Sustainability Strategic Focus at Harley-Davidson

Harley Davidson, the brand behind those loud V-twin motorcycles preferred by bikers, has built an electric motorcycle.

Called LiveWire, the new electric motorcycle pairs Harley Davidson’s classic sense of style with what promises to be an impressive array of modern (supply chain) technology.

At the moment, the LiveWire is only a prototype, but the investment in building the electric motorcycle clearly points toward an intent toward production and the company’s commitment to electric powered clean energy sustainability.

LiveWire offers a 74-horsepower electric motor that generates 52 pound-feet of torque, a limited top speed of 92 mph, and a range of up to 53 miles, according to Harley Davidson.

Jeff Richlen, Harley’s lead engineer on LiveWire, put it this way: “Some people may get on it thinking, ‘golf cart,’ and they get off thinking, ‘rocket ship.’”

The lithium-ion battery pack (of undisclosed capacity) can be recharged in 3.5 hours at 220 volts. A lightweight cast aluminum frame forms the LiveWire’s core structure, and at just 14 pounds, it’s about 8 pounds lighter than the comparable component from Zero Motorcycles.

Further details on the project remain undisclosed, but Harley-Davidson has said it will take several dozen of the electric bikes on tour around the United States and Europe as part of Project LiveWire. The tour will offer potential owners the chance to check out the bike, take test rides, and give feedback on design, function, and more. The first stop of the tour will be New York City, June 24-25, at Harley Davidson of New York, followed by a stop in Boston, MA June 27-29, and Philadelphia, PA July 17-19.

May be Harley-Davidson wants to create the excitement electric-car maker Tesla Motors has been able to generate.

Related: Nissan Wants In On Tesla, BMW Electric-Car Charging Talks: Report

The 24 kWh battery pack consists of 48 modules and each module contains four cells, a total of 192 cells, and is assembled by Automotive Energy Supply Corporation (AESC) – a joint venture between Nissan, NEC and NEC Energy Devices, at Zama, Japan.

The big brand’s move into electric motorcycles “is going to do a lot for this nascent market,” Cosmin Laslau, a research analyst in energy-storage technologies at Lux Research in Boston, told International Business Times. “When somebody has the manufacturing heft behind them to put out high-quality products that are backed by a really strong engineering department … then it opens up a host of opportunities.”

Other electric motorcycle makers include startups like Brammo, Mission Motor and Lightning, though Japan’s Yamaha Motor has an electric model in development, and Germany’s BMW is said to have an electric scooter in production, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Laslau suggested that Harley might take a page from the electric automobile experience: While demand from mass-market consumers might be tepid, luxury-class cars have so far been a hit (think Tesla). “It might be an interesting expansion into new markets where they’re trying to target unconventional [motorcycle] buyers,” he said.

Related: Tesla’s Gigafactory Supply Chain Vertical Integration

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