Is the 2020 Harley-Davidson Livewire the electric shock the motorcycle industry needs? Representing not only onthrottle.co.nz but the wider Kiwi motorcycling community, Mathieu Day-Gillett travels to Portland, Oregon, to be one of the first in the world to ride Harley-Davidson's first fully electric production motorcycle.
Who on earth expected that it would be Harley-Davidson that would become the first major motorcycle manufacturer to bring to market a fully electric bike?
Okay, all cards on the table, I’ve really been looking forward to riding Harley’s LiveWire. In fact, I was lucky enough to have ridden the LiveWire’s precursor - 2014’s project Livewire - and I was so blown away by the bike that I gave it my bike of the year gong for that year.
So what's changed going into the production model?
Well for starters, all the rough edges have vanished and Harley have given the bike a charging port in the traditional fuel filler location.
The lightweight alloy frame no longer has a rough finish to it, and while I was at first sad to see the cool textured finish of the concept bike make way for the smooth new frame, I can appreciate that owners of the Livewire would struggle to clean such a thing. Imagine the damage to your trusty old sponge if you had to wipe it over the sandpaper-like finish of Project Livewire?
Other minor changes come in the form of a small fairing around the LED headlight unit, a new sub-frame with space for a pillion, a variety of colour options (our pick is the Yellow Fuse colour scheme), and rather importantly the addition of a numberplate carrier which integrates the rear tail light and indicators also.
Most importantly, however, the Livewire now has FUNCTIONING rear-view mirrors. Yup, as cool looking as the mirrors on Project Livewire were, in terms of function all they gave you a good view of was your kneecaps.
So how does it ride you ask?
Well that is the big question everyone is asking isn't it? Thankfully, Harley-Davidson had sorted us out with a guided ride around Portland with some wicked twisty back roads thrown in for good measure to help us see what it is like to ride the Livewire in the real world.
While it was only a taste of what the ownership experience will be like, riding the Livewire was easily a highlight of my year in motorcycling.
The bike has 4 pre-loaded rider modes (Road, Sport, Rain and Range) which can be toggled on the fly and each gives the bike a noticeably different throttle response.
Make no mistake, this bike is FAST. With all its power and torque (78kW/105hp and 116Nm) available from 0rpm this thing accelerates like nothing else. Just twist the throttle and the bike shoots off at warp speed.
Linked into the Livewire's systems is Harley's first traction control system which is linked in with a 6-axis IMU and the ABS brakes. The result is a system that offers the necessary safety net for a bike that has its full power capability from the touch of the throttle.
Our ride route took us from the stop-go of central Portland, out into the hills through some incredibly twisty roads before looping back at the end of the day.
I'll admit that I was slightly worried about setting off immediately into traffic at the start of the day. My biggest memory of Project Livewire was nearly dropping the bike in low speed conditions, but Harley have really dialled in the throttle response of Livewire to the point that you can roll along as slow as you like without feeling like you need to slip the non-existent clutch.
In fact, the Livewire is actually an incredibly easy bike to ride in general. It's well set up with fully adjustable Showa suspension, Brembo brakes and that host of adaptable nanny aids which alter their settings depending on which rider mode you have selected.
Rain is the most constrained with the slowest throttle response, while sport is an absolute riot and actually lets the real wheel slip a bit.
I did feel adjusting the settings on the suspension would have been helpful when really pushing it as the bike wasn't quite happy with my fat ass and some of the rougher road surfaces (contrary to popular belief the roads in the USA have their fair share of potholes).
The bike never instilled any sense of being out of my control though and was incredibly confidence inspiring.
Can it wheelie? Probably, I'll admit I didn't really try. I will say I'm pretty sure you can do burnouts and annihilate the rear tyre with the traction control off (I will neither confirm or deny trying). Either way having full power from the touch of the throttle is a sensation that quickly becomes addictive.
I did find myself only really using two of the rider modes, Sport (for obvious reasons) and when the riding mellowed out I would switch to Range mode which allows the most battery regeneration when either braking or coasting.
Riding like a loon will obviously drastically reduce your battery range, and I arrived back at base with 32% left, while a much more sensible Australian rider arrived back with nearly 50%!
So will it sell?.
On merit alone I feel the bike will certainly attract its fair share of buyers. The only real catch is the as yet unconfirmed price and arrival dates for the New Zealand market. In the USA the Livewire retails at US$29,799 (approx. $44,000) which will lock out much of the younger market Harley-Davidson is working hard to attract to its brand.
However, the Livewire is not a bike which Harley expects to sell like hotcakes. It is, instead, the halo product of a much wider range of electric motorcycles from the iconic brand.
In theory, there are another 4 bikes scheduled to debut below the Livewire in terms of spec and price point in the next 2 years or so and that is a really exciting prospect.
Is the Livewire another orphan from Harley. Hell no! This is the shock the motorcycling market needs.
2020 Harley-Davidson Livewire Specs
Dimensions
Length: 84.1 in. (2,135 mm)
Overall Width: 32.7 in. (830 mm)
Overall Height: 42.5 in. (1,080 mm)
Seat Height, Laden / Unladen: 30 in. (761 mm) / 30.7 in. (780 mm)
Ground Clearance: 5.1 in. (130 mm)
Rake (steering head): 24.5 deg
Trail: 4.3 in. (108 mm)
Wheelbase: 58.7 in. (1,490 mm)
Tyres, Type: Michelin® Scorcher® "Sport"
Tyre, Front Specification: 120/70 ZR17 58W
Tyre, Rear Specification: 180/55 ZR17 73W
Transmission Capacity: 0.34 qt (0.32 L)
Coolant Capacity: 0.8 qt. (0.72 L)
Weight, In Running Order: 549 lb. (249 kg)
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating: 949 lb. (430 kg)
Drivetrain
Primary Drive: Spiral bevel gear , 55/17 ratio
Final Drive: Belt, 3/1 ratio
Transmission: Single Speed
Gear Ratios (overall): 1st 9.71
Chassis
Frame: Aluminum cast
Swingarm: Aluminum cast
Front Fork: SHOWA® 43 mm Inverted Separate Function Forks - Big Piston (SFF-BP®), fully adjustable
Rear Shock: SHOWA® Balance Free Rear Cushion Lite (BFRC-lite®), fully adjustable
Wheels, Type: Black, Split 5-Spoke Cast Aluminum
Wheel, Front Dia. / Width: 17 in. (432 mm) / 3.5 in. (89 mm)
Wheel, Rear Dia. / Width: 17 in. (432 mm) / 5.5 in. (140 mm)
Brakes, Caliper Type: Dual 4-piston monoblock radial mount front, dual-piston rear
Brakes, Rotor Type: Dual floating rotors (front), floating rotor (rear)
Brakes, Front Diameter / Thickness: 11.8 in. (300 mm) / 0.2 in. (5 mm)
Brakes, Rear Diameter / Thickness: 10.2 in. (260 mm) / 0.2 in. (5 mm)
Brakes, Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS): Standard
Suspension Travel, Front / Rear: 4.5 in. (115 mm) / 4.5 in. (115 mm)
Performance
Lean Angle, Right / Left (deg): 45 / 45
Power: 105hp/78kW @ 0rpm
Torque: 116Nm @ 0rpm
Electric
Battery: Lithium Ion, 12.8V , 24 Wh, 120 A
Charging: Onboard DC to DC conversio
Gauges: 4.3” WQVGA 480×272 TFT Color Display with Ambient Light Sensor, 9 warning lights, Real Time Clock and Integrated Bluetooth Connectivity to a Smartphone to provide infotainment features including turn-by-turn navigation, telephone, music, and voice recognition.
Electric Power Outlet: USB C-type; output 5V at 3A
EV Specific Content: Motor
Power: 105hp/78kW @ 0rpm
Torque: 115Nm @ 0rpm
RPM max: 15000
Motor Type: Internal Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor with Water Jacket cooling
Motor Name: Revelation®
EV Specific Content: RESS
Type: Lithium Ion
Capacity: 15.5kWh total, 13.6kWh min usable
EV Specific Content: Charging
Charge Plug Type: SAE J1772 Combo Inlet (CCS1) / IEC 62196 Combo Inlet (CCS2)
On-board charger, charge rate: 1400 W
AC wall charging time (not verified)
arget - Full charge in 12.5 hrs
- Capable of 12.6 miles/hour charge rate (MIC city cycle)
DC fast charging time (not verified)
Target - Full charge in 1.0 hr
- Capable of 192 miles/hour charge rate (MIC city cycle)
DC to DC conversion: 450W at 14.2V
EV Specific Content: Range
MIC City: 235km
Highway (112kph / 70mph sustained): 113km
Combined: 152km
WMTC (World Motorcycle Test Cycle): 158km
Infotainment
Hands-free Mobile Phone - via Bluetooth: Standard
Voice Recognition Languages: Phone functions only Via paired iOS or Android device