Harley-Davidson unveiled its Livewire project two years ago almost to the day. While the all-electric concept with only ~60 miles of range was lacking compared to other models already available today, it showed that one of the most iconic motorcycle company, which is also obviously entrenched in internal combustion engines, is at least looking at other powertrain technologies.
At the time, Harley-Davidson made it clear that Livewire was only a concept (and good-looking one – see pictures below), but now the company confirms that it plans to bring its first electric bike to market “within the next five years”.
That’s a pretty long timeline – up to 7 years after unveiling its first electric concept. The timeline was confirmed by Sean Cummings, Harley’s Senior Vice President of Global Demand, in an interview with the Milwaukee Business Journal (via Autoblog) last week.
After compiling data from the pilot project with about 40 Livewire prototypes, the company launched the development of its production version motorcycle, which should feature “at least double the range” of the prototype.
The executive said that they will need to introduce a bigger battery pack and that it would change the design of the bike. While Livewire’s design was very well-received by Harley fans and the media, it looks like we should expect the production version to be significantly different, which is normal when it is released years after the concept.
Here’s a gallery of the Livewire courtesy of Harley-Davidson:
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