ROAD NEWS
HARLEY’S LIVEWIRE PRICE A REAL SHOCK
H
arley-Davidson Australia has confirmed
pricing and regional availability of the
all-electric LiveWire, and it’s unlikely the
bike will be converting any Millennials to
motorcycling with its eye-watering price tag.
Priced at a heady $53,995, the LiveWire will
be made available at select Harley-Davidson
dealerships from September, nearly 14 months
after its initial launch last year.
So far only two dealerships have been named
by H-D ANZ as stockists of the revolutionary
electric motorcycle, which remains the only
electric offering from a major manufacturer
that isn’t a scooter, those being Auckland
Harley-Davidson and Hamilton’s Road and Sport.
Currently we have no word on which dealerships
will stock LiveWire in the South Island, but we do
know they will need a three-phase electrical
system in place to be considered as a dealer of
Harley-Davidson’s premier electric product.
At the global launch of LiveWire in Portland last
year Harley-Davidson’s staff made it clear that
LiveWire was not expected to be sold in large
numbers, its price point being the main barrier
to entry for even the most die-hard Harley-
Davidson fans.
However, Harley did have plans for a much wider
electric family within the Motor Co. with multiple
concept vehicles including an electric scooter
and mountain bike on show at the time. Whether
these vehicles are still slated for release under
the management of newly anointed President
and CEO Jochen Zeitz who quickly axed the
More Roads To Harley-Davidson initiative under
which they were conceived is anyone’s guess.
LiveWire has been a long time in the making
and comes at a crucial time for Harley-Davidson
as a whole.
In fact, much of Harley’s recent attempts to
distance itself from its old image has rested with
the LiveWire, with the bike first making its public
debut in 2014 as Project LiveWire before starring
alongside Scarlet Johansson in the
movieAvengers: Age of Ultron.
With around 235km of urban range thanks to
regenerative braking and a blisteringly quick
0-100km/h time of just thee-seconds it was a
hoot to ride, but the true test of the LiveWire will
be when we get our hands on one for a decent
test right here in NZ.
KIWI RIDER 93