Are You Ready for 100 New Harleys?

Andrew Maclean reports at Drive that Harley-Davidson is planning to roll out 100 new motorcycles, including an electric bike based on their Project Livewire bike. The Livewire has been on riders’ radar for a few years. Harley still doesn’t have a release date for the Livewire bike, but it’s making progress.

Harley-Davidson LiveWire Electric Motorcycle test ride

Maclean writes of his interview with Bill Davidson, VP of the Harley-Davidson Museum and great-grandson of Harley founder William Davidson:

While Davidson conceded that an electric Harley-Davidson would naturally lose one of the key signatures of its traditional motorcycles, the lumpy loud exhaust note, he admitted the company is working on ways to ensure it appeals to a new-generation with a sound he described like that of a jet fighter.

“It is an amazing motorcycle. While it doesn’t have a 45-degree, pushrod twin-cylinder engine it has the performance expected from a Harley Davidson even it won’t sound the same,” he said.

“I can tell you the philosophy we have applied to our V-twins is the same we are applying to the electric motorcycle in terms of sound, performance and feel, which are just as important with the electric bike as they are with our more traditional bikes.

“Our typical sound is unique; it is that potato-potato-potato… and we know that because of our uniqueness with the V-twins we want to make something equally as unique with the electric [bike].

“And so we’ve actually created a unique sound through various technologies. We have studied our competitors and we understand what they are up to and we did not want a normal-sounding electric motorcycle. We wanted something that plays into that look and sound formula. It is something really cool. I often refer to it as sounding like a jet fighter.”

I’m looking forward to seeing the improvements and new features Harley has planned for its new models.