Harley-Davidson is betting big on its first production electric motorcycle, the Livewire and if you want to buy one, you better bet big too -- in Vegas, that is. Harley announced on Monday at CES that the Livewire is now available for preorder with plans to go into production this fall. Though if you want in on the future, you'll have to pay H-D $29,799 of your hard-earned American dollars for the privilege.
If that seems like a boatload of greenbacks for a two-wheeled conveyance, it is, but Harleys have never really been what you'd call "cheap" so what exactly is the Motor Company planning on giving you for your money?
Well, to start, Livewire will do 110 miles on a charge, though Harley states in its press release that those are urban miles, so if you plan to go full-on Wild Hogs, expect significantly less range. Livewire will make the sprint to 60 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds which would be great for a car but is nothing to write home about when it comes to motorcycles.
Based on photos, the Livewire looks like a more aggressive and sporty machine than your average Harley-Davidson model and the marketing materials for the bike tell us that it has lean-sensitive anti-lock brakes and traction control. Both of these are excellent features to have, especially in something that has the instant torque of an electric vehicle.
Another thing you can generally expect for your money when you're looking at a Harley is that it will be very well-built with excellent finishes, and the Livewire will probably live up to its family legacy on that front. Riders will also get access to a Livewire-specific app that will offer up service and maintenance notices, charging locations and vehicle location data, in case some ne'er-do-well attempts to purloin your fancy new electric motorbike.
The other thing that we now know about the Livewire is that the "Revelation" electric drivetrain produces a new, futuristic "signature Harley-Davidson sound" which we can only assume is either a robotic voice making the classic potato-potato sound of Harley's 45-degree V-twin engine or the noise that cars make on the Jetsons. We're hoping for the latter.
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