It has been years since we first dropped our jaws over Harley-Davidson’s all-electric prototype. A stone cold silent Harley! Four years have passed thinking the electric concept would stay a concept for a long time. Now though, Harley-Davidson LiveWire has been unveiled in full production clothes. The 2019 Harley-Davidson LiveWire shares its name with the concept, but the American motorcycle manufacturer says that the two only share 1% of the parts, which means the production version is completely new.
Similar to the XR1200 concept, Harley-Davidson LiveWire has a fake fuel tank which houses the charging unit that makes it look a bit similar to filling up the fuel tank like a traditional motorcycle.
Harley has so far not revealed details of the LiveWire’s charging time and range but claims that the time will be short. Considering that Harley has been tweaking the technology for four years, the range should be better than 65 km of the original concept.
The production version of Harley-Davidson LiveWire also has a new aluminium casing for the batteries to allow better cooling, which is important because Harley says the bike will be “very fast” and hence produce a lot of heat.
Besides the electric powertrain, Harley LiveWire’s chassis will feature some other new elements that aren’t usually seen on Harley motorcycles. Suspension wise, the LiveWire comes with Showa top-spec forks and a fully adjustable monoshock at the rear. Braking duties will be served by Brembo.
Watch Harley-Davidson Street Rod review below:
Another feature to retain the traditional motorcycle appeal is the gearbox. Harley-Davidson LiveWire will be one of the very few electric motorcycles that will come with a manual gearbox. Usually, electric bikes don’t feature a manual unit.
Harley-Davidson is celebrating its 115th anniversary this year. The iconic motorcycle brand is marking the occasion with several grand parties around the world, along with the unveiling of the all-new electric motorcycle and a range of brand new series of new-generation motorcycles.
