THE news last month that Harley-Davidson had split its electric motorcycle operation into a separate LiveWire brand immediately created 100s of questions as to what the brands first bike could be.
This week, the American website Motorcycle.com has unearthed documents that reveal not just the bike’s name, but its power output also.
Harley-Davidson LiveWire (2020) Review
The first LiveWire branded motorcycle to be launched into the market will be called the One. A simple name, but one that harks back to Harley-Davidson’s first petrol-powered motorcycle, the H-D Model 1. Built between 1905 and 1906, the Model 1 featured a 440cc single-cylinder and had a top speed of 35mph. Needless to say, the LiveWire one will be a totally different kettle of electrons!
Another piece of information unearthed from VIN information submitted by Harley-Davidson to the National Highway and Traffic Association is that the bikes power output is claimed to be 75kW or 101bhp. That’s actually only just less than the claimed 78kW or 105bhp of the current Harley-Davidson LiveWire.
Sadly, that puts our prediction of LiveWire first new electric bike being a cheaper, more accessible electric machine well and truly out of the window. So, what is actually going on here?
There are a few options as to what could happen later this year – the LiveWire One is listed as a 2021 model. One theory is that the One is simply a rebranded H-D LiveWire, as per the press images we ran when the news of the newly created brand broke. Why the output has changed if this is the case is a little unclear. It could be done to try and limit the strain on the bike’s batteries, increasing range and creating a good news story for the fledgling company. That could enable the LiveWire One to run slightly smaller and lighter batteries as a result.
The thing is though, a couple of BHP here or there aren’t really going to be winning any marathon races. Personally, I think it's for something totally different and possibly off-road biased…
When Ewan and Charley undertook their last expedition, Long Way Up, they did it on specially modified H-D LiveWires. The bikes featured knobbly tyres, bash plates and most importantly, Harley-Davidson Pan America-derived suspension. With its slightly softer power delivery, the LiveWire One could be the production version of those bikes – emphasis on the COULD!
And I think that would be great! I mean, what better way to make an entrance into the world of motorcycles than by taking the most complete electric motorcycle on the planet and turning it into the most complete electric adventure motorcycle on the planet!?
