Leno rides the Livewire

[1KPerDay]

[Sport-Touring]

[bajakirch]

If HD made ICE bikes that looked like that Livewire, I could see owning one.

[Rattlehead]

If HD made ICE bikes that looked like that Livewire, I could see owning one.

Ever heard of Buell?

[bajakirch]

Ever heard of Buell?

Not since 2009  

But seriously, even before I started riding motorcycles I was a Buell fan. The idea was sound -- support a line of bikes that would attract the non-cruiser crowd. Unfortunately, IMO HD constricted Erik Buell to the point that he couldn't put out the bikes he felt he should be building. The Buell Blast...really? I LOVE the looks of the Ulysses, but have heard horror-stories about their reliability.

[Blue is Best]

A couple of thoughts on these electric bikes/cars.

Thought 1- It's an attention getter and the technology is to be watched and perfected. But the range and price and recharging when you get where you're going are considerations that, at this time, make them impractical. I think they are getting too much attention. My opinion.

Thought 2- I sure wish HD would put some of that kind of new thinking and technology into their bike offerings.

[bajakirch]

A couple of thoughts on these electric bikes/cars.

Thought 1- It's an attention getter and the technology is to be watched and perfected. But the range and price and recharging when you get where you're going are considerations that, at this time, make them impractical. I think they are getting too much attention. My opinion.

Thought 2- I sure wish HD would put some of that kind of new thinking and technology into their bike offerings.

Re: Thought 2:
In a sense, I think that's why this Livewire project is kind of a brilliant move on their part. For those of us who would love to see something more 'modern' from The Motor Company, it shows that they are indeed capable of designing something that's not a low-slung, V-twinned, 900-lb. chrome monster. It gives us hope that maybe, just maybe, HD will someday build something for those of us who don't care for cruisers. Yet, for the loyalists who treated Buell...and, really, just about anything that deviates more than 3 degrees from the HD party line (Hello? V-Rod?)...with heapin' helpings of "Meh", HD brass can say, "Oh, that? That's just some crazy skunkworks project we let the engineers play around with after they killed themselves on the Rushmore project. We wouldn't actually BUILD something like that. Here, have a bandanna."

[Rattlehead]

Not since 2009  

But seriously, even before I started riding motorcycles I was a Buell fan. The idea was sound -- support a line of bikes that would attract the non-cruiser crowd. Unfortunately, IMO HD constricted Erik Buell to the point that he couldn't put out the bikes he felt he should be building. The Buell Blast...really? I LOVE the looks of the Ulysses, but have heard horror-stories about their reliability.

Agreed 100%
Imagine EBR's current bikes in the Buell lineup and priced a couple grand cheaper; I would be frothing at the mouth to get one!    That's what Buell was capable of if Harley had given him the opportunity.


I think the horror stories may be a bit exaggerated though. The 4 Buell's I ve had, as a whole, have been good bikes and a TON of fun to ride.

Re: Thought 2:
In a sense, I think that's why this Livewire project is kind of a brilliant move on their part. For those of us who would love to see something more 'modern' from The Motor Company, it shows that they are indeed capable of designing something that's not a low-slung, V-twinned, 900-lb. chrome monster. It gives us hope that maybe, just maybe, HD will someday build something for those of us who don't care for cruisers. Yet, for the loyalists who treated Buell...and, really, just about anything that deviates more than 3 degrees from the HD party line (Hello? V-Rod?)...with heapin' helpings of "Meh", HD brass can say, "Oh, that? That's just some crazy skunkworks project we let the engineers play around with after they killed themselves on the Rushmore project. We wouldn't actually BUILD something like that. Here, have a bandanna."

 They had a world-class engnieering team with Buell, they dumpped it in favor of 'focusing on their core market'.
Honestly, at this point I have more faith that Victory/Indian will come out with something modern and desireable to me than Harley.

[bajakirch]

Imagine EBR's current bikes in the Buell lineup and priced a couple grand cheaper; I would be frothing at the mouth to get one!

And imagine HD money behind a Buell race bike...

[stromgal]

I'm still waiting for my bandanna.

[1KPerDay]

I'm still waiting for my banana.

[stromgal]

 

[Tyrroneous]

Its cool and all.  But all electric vehicle manufacturers as a whole need to agree on a charging system/standard and adopt that across the board for any of this stuff to really take off.  I think I read recently that Tesla is going to release their patents on their charging systems...that is a step in the right direction.  But like Jay said in his review, the bike is fun to ride and you want to ride it all day, but you can only go 55 miles and then you have to stop for 8 hours.  Its cool tech but until they get the range up and recharge times down only a handful will buy into it.    

[1KPerDay]

 

Thanks!  

[garry]

A friend of mine was just in LA on vacation and just happened to see a Harley demo truck while walking down the street. A demo ride was leaving in 5 minutes and two guys signed up to ride the LiveWires hadn't showed. So he got to do the demo ride. He said the acceleration is impressive. Massive torque from 0 MPH. Not shifting was a little weird. Bike was light (compared to his HD touring rig) and handled well. He really liked it and could see owning one for commuting and local/short day rides. He had a photo of it on his laptop. If they can find a way to put some luggage on it that would make it more practical for commuting.

[bajakirch]

I see Leno's returning to TV with a car show:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102089430

Hopefully he'll squeeze in a few bikes too.

As for the Livewire, I've heard that there's great hope Harley could somehow shoe-horn the new Street engine into the Livewire chassis for a truly competitive option to Euro/Japanese non-cruisers.