We’re all familiar with (and fans of) the Harley Davidson LiveWire electric motorcycle launched back in 2019, but HD has decided to go a different route with the LiveWire brand name itself.
Harley’s president and CEO Jochen Zeitz has been pretty outspoken about his stance on electric motorcycles. He doesn’t just want to participate in the EV market, he wants Harley to lead the charge (that’s my pun, not his).
It was in this spirit Harley Davidson recently announced that the LiveWire name will be transitioning to an all-electric motorcycle brand, rather than just the LiveWire electric motorcycle itself. Exactly what the new LiveWire brand will bring to the electric motorcycle market has yet to be seen, but Harley plans to unveil the first LiveWire motorcycle at the International Motorcycle Show on July 9th, so we won’t be waiting long.
In the meantime, Harley has dropped us a few hints: Namely, that they’re focusing on “urban riders.”
Harley’s press team says: “LiveWire plans to redefine electric, delivering the best experience for the urban rider, with personality and soul.”
President Jochen Zeitz himself seems to agree: “LiveWire will pioneer the future of motorcycling, for the pursuit of urban adventure and beyond.”
Urban adventures usually involve Biltwell helmets and revolve around bars and coffee shops, so we’re expecting the next step of Harley’s eBike efforts to focus on compact and convenient city get-arounds rather than following in the original LiveWire’s (fantastic) footsteps of 0-60 in 3.0 seconds.
That would be a logical next step considering they’ve already invested in the R&D for their Serial 1 electric bicycles and some handsome little electric balance bikes for children.
Harley has said that while the LiveWire brand will focus on software and technology, they still plan to share any advancements with their petrol-powered sister company. We’ve already seen some innovative tech from HD like the variable ride height on their new Pan America adventure bike. The Pan America also inherited it’s six-axis IMU tech from the LiveWire electric motorcycle project, so all things considered this sounds like good news for the future of the HOG.
The new brand has set up it’s own website (LiveWire.com) as a placeholder for the time being, but should bear some fruit once the new bikes are unveiled.
