Harley Davidson has officially revealed its first electric bike at EICMA and its launch will take place next year
Harley Davidson is going through a transformation phase as the company is developing a new range of motorcycles which won’t be cruiser models and the first product is going to be an electric bike, which is named as LiveWire as it has made its global debut at the ongoing EICMA.
The market launch is expected to take place by the end of this year and it is developed to be a nimble and agile bike, which is different from the current generation of Harley Davidson bikes as most of them are tourers, which is focused towards comfort rather than handling. The LiveWire is the production version of Project LiveWire Concept revealed in 2014.
The electric bike is expected to come with a fully digital instrument cluster and it will provide lots of information for the rider. The company is also focusing on connectivity as the smartphone can be paired with the bike via Bluetooth, which will help the rider to attend calls and the LiveWire also comes with a navigation system.
Like most of the electric cars, the smartphone application of LiveWire will notify the rider, when the charge is complete and it will also give details about the charging stations nearby. The engineers have also focused on reducing heat from the battery pack as they have given air-cooling fans on the power pack.
Harley Davidson is yet to reveal details of the electric motor but we can expect good power and torque figures along with excellent performance. The company will also provide fast charging for the LiveWire and the electric bike has also retained the belt drive. The suspension components include upside-down Showa forks and monoshocks at the rear.
The electric bike comes with steel trellis frame and it is expected give good handling as LiveWire also gets rear set foot pegs. The brakes for LiveWire is supplied by Brembo and dual-channel ABS will be standard. Some reports have also indicated that the upcoming electric bike will come with different modes.