unlimited kilometre warranty ) with a full charge off an AC wall socket taking 12.5 hours from dead flat . Honestly , I personally don ’ t think there are that many cons to the LiveWire considering its design purpose . Yes , it ’ s range is limited to 235km in ideal urban conditions and between 100-200 on the highway . That said , for most quick jaunts it ’ s actually plenty of charge and there ’ s a silly amount of fun to be had slingshotting out of corners with the huge amount of torque that ’ s available instantly , at any revs - such is the way of electric motors . I suppose the only blunder by Harley-Davidson has to be the oversight of any ability to park the LiveWire on a hill . With no gearbox or engine compression to lock the bike in place , the bike cannot be parked on a hill without plonking something like a brick on the rear brake or locking the front brake shut . A certain design oversight but , again , it ’ s not the end of the world and I ’ m sure the aftermarket will come up with a solution if H-D itself doesn ’ t . With the charging infrastructure around the country continually improving , there ’ s a DC fast charger nearby in all the major centres and a trip around the golden triangle of Auckland-
Hamilton-Tauranga is totally doable . You just need to factor in charge times .
ELECTRIC CONVERSION THERAPY LiveWire won ’ t convert everyone to the electric cause . That ’ s ok , it ’ s not meant to . Its price tag alone is the biggest off-putting factor but that is what you get for a cutting edge premium product . In fact , Harley staff explained the demographic LiveWire is aimed at ; early tech adopters , consumers of luxury brands in their lives , including clothing , auto , home goods , and people for whom personal style is highly developed with a high value on design , quality and finish . We need to get away from the idea that one bike is for everyone , LiveWire is something new and very different and , as such , has a new kind of buyer . For some , the lack of that traditional ‘ potatopotato-potato ’ soundtrack is enough to warrant abuse over social media as they swear black and blue that they ’ ll never swing a leg over the bike . That ’ s their loss . The LiveWire is here and it ’ s a new direction . Harley staff told us there ’ s a range of machines to come , with LiveWire being the design foundation for coming H-D electric vehicles . To us that sounds pretty damn exciting .
104 KIWI RIDER