The Electric Harley-Davidson LiveWire Is a Shockingly Fun Bid for the Future

Bradley Brownell
Tuesday 11:20am

Swing a leg over the Harley-Davidson LiveWire and you’ll instantly feel the crashing waves of a sea change. A magnet inside the motor rocks back and forth to indicate the bike is alive, it feels like a faint heartbeat. It’s a little on-the-nose, but it’s as if this bike is directly channeling the pulse of the industry. Is this the future of riding?

(Full Disclosure: Harley-Davidson brought me to Portland, Ore. to ride its new all-electric LiveWire motorcycle, as well as eat and stay free of charge.)
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It doesn’t take long to notice the sounds surrounding me. Stopped at a traffic light I can hear the conversations of pedestrians over on the sidewalk, and the bass hit of the music playing in the car next to me. We’re riding in a pack with four traditional Harleys—a lead rider on a big bagger and a trio of sweep riders on Sportsters at the back—and their staccato V-twin thumping is comparatively imprudent.

Once out on the back country roads, separated from the ICE bikes a bit, I notice more bird calls. And my own thoughts. I don’t like to be alone with those too long.

The LiveWire isn’t silent. It’s actually got quite a dynamic range of sounds. The most prominent sound is that of the drivetrain’s single spiral bevel gear whine. It’s still eerily quiet, however. Quiet enough that you can hear the belt drive, the tires, the brakes, even the shocks.

I asked a Harley engineer about the 90-degree bevel gear and belt-drive setup employed, and why it was preferable to a simple shaft-drive. The bevel gear was chosen to give the bike that Formula E sound, despite a slight parasitic drain. The belt drive is simply because it’s a Harley staple, having been equipped on the company’s bikes since the ‘80s. And why is the motor longitudinal instead of transverse? To make it an important visual piece of the bike’s design.
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