Since we first saw the then new and innovative LiveWire, the first electric motorcycle from Harley-Davidson, four years have passed, and until now the American manufacturer has been hard at work developing and evolving the production version of this concept bike. The result is the 2019 LiveWire, a bike Harley has shown for the first time in full production clothes.
According to Harley-Davidson, this LiveWire, although shares the same name, is completely different from the one we’ve seen before. In fact, they share just 1% of their parts!
And the fact is that just by looking at these official photos we can clearly see the differences.
The new LiveWire electric motorcycle uses a fake fuel tank similar to the one used on the XR1200, and it’s there that the rider can charge the batteries of this new Harley, giving the feeling to the user that it’s filling the fuel tank just like a regular motorcycle.
There’s no word yet regarding charging times and range, but Harley-Davidson claims that charging times will be very short, and given that the technology regarding electric motorcycles has evolved a lot during the last four years, we should expect that the LiveWire will be able to offer a better range than the 65 km the original LiveWire offered in “full power” mode.
Another difference is the new casing for the batteries, with Harley developing a new aluminium casing that will allow a better cooling of the batteries, which is especially important because the bike will be “very fast!”, says Harley, and that means the batteries will make a lot of heat in the process.
Chassis wise, the 2019 LiveWire will also feature some new elements that we usually don’t see on Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
Suspension duties are done by Showa top-spec forks and single rear shock, fully adjustable of course, while the brakes are signed by braking specialists Brembo.
Another interesting aspect that we already know and it’s been officially confirmed by the American manufacturer, is that the LiveWire is fitted with a manual gearbox! This isn’t completely new for an electric motorcycle, but usually these bikes don’t have a gearbox, so it’s interesting that Harley still wants the rider to feel he is riding a conventional motorcycle by letting him chose the gear he wants for a specific moment.
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