Harley-Davidson LiveWire Gives a Glimpse into the Future of Motorcycles [OPINION]

Harley Davidson’s LiveWire project sent the motorcycle world buzzing about electric motorcycles and the future of motorcycles. Many riders have criticized electric motorcycles for lacking the character they cherish about their own motorcycles, and, of course, there are those who criticize the lack of engine noise. Harley’s LiveWire future is a glimpse into the future of the motorcycling industry as a whole.

However, those riders who assert criticisms over an inherent lack of character in electric motorcycles have never ridden a good electric. Electric bikes like LiveWire might not have the same kind of character as internal combustion-powered bikes, but they do have their own unique kind of character. Why can’t motorcycle enthusiasts enjoy more than one kind of motorcycle, anyway?

Coming from the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the United States, LiveWire needs to convert at least some of its critics to succeed. Harley-Davidson sells more motorcycles in the United States than any other manufacturer, and thus often helps set the tone for the motorcycling industry as a whole.

Harley-Davidson is usually a powerhouse when it comes to motorcycle styling and trendsetting. However with the introduction of competing bikes like the Ducati Scrambler and Indian FTR 1200, that influence seems to have fallen off on the trend-setting front. LiveWire is aimed squarely at the star the Scrambler wishes it could be, because LiveWire has what the future of motorcycling needs.

LiveWire – even when I rode it back in its earlier stages of development for a short period of time – showed me electric motorcycles have their own story to tell and their own kinds of adventures to take. The instantaneous torque of an electric motor is something that no Harley V-Twin, stock 103 twin-cam to 135 JIMS stroker, can touch.  

The styling of LiveWire is a nice combination of futuristic with a bit of heritage thrown in because the Motor Company just can’t prepare a dish without a smattering of heritage in it. The colors are also a bit non-traditional for Harley as well, but that fits with the whole theme of being a bit non-traditional.

Whether LiveWire ends up being a good bike or not does not matter. Dealerships sold most of the allocations for those bikes months ago, partly because the slated released date was originally August, but also because there are plenty of wealthy people willing to plop down $29,799 for a piece of the future that will eventually become a piece of history.  

Right now, LiveWire faces all the same problems of electric cars and the development of a completely new platform and technology. While electric motorcycles aren’t exactly new technology, the mass-production of an electric motorcycle that will be reliable every day and work as both transportation and pleasure is relatively new. Short range, slow recharge, and high cost seem to be the most obstructive issues faced by riders, but as with all new technologies, these issues will improve with time.

What LiveWire does have going for it, though, is that it is, in essence, still a motorcycle controlled by the rider. This is not some kind of iPhone on two wheels that can ride itself or tell you how to ride. This is much more: a mostly regular motorcycle that happens to be powered by an electric motor rather than one that uses gasoline. The riding experience doesn’t actually differ very much from riding any other motorcycle of a similar size and weight. The most noticeable difference is the noise at lower speeds, but once you’re cruising at freeway speeds with the wind noise, it really isn’t noticeable.

In the future, when electric motorcycles become more attainable to the masses, there will probably also be stricter emissions regulations enforced on motorcycles around the United States. Electric motorcycles might one day become the only option for fast, sporty motorcycles once large-displacement, high-horsepower internal combustion engines can no longer meet emissions requirements. Hopefully, those internal combustion powered bikes will never be completely banned from the streets, but I am sure electric motorcycles are more than up to the task of providing enough power for those speed demons out there.

I urge riders to not look at this moment as the end of an era but rather the dawn of a new one. Both eras will coexist for a time, and I hope that time is not brief, and both eras can be enjoyed at the same time. I know not everyone can afford to keep two bikes in their garage, especially when electric bikes cost as much as LiveWire still, but nobody is prying your crusty oily Sportster from your garage to forcibly replace it with something shiny that doesn’t vibrate as much.  

You can keep your noisy internal combustion powered bike as long as you want. Considering they are still the primary source of transportation for many countries with populations in the millions, they certainly aren’t going to disappear off the face of the earth any time soon.