We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more ›
Some information we’ve been waiting a long time for has finally arrived and we can’t say we’re surprised with what we now know about the Harley-Davidson LiveWire, the Milwaukee brand’s first electric motorcycle. It will be available in August of 2019, its starting price will be $29,799, and it has an estimated range of 110 miles. The LiveWire is available for pre-order right now.
That predictably puts the Harley-Davidson LiveWire towards the top of the price spectrum for electric motorcycles. For reference, the Zero SR has a starting MSRP of $16,495, a combined range of 120 miles, and is available right now. Another naked electric motorcycle that’s available right now is the Energica Eva EsseEsse9 which has a combined range of 93 miles and starts at $20,930. You might say the Harley is a more premium bike, but that’s still a pretty significant price hike over the others that are close competitors on paper.
A few other new nuggets of information we have include a 0-60 miles per hour time of “under 3.5 seconds” and there will be an H-D Connect Service which allows you to check your LiveWire’s vitals like its battery status and location, and it even provides security alerts if your bike is being tampered with.
We’re still waiting on specific performance numbers like horsepower and torque ratings from its H-D Revelation powertrain. As for charging options, it will come with a Level 1 charger and a power cord which will allow for “a full charge overnight.” It will have a female connector for a Level 3 DC fast charger but Harley suggests “visiting any public” charge station to use it, leading us to believe that Harley won’t offer a Level 3 charger of its own.
The LiveWire will be available in three colors: Yellow Fuse, Orange Fuse, and Vivid Black. The two non-black colors are exclusive to the LiveWire and you won’t find them anywhere else in the H-D model range.
The LiveWire is an incredibly important bike for Harley-Davidson, but it will carry a prohibitively expensive price tag for most motorcyclists. It’s pricey even by Harley-Davidson standards and will be the brand’s most expensive bike other than the Tri Glide Ultra and the ludicrously priced CVO line. Harley-Davidson might be trying to attract environmentally-conscious Millennials with the LiveWire, but we don’t think very many people in that demographic are itching to spend 30-grand on a motorcycle.