LiveWire Gets First Ride from Harley Purist
‘You got to ride it to understand it,’ says the previously dubious rider. Is all-electric really the new future?
Most of us that love riding bikes because of the way they make us feel. There really isn’t any other automotive experience that comes close to riding a motorcycle. It doesn’t matter if its a red Ferrari waiting for you in the garage, sometimes a bike is the only tool for the job. The sound of the exhaust as it vibrates throughout your whole body, the feeling the air rushing around you, the sensation of leaning in a steep corner and powering out the exit, it’s irreplaceable.
This is why most of us motorcycle enthusiasts shy away from the idea of an electric motorcycle. How is it suppose to give a us visceral and engaging experience like we are used to if it doesn’t even have a beating heart that you can actively feel? Well, the Harley LiveWire has done its best to find solutions to all these problems. Jeff Cantine, the electrician featured in the video, like most of us, wasn’t too happy about an electric Harley. Cantine took to social media to express his opinion in this regard. He made a post featuring the LiveWire with a huge caption reading “NOT MY HARLEY DAVIDSON.” A member of Harley’s social media team took notice to his post and invited him to come test ride the bike to see if his opinion would change. This video by Harley-Davidson on YouTube accounts the interaction of Cantine’s first ride.
Cantine has been riding motorcycles for a long time. He initially got into choppers at the age of 18 while he was working at a motorcycle salvage shop. This got him the opportunity to buy his first Harley. According to Cantine, once he “started buying Harleys, [it] never stopped from there”. As many others, he became a die-hard for the brand and only began riding Harleys. Currently, he is riding a 1999 Harley Wide Glide. Cantine’s favorite style of motorcycle is 70’s and 60’s cruiser bikes.
When he initially saw the LiveWire, Cantine described it as a “hopped-up sewing machine”. He wasn’t impressed and thought that the brand had lost the heritage that has made it so great. However after his run-in with Harley’s team online, he thought why not give it a shot. Thus, he showed up to a local dealership where they had a LiveWire ready for him to test. After some basic explanation by one of the sales folk at the dealership, Cantine was off.
According to the video, he got a couple hours with the bike to truly get acquainted with its subtleties. As most of us know, it takes a while to get used to riding a new bike and something like the LiveWire must be even more foreign of an experience than what we are used to. For example, the one-speed transmission that doesn’t feature a clutch. That in itself like its own adventure.
When the cameraman comes and asks Cantine his first impressions after riding the bike for the first time, his first response is “it feels like a f***ing rocket ship.” Without a doubt, the instant torque on an electric motor must be a riveting feeling. Cantine, it seemed, understood why this bike was so impressive. He then stated that “you grab that throttle and it goes, you point it in a direction and its going to get there, it’s insane, man, it’s definitely a trip.” While we still remain a bit skeptical about the LiveWire ourselves, we agree that if we got to the chance to ride one, we would agree with Cantine when he says “If you’re not smiling something is wrong with you.”
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