Review of Harley Davidson Livewire.

Now, when I woke up this morning, I knew there was several things to do. I had a coffee, I hailed Satan and then set about going to appointments. I didn’t intend on going to the harley shop. And that’s what I told the missus.

But as it turns out, I ended up at SunCity Harley-Davidson. I have been itching to ride the new electric Harley since my brother Jase Nuske rode it several weeks ago. Well, truth be told I’ve wanted to ride an electric motorcycle ever since I rode a electric pushbike when I was a teenager, drunk out of my teenage brain, trying to get back to Innes park from Bargara. That pushbike did about 20 kph.

And this new Harley? Well it does 100kph, officer.

When I googled the Livewire’ top speed, the first answer is 153kph. That is a lie. Or so I hear...
Other websites quote 177kph. That is also a lie. Or so I hear. But it wouldn’t be much more than that. And that’s ok. Because it’s a Harley.

And because it’s a Harley, and it is electric, it cops a lot of flak from those dinosaur types that hate thinking and are all round miserable cunts that couldn’t scrap a floorboard on a fatboy.

And that’s ok too.

Because progress makes people uncomfortable. I’m sure there were the same types of nay-sayers around when the first motor vehicles became a thing. I will not let their shit talking stable hand nature influence my thinking when it comes to electric motorcycles.

These are the future, wether you like it or not. Sure, it doesn’t have the sound of a thousand Greta’s crying when you twist the throttle of a thumping V-twin. But it does have a slightly aggressive electric whir that actually sounds pretty cool. But there will come a time when the petrol vehicles will become obsolete for the majority of applications. The Dino go-go juice ain’t gonna last forever at this rate. And I will be saddened too. I love the sensory assault that a petrol engine can give. I remain hopeful that petrol engines will still live on for some time in the motorsport and enthusiast circles. Just not in commuting vehicles. Which is ok by me.

Anyway, back to the test ride.

So I’m walking around the Harley shop. Looking at all the bikes. The sales guy, Nick, remembered my name. Which is a sign of a smart sales guy. I asked him if I can take the Livewire for a strap and he was only too accomodating. I signed my life away and he ran me through all the specs and controls. He showed me where the fun button is, changing through a series of modes, being road, sport, rain, eco and 3 custom modes.

And suddenly, I was all on my own. I flicked the on button. The screen lit up. I hit the start button. Nothing. Not a damn sound. If there was, I couldn’t hear it. The yellow dash lights had turned green, which means the bike is alive and ready to rock and roll. Nick had explained to me that there is a slight lag on initial take off. This is on purpose, as it stops middle aged lawyers from being shot at the nearest mountain range on take off.

I get out to the highway and I’m making my way downtown, walkin' fast, faces pass and I'm homebound. Dun dun dun dun dun. No, I’m kidding. Sorry about that. I don’t go downtown, because city riding sucks and morons updating their twitter might squish me in their fucking Prado. Instead, I find a nice piece of road and start finding the balls to hold the throttle flat. If I were a religious man, it’s about now that I’d pray to god that he stops giving babies aids for a minute, and will bless me on the off chance that I take flight and launch this bike at some poor bastards fence.

The acceleration is indeed quick. 0-100 in 3 seconds is what the book says. But the weirdest thing is there’s no gears nor a clutch. The first bit of throttle bashing found me expecting to shift gears, even though I fully understood that I wouldn’t. I’d even move my left foot into position anticipating a downshift. It was like muscle memory was forcing me to expect something that I simultaneously knew wouldn’t happen. It was weird. But then again, I am weird. I wonder if anyone else has felt this?

3 second 0-100 times are not uncommon on bikes. Many litre bikes are quicker. Many 600’s are in the very high 2’s and low 3’s. Even my fat arse M109r is a mid 3 second bike, by the book that is. But this is different. The torque from its electric magic box is intense. Not stupidly scary like a ZX-14. But there’s 100% torque instantly. There’s none of this “waiting for the revs to pick up” business like a conventional engine. It’s like that kid back in high school that’s doped up on Ritalin. Then he doesn’t take his meds one day and proceeds to tear the classroom apart and burn around the place like the roadrunner bird on amphetamines.

But keep in mind, the harder you push this toaster on wheels, the faster the battery will drain. I rode for around an hour and a half to two hours and managed to drain around 50% of the battery. Could I make it last longer? Sure, but I am not in the business of babying bikes. I want to find out just what this thing is about.

The Livewire actually handles quite decently, considering its weight and length. It’s certainly not as nimble as a regular sports bike, it felt a little slow to dip into corners. It has upside down SHOWA forks on the front, fully adjustable, and a SHOWA fully adjustable shock on the rear. I’m certainly no expert in all things technical, but the suspension did suspension things just fine.

The brakes are quite good too. Duel 4 pot Brembos up front, sitting on a set of 300mm rotors and a duel pot caliper atop a 260mm rear rotor. It also has ABS, 17 inch wheels and Michelin Scorcher tyres. 120/70 and 180/55 respectively. All in all, these combos provide a braking platform that it just what you’d want from a bike like this.

It took me a while to notice, but I was pulled up at a set of lights and I could feel the bike pulsate slightly. I assumed it was normal and kept going but it was certainly noticeable. I didn’t know what it was about until I got home and started looking into it. It turns out this is on purpose and it’s something called “haptic pulse” which serves as a mild wankery “heartbeat”. Apparently it makes riders feel like the bike is actually alive. It kind of annoyed me a little but apparently the dealer can turn this feature off.

All in all, I had a huge amount of fun on the Livewire. I understand it’s not for everyone. I don’t think they will sell a shitload but then again, harley sales arent what they used Presumably it will be bought by cashed up lawyers who can’t ride the Ducati Panigale they already own. But these things really are the future. This is the first electric motorcycle by a major brand and I look forward to the coming decades.