Monday, June 23rd, an invitation-only event in New York will showcase handmade demonstration models of Harley-Davidson's new electric motorcycles. The Milwaukee-based company will unveil its new model, code-named Project LiveWire, a hand-built prototype that is quite the opposite of its classic Harley style. Harley-Davidson is known for selling classic designs that date back to well over a century. Among its rich heritage, Harley is known for its big, bad-boy highway cruisers, “with an image associated with motorcycle gangs, even though most riders are middle aged and middle-class”. The Monday event will give the company a chance to take the models on some test rides, gauge customer reaction, refine the technology, then slowly integrate the bike into the market several years from now.

LiveWire isn't the technology itself nor is it a production motorcycle, but rather a rolling test bed for introducing the public to the idea of an electric Harley. Electric motorcycles can be traced back to 1895 (Wikipedia). Don't be in denial about Harley never picking this up; there are far too many motivators for electric, and Harley wasn't about to ignore the facts. This was inevitable. True, the company manufacturing a bike that isn't rugged and loud is quite the departure, but the popularity in electric vehicles is high. Despite the small market for full-sized electric motorcycles, millions of electric scooters and low-powered bikes are sold annually. Harley has to catch up, but first it has to create the demand. Harley has the marketing horsepower to drive interest for those who haven't even switched to an electric bike yet. Scot Harden, VP of global marketing at Zero Motorcycles (the top seller of full-sized, high-powered electric bikes) says, “It is certainly going to draw more people's attention to electric motorcycles, and do things for us that we can't do on our own”.

Specifics on the unnamed bike are few and far between. We can expect the LiveWire model to be sleek and “silent” (says some sources), yet bigger and badder looking than what we see on the road currently. Electric motors have a unique, quiet turbine-like hum, provide better handling, and rapid acceleration. The LiveWire motorcycle is expected to go from 0 to 60mph in 4 seconds with a top speed of 92mph. Batteries need to be recharged every 130 miles or so, which takes 30 minutes to an hour. How well the actual LiveWire model does off the bat is not of immediate interest to Harley-Davidson. The company cares far more about the technology improving for long-term potential. Full LiveWire production should be expected in 2016.