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