The Carolinas’ Full Throttle Magazine
40
2020 Harley-Davidson LiveWire Demo Ride
By: Lincoln Infield
I was, when Project LiveWire® first hit the scene around 2014, totally against the idea of Harley-Davidson producing an EV motorcycle. You couldn’t pay me to take a demo ride. I had the same reservations that most riders have: The EV doesn’t match my riding style, the LiveWire® doesn’t look like a Harley, the “Motor Company” has lost their mind, and so on. I think for the most part, it was a kneejerk reaction to change and to anything that didn’t resemble the Harley-Davidson motorcycles I grew up coveting. I watched the development of the LiveWire® as the years went by and the more that I read and the more reviews that came out the more my interest grew. The performance specs alone should turn any motorcycle rider’s head. I mean, no one wants to ride a slow motorcycle, everyone I know makes performance mods to their bike to get better response or more horsepower. The LiveWire® packs a punch that any adrenaline-fueled biker is looking for. By the time the LiveWire® was projected for delivery in 2019, I was more than interested. In March of 2020 I got the call that I was waiting for, Rick Johnson from Riding High Harley-Davidson gave me the green light for a LiveWire® demo ride! Riding High HarleyDavidson had had LiveWire® floor models that were available for purchase for months but had recently got in a demo model! I got over to Riding High with my riding gear and a lot of anticipation. While cruising the showroom floor I ran into RHHD Mechanic David “Greasy” Garrison who is a LiveWire® enthusiast and went through the EV training in Milwaukee. Greasy was telling me that the maintenance on the LiveWire® is relatively nil. There is a real time battery monitor that you can view on the LiveWire®’s 4.3” color touchscreen display, leaving only brakes and tires on the LiveWire® that require have to preface this article with the fact that
regular maintenance. After a little paperwork, Josh Roberts, brought out the LiveWire® that would be my ride for the demo. We went out back of the dealership to the Riding Academy range so that I could get a feel for the LiveWire® before we went out on the street. A few quick notes here. The LiveWire® is an automatic so as soon as you pull back on the throttle, your movin! There is no clutch, no neutral, that is tough for us riders who are accustomed to revving the engine at stop lights. Josh took me through the many different settings and features on the touchscreen display. The LiveWire® has different riding modes that you can toggle through while riding to match your riding style, distance goals or weather. The modes include: Road, Sport, Rain, Range and even Custom settings. The display will tell you the different power settings for each, like the Range Mode specifies, 40% power, 80% regenerative braking (I’ll hit on this later), 55% Throttle and Medium Traction Control. Compare that to the Sport Mode that runs 100% power, 80% Regenerative Braking, 80% Throttle and High Traction Control. Naturally the sport mode will get you lower mileage per charge, but man, it’s fun! So, I took a few laps around the Academy range and get used to the controls and the regenerative braking. I was very
