Harley Livewire - who cares?

[Gone in 60]

At least they announced recently that they’re teaming up with a company in China to produce low cc, low cost bikes for the Asian market. That will provide them with income if it works, and keep them moving forward.

I had also thought about the Livewire being built under its own brand so that it could be killed at a moment’s notice if it was not providing any benefit to the Shield and Bar brand. But, with their history of doing that (Buell), maybe they figure that selling it as a Harley product shows that they are committed to innovating within their own brand and some level of commitment to the bike itself.

[Roper_imp]

Too little too late. Zero motorcycles has a sport bike, a commuter/standard, a (sort of) dual sport, and a supermoto. Anyone from the "younger demographic" who wants an electric motorcycle will buy a Zero for half the price of a Harley. The big 4 Japanese companies are experimenting with electric dirt bikes and are heading toward larger street bike designs. The European companies have electric scooters and are looking at larger electric bikes. Really...who's going to by a battery powered Harley?

[LongRanger_imp]

Now that I'm looking at the bike, I'm skeptical too. 140 mile range, $30k, little practicality. Makes you wonder how they expect to sell these in any volume considering they failed with Buell. I wish them the best. We shall see.

[the Ferret]

It's not a bad looking piece, although imo they could have made the orange " tank" edge parallel the ground.

Imo they also should have made them price competitive with the Zeros. $20k max. Even then, it would harley seem like a bargain (see what I did there? Lol)

[Gone in 60]

Cue the trombone... wha whuhhhh.

[GoldOxide_imp]

for some reason this reminds me of the norton rotary a little, at least in the 'engine bay'.

That is one "hairy" engine.

[ChipBeck_imp]

Gentlemen,

I think the Live Wire is a good looking bike. I'm not a fan of the Zero. $30K is steep but early adopters of new tech always pay a steep price to have the latest cool stuff. The first flat screen TV's cost $10K and they weren't as good as $500 sets today. I'm not a fan of electric vehicles but like it or not they are coming. The next model of the Porsche Macan SUV won't even offer a gasoline engine. Electric H-D's will get cheaper and this world will continue to change in ways I don't like.

Harley Davidson and Ford are symbols of America. It bugs me when people wish them ill. I hope American companies prosper for centuries to come. All the best.

Chip

[pekingduck]

Yes, Harley Davidson and Ford are symbols of America, and for decades, they capitalized on their name and their image, not their R&D. Harley Davidson made their money on big twins, and only now that their market is shrinking, they react.

Ford, like GM and FCR put all their effort into high-profit trucks and SUVs and Mustangs, then found they were un-competitive in the family car class and have pretty much abandoned it. No sedans, and only Chrysler makes mini-vans.

I remember the preparation for the first moon landing, and Americans were up in arms that the camera they were taking was not American, but an off-the-shelf German Hasselblad. What, no Kodak Instamatic? No Polaroid SX-70?

It's a world economy, and competition only improves products. If you can't adapt and compete, or have only one strength, well, good luck indeed.

If we all believed that Harley Davidsons were so wonderful, we'd own one. But we voted with our wallets, and we own CB1100s.

[Frulk_imp]

Bike looks good to me. At least the pics I’ve seen of it. Take it a little further in the styling department and make that orange cover look more like a peanut tank. Should be pretty easy to do. I’m with Chip on everything else.

[LongRanger_imp]

i'd take a zero anyday over that thing. having ridden a few they are ok, and they certainly look more modern and flow better (opinion).

I certainly have issues with the company. they havent r&d'd anything noteworthy for decades. everything is massively over priced, and they sell strictly on false nostalgia, so many of the components are from asia its ridiculous. they could have made them here but nope.

as far as ford goes, ford has been a global company for many many decades, and they have done a huge amount of development, same as GM. the reason they dropped sedans in the us is nobody was buying them, but they are alive and well in the world market, make no doubt.

liking a company strictly because its american is kinda pointless. I mean, look at indian. they actually are innovating and filling that nich quite well. they deserve the respect for moving forward in that market, even though its polaris...

willie g had a good run selling a lifestyle, but he dragged it out way too long out of complacency and permanently damaged the name. His ancestors would be rolling in their graves, as they were FOCUSED on innovation, HD lost their way. Maybe they can be reborn, like triumph, indian, etc. But i think it needs to die before it gets new life down the road.

with all the resources HD had, they should have been trying to develop the e bike 15 years ago, no excuses there. and those 'made in india' liquid cooled 500 & 750s they released a few years ago, while decent bikes, were basically copies of the old mid 80's honda shadows and BOMBED sales wise.

the examples above are the reason that it needs to die, they need to clear out the management and get some forward thinkers in there.

rant off.

CB1100?