KIWI RIDER 11 2019 VOL1 | Page 25

HARLEY-DAVIDSON LIVEWIRE PRODUCTION RESUMES T his month has been a tumultuous one for the Bar and Shield, with news first breaking via The Wall Street Journal on October 14 that the company had halted production of its halo electric product, the LiveWire, and was instructing current owners to only charge their bikes via the DC fast charger at their local dealer. However, production of the first mass- market electric motorcycle from a mainstream manufacturer has resumed, after Harley-Davidson confirmed the reason for the halt to production in the US related to just a single motorcycle. “After completing rigorous analysis this week, we have resumed LiveWire production and deliveries, the company said in a statement. Customers may continue riding their LiveWire motorcycle and are able to charge the motorcycle through all methods. Temporarily stopping LiveWire production allowed us to confirm that the non- standard condition identified on one motorcycle was a singular occurrence. We take pride in our rigorous quality assurance measures and our drive to deliver the world’s best motorcycles.” With Harley-Davidson being the first mainstream manufacturer to offer an electric motorcycle the eyes of the world were naturally going to be on how the Motor Co. handled the incident. While many media outlets were quick to jump scathing conclusions of Harley and the “lacklustre” sales performance of the near USD$30,000 LiveWire, the company told Kiwi Rider at the world launch in Oregon earlier this year that they weren’t expecting it to sell in large numbers due to it being a halo product. While it is true that Harley is looking to recruit a younger rider set to the brand through the LiveWire, the company says LiveWire is the pinnacle of the technology and more affordable electric offerings are in the development phase to slide under the eye-watering USD$29,799 of LiveWire. Concepts thus far include an electric scooter and a Freeride style mountain bike in a very similar vein to the Ubco FRX1 we featured recently. KIWI RIDER 25