Harley-Davidson brings the LiveWire Project to the road in 2019

The LiveWire Project is not new; Harley-Davidson unveiled its first electric bike at EICMA in Madrid in November 2014. The global public was quite astonished when the traditional manufacturer suddenly conjured up an electric motorcycle. The e-bike already looked very modern in 2014 and is now very far along in its development. Various extensive test runs in 2015 have made it clear how seriously the company is working on the LiveWire Project with a view to the future. 

According to company CEO Matt Levatich, however, the bike will not be launched until the batteries offer sufficient range. In spring 2017, Harley-Davidson specifically sought new employees for the electrical engineering sector in the USA.

The Harley-Davidson electric bike will go into series production in mid-2019.

Harley-Davidson has now announced in its annual report that it will be ready in summer 2019. The e-bike is expected to hit the road with 55 kW (74 hp), and its particularly strong torque will catapult it forward in four seconds. The pre-production model reached a top speed of approximately 152 km/h. Modern LED technology was already installed in the prototypes in 2014. The similarity between the LED headlights of the new 2018 Softail Breakout and the LiveWire is striking and shows once again how long and intensively Harley-Davidson works on new series before the motorcycles go into production.

It is beneficial for the company to be involved in this area. Even if it does not appeal to every Harley fan at the moment, we are seeing the same development in the automotive market. Anyone who misses the boat in the field of electric vehicles will almost certainly go under. These paths have long been determined by politics, and anyone who fails to recognize this will lose out in the long run. 

Two new 1200cc Sportster models are expected in the summer.

In Kansas City, Missouri, the company is closing its final assembly plant in 2019 due to declining sales figures and relocating part of its workforce and production to York, Pennsylvania. The Dyna, Sportster, and V-Rod models were built in Kansas, which already indicates that only the Sportster will continue to be built for our market in this segment. We expect two new 1200 models from the Sportster series to arrive in the summer and possibly the end of the 883 series. 

The York plant is becoming increasingly important for Harley-Davidson. The new 2018 Softail models are already being built here, and in the future, the company will focus more on this location.

The new 2018 Softail models were unveiled in summer 2017 and caused quite a stir in the scene. Fans of the discontinued Dyna series are not so enthusiastic, but will get used to the new concept over time. The new models have already been available for test rides at events and at authorized dealers, and there are already various new accessories available for customizing the bikes, even though they are only really hitting the roads now in the spring. The new engines have plenty of power and the newly designed frame concept is almost perfect. Even though there are differences between the models, it offers excellent handling and, in combination with the performance, the whole thing has become quite sporty.

We can look forward to seeing what other surprises Harley-Davidson has in store for us in 2018.