Outpost LiveWire NYC 2019
Part of an ambitious marketing plan to lure in a younger rider demographic, American motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson (H-D) issued the LiveWire electric motorcycle but pre-order sales have not been as electrifying as hoped. Part of the problem lies with the LiveWire’s price – USD 29,799 (RM125,098) – according to H-D dealers interviewed by news agency Reuters.
Coming into the market in January of this year, the LiveWire has been available for pre-order but take-up of H-D’s electric bike with new riders has been poor. Instead, most of the orders in the book have come from existing riders in the senior category.
This data was culled from interviews with 40 out of the 150 US H-D dealerships located in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, California, Nevada, New Jersey and New York. The dealers have said the LiveWire is not being ignored by younger riders but many find the buy in retail price prohibitive.
A vast majority of millennial age riders cannot afford the LiveWire as it is “targeted to young and affluent customers earning more than USD 100,000 (RM420,000) a year,” says Gary Jon Prough, general sales manager at a H-D dealership in Illinois. Aside from price, another concern about the LiveWire is range, which H-D says can do 235 km in the city and 152 km in combined highway and city riding.
While the LiveWire can fully charge overnight using domestic current or in 60 minutes with a Level 3 DC fast charger at H-D dealers, the range between charges limits the appeal of H-D’s electric motorcycle considering the long distances between cities in the US. H-D forecast selling between 400 to 1,600 LiveWires this year but delays in delivery have meant sales are being pushed into the winter, traditionally a slow season for motorcycle sales.
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Bcuz it is not the best e bike on sale, n not the fastest , but id say it is among the prettiest
Frankly speaking, what is the technical leap that makes electric bikes so difficult to design? The motors are a standard AC synchronous, all you have to do is choose one suitable and then arrange the motor, battery pack into a fairly standard chassis plus some electronic power management. Unlike the internal combustion engine with about, I am guessing, 50 times more parts to consider and that is before the things mentioned above.
The problem seems to be the LI-battery. If you ever changed the battery of your mobile, you know how expensive even a tiny LI-battery is.
Capacity HD Lifewire battery: 15.5kWh
Capacity average mobile battery: 0.0045kWh
15.5/0.0045=3444, meaning the HD Lifewire battery is 3444 times bigger than a mobile battery and therefore more expensive.
Electric bikes = Ultra boring stuffs , unless it’s for military purpose or Mospeada kind of thing.
Wow, cloned article from Jalopnik. Really creative guys!
Both this and the Jalopnik article are based on the same Reuters report, buddy. It’s news reporting.
USD30k for that?
Top up another 10% and you get a brand new Mercedes CLA Coupe…
The overall interest in electric bike is still very very very low. Harley should come out with dedicated streetfighter & retro cafe racer models . These are the burgeoning segments Harley must explore. Harley (and Indian) made the best sound V-Twin engines on the planet. If only those big cubic inch engines find their way into retro cafe racer/streetfighter models..
HD simply do not understand the meaning of a ‘millenial’ market and its needs, lifestyle and transport choices…!
Besides… why would any millenial buy a USD30k electic Harley when theres a host of choices from… SU-RON at USD3,500… SUPER SOCO around USD3,705 to 4,750… TORQ bikes around USD4,800… ZERO and EVOKE AT USD10K… just to name a few.
HD is simply stuck in time loop or something and out of touch with the times.
why this ebike still have the rider hugging a ‘fuel tank’ like feature while riding.. he he .. HD still addicted to the fuel burning HD.. I wonder if they ever consider adding HD signature thumping exhaust sound.. artificially.. he he
Target young but affluent and willing to let go touring and just for a city ride due to range. The market is too niche for a good sales.