Here is an overview on the Harley-Davidson Livewire bike and the general functions of the display and settings. I'm working on getting the action camera mounted on the bike so that I can get a ride video done. I know that some of you are interested in the sound, performance, battery distance, and others, so stay tuned I'll get a ride in. Rain and 36 degrees in Wisconsin today. That does not make for a comfortable demo ride.

There are a few safety features, so unlike a ICE bike with a clutch and transmission to disconnect the engine with the wheel, the electric bike has some safety features. There is an typical engine on/off button and a "start" button. There is also a sensor on the Jiffy Stand as another safety feature. These are in place so that before you get on the bike or are pushing the bike, you do not mistakenly twist the throttle and launch the bike out in front of you. After you think about these features, the last thing you need is for your ass-hat buddy to come over and twist the throttle and ask "What does it sound like?".

Here is start up screen:


To get everything engaged and "started" you are guided through the steps:


Once everything in good to go and there are also LED indicators to the left and right of the display that are color coded (not shown in these clipped photos) and are Green, Yellow and Red to indicate bike status. Once they are green you are good to go.

You can have a Digital or Analog Speed, the screen has 3 main areas: Left Widget, Speed, Right Widget. The Widgets are electable through the menu and settings to enable what data you want to see and on what side

Here is Trip/Odometer and Ride modes:


Connected Phone status:


Music and Power/Torque that tells you max power and regen:


Music and Navigation with the Harley-Davidson App only and sorry no CarPlay!:


Settings Allow you to customize the display and there are 3 ride modes that you can customize:


There are 4 built-in profiles/ride modes that control:


Sport Ride Mode settings. You can also copy one of the built-in profiles and then customize it.:


Custom Ride Mode settings allow you to control how much power, regen and throttle along with the traction control. These are all part of how you want to manage the battery life and your ride style.:


What? A gas cap, nope, just charging ports. Upper is the Level 1 and Lower is Level 3 DC fast charge:


Once plugged into charging the display will tell you status. Since I'm at full, no ETA on full charge that we display on the left. There are recommendations that suggest for every 3-4 charges on Level 1 you should have a Level 3 charge to keep the battery in optimum condition:


Under seat storage for the charger and cord.:


Suspension, LiveWire comes with a Showa adjustable suspension. Front fork here:


Rear adjustments:


As you can see I've only put on 100 miles and need to get a few more to give you a good "rider" opinions. But for those first 100 I'm still smiling at the instant acceleration this has. Handling has been great and a lot different that the Street Glide I was running.

I'm still grabbing for a clutch level coming to stop signs but that will pass with additional miles. There is some reservation that the bike will just glide to a stop. It is not like that. The regen when coming to a stop is a lot like downshift, but you are not doing it, the engine control module is. This takes a bit of getting used to.

Another note to add while on the bike is feedback or haptics. Harley-Davidson decided that the rider needed some indication that the bike was "on" and running. They put a mechanism to provide a sense that the bike is running. Not sure on the trick that is occurring but you do get a "thump, thump, thump" when the bike is on and ready to go.

I'll get a ride in soon and post some video.

Thanks for this. While it's not my kinds of bike to to our riding habits, I find it a interesting concept. It has a lot more features than I expected...like the audio system.

Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

quote:

Rain and 36 degrees in Wisconsin today. That does not make for a comfortable demo ride.

IMO, mid-30s and raining is worst than high 20s and snowing.

Thank you for the first-hundred review! It looks like LiveWire has a lot of neat features.

I have a question: what holds the bike in place when turned off? Is there sort of an "electronic parking brake" function? Can the bike be parked on a hill and not roll?

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:
I have a question: what holds the bike in place when turned off? Is there sort of an "electronic parking brake" function? Can the bike be parked on a hill and not roll?

The weight of the bike on the jiffy stand will hold it in place. I was going to say “magnets” and only pointing true north.

quote:

Originally posted by mkueffer:
“magnets” and only pointing true north.

I've been curious about that, as a story I heard a while back (from a very reputable source) mentioned that another electric bike's team didn't think about the potential for "freewheeling" when parked on a grade. Oops!

Does it sound like a jet turbine as heard in the HD Video?
I need to actually go see one. I liked it when I heard about it and your input simply added to my curiosity.

Thanks for the review. I test drove a Zero and the instant launch is a lot of fun.

quote:

Originally posted by downtownv:
Does it sound like a jet turbine as heard in the HD Video?

Yes, it does have a unique “turbine” sound to it. But you need to experience it. I’m going to make a video and see in I can get a good capture of the sound.

Thanks for posting your initial impressions. Electric vehicles are the future, it's just a matter of how long until they surpass internal combustion powered motorcycles, cars, trucks, tractors, etc. I expect it may be by 2030, likely by 2035.

I recently received a survey asking all sorts of questions about my recent purchase of a Yamaha motorcycle. Quite a number of the questions were on my thoughts of electric motorcycles, which leads me to believe Yamaha (so obviously Honda and the rest) anticipate and are focused on the shift to electric.

Another part of the LiveWire is the Harley-Davidson app. The bike does have a GPS and Cellular connection, it is truly a connected bike. This is a service that you get to monitor the bike and give notifications on charging status.



It also gives you security status on if someone has moved it. I think that this was intended so that you can go to a charging station at a busy venue and be informed when you are at 80% or more so that the next person can get a charge. Now the public fast charge stations do lock the connector after charging starts. This avoids connecting up and then you walk away and the next dude pulls up and steals your charge on your dime.


You get stats on how you are using your bike too:


You also get maintenance info too:


Of course you can opt out of all the connected bike data too.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mkueffer,

How far does it go with some spirited driving? About 100 miles? How long to recharge and how much at a station? how long to recharge on a normal 120v outlet?

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
How far does it go with some spirited driving? About 100 miles? How long to recharge and how much at a station? how long to recharge on a normal 120v outlet?

Jimmy123x, as with everything your mileage will vary. If you get on the freeway and go, about 90 miles to a charge. Countryside, with some rolling hills stop signs, more, urban stop and go, 150 miles. It’s all based on if you can use the stopping to regenerate a bit of charge back into the battery.

Level 3 fast charge will be 80% in 40 minutes and full in an hour. The home 110vac charger is 13 miles to an hour, in about 8 hours you would have a full charge.

As for the pricing, you do get 500Kwh free on ChargePoint network. An hour at some of those stations vary from free to $2.00 or more. Cheaper than 3 gallons on premium I needed to put in my Breakout 3.5 gal tank that would only take me 150 miles.

Thanks for the review, please keep us posted.

OK, now I'm a bit scared to try one of those things. If I get back on a gas-powered bike afterwards and forget to grab the clutch, something ugly could happen.

OTOH, I am kinda curious about one thing - can the "thumpa, thumpa" be bypassed or turned off? If so, I wonder if that wouldn't give you a little bit more range on a charge.

Great review Mike. I look forward to your ride video, the weather certainly hasn’t complied the last few days. Is the “rumble” feature on all the e bikes? Like you said in your review, you really want a sense of the bike being”on” when your moving. Thanks Mike

quote:

Originally posted by Il Cattivo:
OTOH, I am kinda curious about one thing - can the "thumpa, thumpa" be bypassed or turned off? If so, I wonder if that wouldn't give you a little bit more range on a charge.

Il Cattivo,

No, I have not found a setting but I may need to talk to the dealer techs to see if it can be enabled/disabled. I do not think that it takes from battery usage. Again only when you are stopped is that enabled. When you are moving, no need for that because you will have an evil-grin on your face and wind rushing by!

quote:

Originally posted by pwelch001:
Is the “rumble” feature on all the e bikes?

Harley-Davidson only has the 1 LiveWire model. So, yes all models have the feature.

I'll put this out there. If there is anyone in the metro Milwaukee area and would like to see it first hand please let me know buy PM. I'm more than happy to ride on this so that you can see it first hand. When Spring comes, I'll be happy to run a few hundred miles to show it off.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mkueffer,

Really didn't notice the thumping when I rode them in Daytona, but it makes sense so you know that the motor is active. A good reminder for when you are not on the throttle, at that point it's like sitting on a motorcycle that's not running.

They do have a nice sound, not obnoxious which varies with throttle position. The motorcycle exhaust companies will be out of business when motorcycles are all E-Bikes.

Blindingly quick, instant acceleration, regen braking, it's all interesting and cool stuff. However it has the same limit of most ebikes - range, the other limitation is it's riding position and lack of storage compartments, It might be fun for quick runs around town some evenings during the week or a short run now and then.

Saturday 3 of us took off for Daytona, it's 45 miles away, but we make it into a longer trip with different roads to avoid the straight highway. Couple the trip up, back, tooling around Daytona, hitting the loop we did over 160 miles in one day. Can't do that on any ebike without having to factor in where you'll stop for lunch that has a fast charger...

Thank you for the review. I hope in the future when they are less expensive I can afford a used one. God Bless

Here is a quick video on a ride today. 2 different segments on the road.




Link to original video: https://youtu.be/iSLJqmHKSq0