Harley's e-bike isn't meant for production yet. The models that are out are meant for a market survey as shown in this report. I predict they're just testing the water and see how the public responds to a quiet Harley. A new generation of bikers might find appeal in the new technology. Looks like an expensive way to test the market, but Harley can well afford it. For motorcycling, it is possible that Harley Davidson will set up a new market trend instead.
Cheers!
We rode Harley-Davidson's incredible electric motorcycle
PROJECT LIVEWIRE IS HARLEY'S (QUIET) FIRST STEP INTO THE FUTURE
By Jacob Kastrenakes on June 24, 2014 10:36 am
Outside of Harley-Davidson's Lower Manhattan store on Monday, a group of Harley enthusiasts leaned against the railing of a construction canopy, smoking cigarettes and chatting about work while they waited in line to be one of the very first people in the world to take a ride on Harley's newest motorcycle. The bike they were waiting for wasn't the latest loud, hulking monument to two-wheeled American chrome though: this was something altogether different.
Harley was introducing Project LiveWire, its first electric motorcycle, and it had brought over a dozen of them to its Manhattan store for a limited preview of the bikes before they go on tour around the US for the rest of the year, beginning today.
LiveWire is far from the type of bike that Harley enthusiast are used to. It has a single gear, a touchscreen dashboard, and no gas to speak of. Oh, and it's quiet. Really, really quiet.
At first, it was a shock," says George Pelaez, a member of the Harley Owners Group's New York City chapter. But Palaez, like many of the other HOG NYC members in attendance, found a lot to like in LiveWire, despite its striking differences. "The technology is unbelievable," he says.
Even though LiveWire won't be going on sale — Harley says that it's only looking at rider feedback at the moment — LiveWire is ready and impressive to ride. It tops out around 92 miles per hour and can get from zero to 60 in under four seconds, according to a Harley representative. For now, it isn't meant to take you all that far though: its range is around 55 miles in an economy mode and around 33 miles in a "power" mode. Charging time is about 3.5 hours.
Harley executives aren't interested in talking specs, though. They stressed that what they care about right now is getting rider feedback — including finding out who this bike is actually for. "That’s one of the most interesting things we’re gonna learn," says Harley marketing chief Mark-Hans Richer. "The breadth of this experience." This isn't a bike for most Harley traditionalists, after all, so the question may be what new, younger riders are looking for.
"It can be a totally different sound as long as it delivers those same emotional characteristics."
Richer says that LiveWire is Harley's acknowledgement that there's a growing customer interest in electric vehicles. Harley believes that there's still a lot of development needed before they’ll take off, and presumably, Harley thinks it can help electric motorcycles do just that.
But Harley's challenge isn't just technical: it's emotional. It's recreating the feel of a grumbling V-twin engine and all the power that comes with controlling one. LiveWire certainly gives its drivers plenty of control — riders were calling it agile, sporty, nimble — but its sound is something very different.
LiveWire is nearly impossible to hear when out among New York City traffic. When revved indoors, however, it lets off a high-pitched whine that sounds more like an oversized vacuum than a vehicle.
For the rest of the report, here's the link:
http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/24/5...ire-harley-davidson-first-electric-motorcycle
