Harley Davidson Creates Electric Bike

When you think of Harley Davidson, you think of a big man on a roaring bike, ripping down a dirt road. Harley Davidson is trying to perhaps change the imagine slightly with their new electric bike.  Motorcycle enthusiasts are about to find out as Harley-Davidson rolls out an electric bike — a sleek, futuristic version that sounds like a jet airplane taking off.

The public will get its first look at handmade demonstration models at an invitation-only event Monday in New York. The company will then take the models on the road for riders to try and provide feedback. Harley will use the information to refine the bike, which might not hit the market for several more years.

Harleys have long been the bad-boy bike of choice with an image associated with motorcycle gangs, even though most riders are middle-aged and middle-class. The new venture is a departure from Harley’s mainstay touring bikes and presents an added risk because currently almost no market for full-size electric motorcycles. The millions of two-wheeled electric vehicles sold each year are almost exclusively scooters and low-powered bikes that appeal to Chinese commuters.

But those focused on electric vehicle development say Harley has the marketing power to create demand, and its efforts to lower costs, build charging stations and improve technology will help everyone involved.

“It does validate what we’ve been doing; it adds additional credibility to it. It is certainly going to draw more people’s attention to electric motorcycles. The marketing horsepower of Harley-Davidson is going to be able to do things for us that we can’t do on our own,” said Scot Harden, vice-president of global marketing at Zero Motorcycles, the top seller of full-size, high-powered electric bikes.

Zero expects to sell 2,400 electric motorcycles this year, a drop in the bucket compared with the more than 260,000 conventional motorcycles sold last year by Harley.

The new LiveWire won’t make the distinctive “potato-potato-potato” chug that Harley once tried to patent. Its engine is silent, and the turbine-like hum comes from the meshing of gears. But electric motors do provide better handling and rapid acceleration — with the electric Harley able to go from 0 to 60 mph in four seconds. LiveWire’s design places the engine at the bottom of the bike.

“When you ride a motorcycle, it’s the movement of the top of the bike side-to-side that gives you agility in regard to making turns. So, if I put weight low in a motorcycle, I can turn faster. I can drop the bike down and make quicker moves,” said Gary Gauthier, of NextEnergy, a Detroit-based non-profit with expertise in electric vehicles.

Jeff Richlen, Harley’s lead engineer on LiveWire, put it this way: “Some people may get on it thinking, ‘golf cart,’ and they get off thinking, ‘rocket ship.”‘  Harley has made a smart decision following the trend of electric cars in todays market.  Watch for more motorcycle companies to follow the lead of Harley and begin to open this category up.

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