Harley-Davidson launches cheaper LiveWire electric motorcycle

Harley-Davidson launches cheaper LiveWire electric motorcycle

It's $10,000 less than Harley's original e-motorcycle.

Maybe now you can snag a Harley.

The iconic American motorcycle brand announced Thursday a cheaper version of its original Harley-Davidson LiveWire electric motorcycle that first came out in 2019.

The LiveWire One is priced at $21,999. That's before federal credits for an electric vehicle purchase drops the price below $20,000. The original LiveWire e-motorcycle started at just under $30,000.

The One will be fast-charging compatible, going from 0 to 100 percent full battery in an hour, or 80 percent in 45 minutes. On a full charge the bike can go 146 miles.

While LiveWire One is the second Harley Davidson product with "LiveWire" somewhere in its name, it's also the first bike from Harley-Davidson's new standalone electric motorcycle brand named, well, LiveWire. The brand was announced back in May.

This branding scheme allows the new bike to be a fresh start of sorts. The original LiveWire ran into problems shortly after launch with charging and battery issues only after about 1,600 of the electric motorcycles were even made. Now there's just the One available, which you can order online with a $100 reservation. It's expected to arrive in two to four weeks. Eventually LiveWire plans to offer more models in the electric motorcycle space.

Harley-Davidson already has an electric bicycle line, the Serial 1.                                          

The order page at the LiveWire website allows you to color select parts of the bike black or white, and add optional accessories for style points.                                                             

An official launch event in Northern California at the International Motorcycle Show is scheduled for July 18, giving attendees a sneak peak of the cheaper electric hog before the first deliveries arrive.

Related Video: 10 car companies coming for Tesla's EV crown

Comments

  1. Harleys: Pop-a-pop bop tee bop.. E-Harleys: MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

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  2. Live wire eh? So does it come with mountain dew as well?

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  3. From the people that brought you covid
    The new ccpsux 1000

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  4. WAY too expensive. But then, what else would you expect from Harley Davidson...

    Weird location for the charging port. Seems it would put a lot of stress on the cable/port and the cable draping over what used to be the fuel tank seems would be a wear-away-the-finish situation.

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  5. Get them down to $10-15K and I'm in.

    Still too much money.

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  6. The danger of electric motorcycles is that no one can hear them. So on a road like Highway 17, it will be much more dangerous.

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    1. Loud motorcycles do not result in less accidents. By the time an automobile driver hears one (if at all), they're already changing into its lane or turning in front of it (if then).

      Since motorists (particularly in America) are generally unaware of/don't look out for motorcycles, it's up to the motorcycle rider to drive defensively and make the assumption that every automobile is out to get him. That's basically what they teach in the Motorcycle Safety Course: SIPDE

      Scan – Constantly scan the environment around you. If you focus on only one thing, like a pedestrian crossing the street, you may miss other hazards like the person getting ready to open their car door next to you.

      Identify – As you’re scanning, identify all the potential hazards. “Filter out the noise”, and identify what’s important. Don’t forget to identify potential problems approaching from the rear as well!

      Predict – You’ve identified the potential hazards, now predict what the outcomes will be if certain scenarios play out. Focus on the worst case scenarios. You may be able to swerve around a pedestrian, but probably won’t survive tangling with a garbage truck. Prioritize accordingly.

      Decide – Decide on a course of action that you would follow, should one of the scenarios you predicted plays out.

      Execute – Execute the course of action you decided on.

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    2. Yes, and the safety class says lane splitting is dangerous, but I see it all the time, even on Highway 17. Motorcycles are flying by cars with inches to spare. The sound from the motors does give people a little bit of warning.

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    3. Seems lane splitting is legal in California. Legal doesn't mean smart, so it's still on the motorcyclist to ride safely (and, frankly, I'd bet none of those active/habitual lane splitters has ever taken The Course).

      Frankly, when I hear a motorcycle outside my car, it's like when I first hear an ambulance or police siren - absolutely impossible to tell where its coming from.

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  7. I had the first version of the LiveWire and it did make noise, but not enough to alert other cars on a freeway. But that's why motorcycles have horns. Besides, if you're on Highway 17, at least the part that goes to Santa Cruz, you won't be driving like an idiot and you will be more aware. I don't think people in cars really give a crap about motorcycles, noise or not, especially in the bay area. Riders should always be more aware than drivers.

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  8. Really wish this was direct drive or shaft drive -- then it would be almost maintenance free.

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    1. Seriously. Harley and their belts. I never understood why bikes half the price have shaft drive and no HD models do - unless you consider the XA from the 40's a contender. Meanwhile a 40 year old CX500 is shaft driven with a street price of $1000, a new price in 1982 of $3500 ($5300 with inflation) and would never need maintenance outside of grease popped in the zerk every 5000 miles.

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    2. It looks as if the belt is protected. Direct drive isn't really practical - a motor with many poles is going to add a lot of unsprung mass,and not fit in the wheel, and shaft drive with high torque motors has its own problems with keeping tooth clearance correct, lubrication and inefficiency causing a reduction in range. If a belt drive adds even 5 miles to the range over shaft drive, and is cheaper, that's what the engineers will choose.

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  9. Yeah but does the engine run quietly like most EVs or did they purposely engineer it to make god awful noise like most of their bikes?

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    1. I think they sound cooler with a noise, but it has to be a specific noise. Like the startup sound should be the proton pack starting up and the driving or riding sound should be something like the sound KITT makes in the series when driving along. That turbine engine sound.

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    2. In some countries having quiet engines is illegal, you legally have to have engines make a certain amount of noise, the reason for this is to make things safe both for other drivers and also for pedestrians, i believe EU even has a rule for all its countries about minimum noise level needed to be legal.

      And if the noise is legal even in countries that don't require it then manufactures might decide it's cheaper to make all in the same way instead of having one version to export to countries with requirement for noise and another for countries with no noise requirement.

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    3. Europe doesn’t have such a rule. I think it’s more an Oil-country way of thinking to take away one of the many benefits of EVs. I am really looking forward to a more quiet environment as EVs spread.

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    4. Actually the EU mandated in July 2019 that all new models of electric cars must make a noise when travelling below 20kph (about 12mph).

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    5. I stand corrected. What a sad development. Such a stone age way of embracing the future.

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    6. As someone with a sight impediment I would prefer some cue of impending doom

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  10. Really, that is your response? You're acting like a "Hater." I find it hard to believe you have not done things that have annoyed other people.

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    1. You might not like the noise a motorcycle makes, but there is a safety reasons why motorcycles make a loud noise as they drive down the road. You want other vehicles driving around you to be aware of your presences. So you should actually hope they have some form of audible queue for the safety of the motorcyclist.

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    2. They would need to be really loud for people to hear in any modern, mid-to-highend cars which are well shielded from outside noise and typically come with good stereos. We cannot rely on things making a noise for us to be aware of them.

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    3. No there isn’t, it’s pathetic egos

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    4. I am cool with that, what I am not cool with is cops ticketing cars for being loud...maybe i like to warn other cars when i am in their blind spots with blasts of my blow off valve...

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  11. Hope it is a more finalized product that what was used in the Long Way Up TV series. It was amazing what they were able to accomplished, but definitely needed some more work done to them.

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  12. It's too bad they made this a California based company. I suppose what is next is HD moving out of their original state soon. Now there is not much difference from this and a Zero, because that's a zero move by the CEO.

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  13. Much better price will attract far more buyers.

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    1. Harleys and their offshoots are going to be more expensive bikes relatively speaking anyway. This isn't a mass adoption ebike but more for someone wanting Harleys take on an ebike. Probably not many that would should be interesting to see how well this sells. Plan to get another bike in a few years and would consider electric but for the 20k I'd rather put that towards an electric car and buy a gas powered bike as realistically it wouldn't be used nearly as often which is imagine is the case for many bike owners not living in uber-dry places

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    2. This pricing is very competitive with other eBikes, like Zero.

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  14. "The motorcycle also comes with a six-axis inertial measurement unit to assist with breaking and turns."

    Surely you meant to type "...braking and turns." Otherwise, I'd rather have it without the inertial measurement unit.

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    1. Maybe they did mean breaking. You can only do it once though.

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    2. I would rather have it without anyway. It suggests that the dynamic setup is far from ideal and needs intervention. The last thing you want is to have the unit fail going round a bend.
      I had an accelerometer fail on the power steering of a car a few years ago while going round a roundabout. For a couple of seconds I thought I must have had a tyre collapse. It would not be good on a bike.

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    3. If it breaks you'll possibly buy a new one?

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