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11/22/2024 12:42:42 am

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Harley-Davidson to Start Selling Electric Bikes in 5 Years

Harley-Davidson LiveWire

(Photo : Reuters) Harley-Davidson plans to release its first line of electric motorcycles in five years.

Harley-Davidson, the iconic American motorcycle manufacturer, recently announced a roadmap to the it's electric bike program. Harley-Davidson is planning to sell its first electric motorcycle within the next five years; the first model is currently under development.

Harley-Davidson first announced its intention of entering the electric motorcycle industry back in 2014 when it unveiled the LiveWire concept bike. Just like almost all of Harley-Davidson designed motorcycles, the LiveWire sports a muscular build with its massive electric motor replacing the ubiquitous gas engines.

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Harley-Davidson put the LiveWire prototype on a road trip to visit more than 30 showrooms and dealerships in the United States. The main mission of the trip was to get feedback from fans who were lucky enough to get a test drive of the concept bike. A secondary tour followed in 2015, this time with international stops including Canada, Malaysia, and several spots in Europe.

Besides the iconic Harley-Davidson build, design, motor, and distinctive sound, the company has religiously kept the technical details of the LiveWire out of the prying public.

In a statement acquired by PC Mag, Harley-Davidson chief marketing officer Mark-Hans Richer said, "Think fighter jet on an aircraft carrier. Project LiveWire's unique sound was designed to differentiate it from internal combustion and other electric motorcycles on the market."

Since its launch, Harley-Davidson has said that LiveWire is just a prototype and added that the company is yet to decide whether the bike will go into production or not.

Motorcycle experts said that Harley-Davidson should try to rethink the LiveWire design, especially with regards to the longitudinally mounted engine which takes up a lot of space that could have been used to add more batteries. As a result of this design, the LiveWire prototype is limited only to about 50 miles of driving range.

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