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Harley-Davidson Conceptualizing an Electric Motorcycle

Harley-Davidson has been playing with the concept of making an electric motorcycle for the last four years now, and finally, the company committed to producing them. We don't have all of the specifics here at Jay Wolfe Body Shop in Kansas City, MO just yet, but Harley-Davidson executives claim that these new motorcycles will be hitting the market in the early months of 2020.

This new bike will allegedly be constructed on the somewhat limited performance specs of LiveWire, the innovative prototype electric motorcycle that Harley-Davidson produced back in 2014. The LiveWire was able to go from zero to sixty in less than four seconds, which was highly impressive, although it was limited to just 55-60 miles of range in its “economy” mode. Electric motorcycles have surely come a long way in the last few years, so it’s likely that Harley-Davidson’s electric motorcycle will be far more capable and with more power than the LiveWire.

Maybe Harley-Davidson is gravitating toward making more planet-friendly motorcycles in order to stay relevant.  On the same day of announcing its new electric bike, the company issued a press release reporting that they're closing a factory in Missouri, cutting 800 jobs, and consolidating it with another plant in Pennsylvania.

The motorcycle market has lagged within the last years, and Harley-Davidson has suffered as a result. The company saw its sales dip by 6.7% in 2017 and expected similar numbers in 2018.

A switch to electric, even for just one motorcycle in the lineup, is not a sure bet to save Harley-Davidson. Embracing electric technology may seem like a logical conclusion when it comes to traditional passenger vehicles, but an integral part of the complete experience in riding a motorcycle comes from the sound and feel associated with a combustion engine. Harley-Davidson tried to deal with this potential problem upfront when it unveiled the LiveWire back in 2014 by developing an artificial sound that whined as riders cranked the throttle, but it wasn’t exactly enough to thrill those who rode it.

Still, a few tiny companies such as Zero Motorcycles have experienced early success in building electric motorcycles for riders are interested. People like the instant torque of an electric motor, combined with no gears to shift while enjoying a futuristic riding experience. If Harley-Davidson can find a way to manufacture an electric motorcycle that sounds as good as it looks and feels, maybe Harley-Davidson's next announcement won’t be accompanied with news about closing facilities and cutting jobs.

Jay Wolfe Body Shop  in Kansas City, MO 

Sources: Harley-Davidson and CNN