't you kind of want to know what they all taste like?...

  14. #14
    Member Dasaxman6's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    Arvada
    Posts
    98

    Re: Here is Harley's new electric bike.. and it looks good

    I got selected too Murdoch, I go at 11:55 hopefully I will see you there!
    05 SV 650-New baby
    01 Buell Blast-1st bike

  15. #15
    Senior Member birchyboy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    1,576

    Re: Here is Harley's new electric bike.. and it looks good

    Got selected as well. Looking forward to it.

  16. #16
    Member gator4life108's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Denver/Aurora
    Posts
    79

    Re: Here is Harley's new electric bike.. and it looks good

    I like the looks, but if the don't extend the range to more than 50 miles not sure it will sell well.
    Mike
    USAF
    '10 Kawasaki Z1000

    I could care less about the type of motorcycle or brand, as long as it gets me to my destination with a smile on my face.

  17. #17
    Senior Member Yearly Supporter Generic's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Arvada
    Posts
    864

    Re: Here is Harley's new electric bike.. and it looks good

    Quote Originally Posted by gator4life108 View Post
    I like the looks, but if the don't extend the range to more than 50 miles not sure it will sell well.
    That's very true, and they are aware.

    At the moment, according to Harley they have " no intentions on going to production" In reality, I expect to see it come to market in 2? years with a 120ish mile range. Battery and motor tech is accelerating rapidly.
    2005 Kawasaki Z750S

  18. #18
    Senior Member Yearly Supporter Generic's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Arvada
    Posts
    864

    Re: Here is Harley's new electric bike.. and it looks good

    Quote Originally Posted by Dasaxman6 View Post
    I got selected too Murdoch, I go at 11:55 hopefully I will see you there!
    We are going at 11:05, I'll have to take off after though as it's in the middle of my work day. Boss is cool with me stepping out for the ride but not all day. Hopefully we get a chance to chat though.

    -Murdock
    2005 Kawasaki Z750S

  19. #19
    Senior Member Yearly Supporter Generic's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Arvada
    Posts
    864

    Re: Here is Harley's new electric bike.. and it looks good

    Took a ride today, questions?



    Cat also went out for a ride, not just the rollers.




    Ran into this weird guy
    2005 Kawasaki Z750S

  20. #20

    Re: Here is Harley's new electric bike.. and it looks good

    Went down and rode it today, it was fun and interesting. I'll be curious to hear thoughts from the other people that went.

    The ride was about what I was expecting, with no real chance to push it. They had a lead rider and a sweeper on gas bikes and five of us on the electric ones. I put it in "power ride" mode (does anyone not?) and probably got to about 50% power max. It definitely has some guts, I would have enjoyed having a chance to push it a little harder. It is a comfortable bike, obviously more upright, and the weight isn't bad. The balance and ergonomics were good in my opinion.

    The range is not great, at 80% battery it said 24 miles in power mode and 48 miles in range mode (reasonably sure I'm remembering those numbers right). The mirrors are worthless mounted where they are, although I'm guessing those are just an afterthought to get it legal currently.

    The regen braking when you let off the throttle would take some getting used to, it's more than the usual engine braking. It was also very odd not having a clutch or gear shift. It had a bit more of the electric whine than I was expecting, but it wasn't unreasonable to me.

    If they can get the range up, and keep the cost reasonable I think they can be successful. In the survey after the ride they asked what you would be willing to pay, with the options being sub 15k, 5k increments, and over 35k. This is something I think they are going to have to be careful with. I don’t expect this bike will likely appeal to most of the ‘Harley crowd’ and buyers coming from other brands aren’t likely to pay more because it has Harley Davidson printed on the side. Those questions on the survey were difficult to answer with selections, how much I would pay for one is really related to the performance and range.

    Overall it was interesting and I will be curious to see if the bike makes it to market, and with what specs.
    Blair
    2000 GSX750F, 2003 YZ450F, 2004 GSXR750, 2006 ZX-14
    2013 CBR500R, 2016 YZF-R6 - MRA #760

  21. #21
    Senior Member birchyboy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    1,576

    Re: Here is Harley's new electric bike.. and it looks good

    I'm doing my test ride tomorrow. Are they charging the bikes between rides? About how long was the ride itself?

  22. #22

    Re: Here is Harley's new electric bike.. and it looks good

    Looked to me like they were checking charge levels when the bikes came back and rotating out the ones that needed charged. Route was https://goo.gl/maps/sl4RG so not a real long ride.
    Blair
    2000 GSX750F, 2003 YZ450F, 2004 GSXR750, 2006 ZX-14
    2013 CBR500R, 2016 YZF-R6 - MRA #760

  23. #23
    Member Dasaxman6's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    Arvada
    Posts
    98

    Re: Here is Harley's new electric bike.. and it looks good

    Thanks generic lol
    05 SV 650-New baby
    01 Buell Blast-1st bike

  24. #24
    Senior Member Yearly Supporter Generic's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2013
    Location
    Arvada
    Posts
    864

    Re: Here is Harley's new electric bike.. and it looks good

    My experience is similar to yours Blair. I was able to open it up a little and pushed it to about 90% in "power mode" At which point I ran up on the ride leader, closed the "throttle" and tapped the rear break, it promptly locked up. The regen can be excessive but you can modulate it with wrist position. I'd say it pulls harder than my Z750S does below 8K RPM. On the Livewire it's just a steady smooth acceleration with no real peaks or dips thanks to the electric drivetrain.

    Your range is spot on, I'm guessing on a full charge they are at 70ish in Range mode and 40ish in power. I noted the same option in the survey on pricing, I choose <$15K because like you I don't think the e-bike crowd would pay the premium for the Harley name.

    Cat and I both hated the mirrors, I think Cat mentioned them 4 different times in her little video survey at the end.

    I talked to the parts guy, he was soliciting feedback on how people would like to customize the bike. They recognize "we aren't going to sell a lot of pipes for it" I mentioned options to clean up the tail area (that fender is horrendous) the ability to customize the frame color or at least have options, integrated storage of some kind and connectivity/customization via a smartphone.

    Oh, and the electric whine you heard was actually gear noise. They purposely cut the gears in such a way as to produce that sound. They knew they would need something that made it a Harley and this was the route they took when developing the drivetrain with Mission RS.

    I asked a few questions they wouldn't answer, the big one being:
    "If this comes to production I'm assuming it would have a standard J1772 plug for recharging"
    "I'm not allowed to answer that"

    Additionally I found out there are two electric pumps on the bike, one for battery cooling and one for the electric motor cooling. The battery cooling fluid is circulated through the small radiator at the front. The motor cooling circuit is through the lower aluminum casing that also houses the motor/gear drive. You can feel these and the low vibration they produce when you turn the bike on.

    Overall I was very pleased, I'd like to see it come to production with a 100+ mile range, sub $15K price tag and with some luggage/accessories. Who knows if that will happen. I suspect it will get sold in a boutique shop, similar to how Tesla does their sales process, separate from the primary Harley dealerships to avoid pissing off the traditional Harley buyer. Those guys never accepted the V-Rod I doubt most of them would accept this. It's a shame they don't have some other inventive brand name that they could sell it under... oh wait, they did and f*cked that up.
    2005 Kawasaki Z750S

Similar Threads

  1. Electric bike frustration! (Brammo Empluse-R)
    By JonnyD in forum Misc. Bike Talk
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: Wed May 9th, 2012, 10:16 PM
  2. Electric race bike smoked...
    By edj in forum Misc. Bike Talk
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: Tue Jun 21st, 2011, 08:04 PM
  3. My thoughts on the electric bike i just rode
    By tecknojoe in forum Bike Tech
    Replies: 22
    Last Post: Mon Apr 4th, 2011, 11:51 PM
  4. Electric bike hits 150 mph
    By TFOGGuys in forum Non-Bike Discussion
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: Tue Sep 15th, 2009, 05:44 PM
  5. Mission One Electric Bike
    By arcatacat in forum Non-Bike Discussion
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: Wed Feb 4th, 2009, 05:50 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •