LiveWire LiveWire Price
Cruiser
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 165
Likes: 16
From: Bowie MD
Like many, I think they blew it. I was chatting it up with the parts/service rep, a young guy in his early 30's this past Spring. Asked him how sales were going. Bike sales, down, parts and accessories declining. He plane P&A drop on the new bikes coming out with some much standard equipment that there seemed to be a drop off in accessorizing. So I then asked him, how many new buyers come on his age versus mine (I'm 56), not many.
So now you have LameWire (pun intended). Over priced by a ton. As noted it is not a tourer but it could be a great all round and commuter bike which is how I ride my RK. What 20 something with student loans or a lower paying job is going to drop $30k - a realistic OTD price on a discretionary item? Toyota knocked it out with the Prius, an electric or hybrid family car. Tesla found a way to carve out an all electric luxury niche. Now they are struggling to be able to try to produce their model 3 at the $35k mark and competition is coming on for them across all price points from entrenched manufacturers.. Both of those companies are working in a 14-17M in annual volume. Now comes Harley who thinks they can be a Tesla......
That said, I do want to see how live the LiveWire is. I was super excited about it when I first heard.
So get your pre order in.......
So now you have LameWire (pun intended). Over priced by a ton. As noted it is not a tourer but it could be a great all round and commuter bike which is how I ride my RK. What 20 something with student loans or a lower paying job is going to drop $30k - a realistic OTD price on a discretionary item? Toyota knocked it out with the Prius, an electric or hybrid family car. Tesla found a way to carve out an all electric luxury niche. Now they are struggling to be able to try to produce their model 3 at the $35k mark and competition is coming on for them across all price points from entrenched manufacturers.. Both of those companies are working in a 14-17M in annual volume. Now comes Harley who thinks they can be a Tesla......
That said, I do want to see how live the LiveWire is. I was super excited about it when I first heard.
So get your pre order in.......
Tourer
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 337
Likes: 30
From: SLC, UT
Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 1,451
Likes: 230
From: United States
When you break it down its a frame, battery pack wheels and an electric motor and a Chinese control box to make it work with some cleaver software.
Mother ship is so outta touch, this is going to be a flop in epic proportions.
Wiz 🇦🇺
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 4,242
Likes: 3,127
From: Texas
Well whats on the livewire thats worth 30K ? I mean its not like Harleys just invented the electric motor or batteries as electric vehicles have been around for years.
When you break it down its a frame, battery pack wheels and an electric motor and a Chinese control box to make it work with some cleaver software.
When you break it down its a frame, battery pack wheels and an electric motor and a Chinese control box to make it work with some cleaver software.
What's in a NY Times bestselling novel that's worth more than your neighbor's nephew's novel? When you break it down it's just paper and ink, right? So aren't they all the same?
Like I say, we'll see. If the riding and total overall ownership experience is worth it to the few well-heeled customers Harley hopes to attract, then it will be a success for Harley. And if it isn't, then it won't be. But those are questions we can't answer right now. All we can say right now is that the LiveWire isn't for bargain shoppers, it's not for the masses, and it was never intended to be (and neither are CVOs, but Harley seems to do all right selling those).
Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 1,451
Likes: 230
From: United States
What's in a NY Times bestselling novel that's worth more than your neighbor's nephew's novel? When you break it down it's just paper and ink, right? So aren't they all the same?
Like I say, we'll see. If the riding and total overall ownership experience is worth it to the few well-heeled customers Harley hopes to attract, then it will be a success for Harley. And if it isn't, then it won't be. But those are questions we can't answer right now. All we can say right now is that the LiveWire isn't for bargain shoppers, it's not for the masses, and it was never intended to be (and neither are CVOs, but Harley seems to do all right selling those).
Like I say, we'll see. If the riding and total overall ownership experience is worth it to the few well-heeled customers Harley hopes to attract, then it will be a success for Harley. And if it isn't, then it won't be. But those are questions we can't answer right now. All we can say right now is that the LiveWire isn't for bargain shoppers, it's not for the masses, and it was never intended to be (and neither are CVOs, but Harley seems to do all right selling those).
Well no,
The NYT didnt invent paper or ink so we still have the premise of the basics of wheels frame ETC that have been around for years.
All Harleys done is assemble then differently for 30 grand, but as you say time will tell and itll be making headlines either way it sells.
Wiz 🇦🇺
Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 1,451
Likes: 230
From: United States
Battery power , great for cell phones and portable radios, Like it or not. Gas powered stuff is here to stay.
Wiz 🇦🇺
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 4,607
Likes: 3,311
From: Virginia
I'd like to try planning and taking a trip on a Livewire using Harley fast charging stations. Plan the trip on back roads, not interstates, to maximize range, stop at a Harley dealership every 100 miles or so for half an hour to quick charge.
Not saying I want to give up my petrol powered motorcycles, not saying I want to travel that way on every trip, I'd just like to do it as a challenge.
Last edited by VAFish; Jan 30, 2019 at 08:04 AM.
Club Member
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 11,460
Likes: 3,554
From: Idaho
Horseless carriages are a joke, and a rich man's toy. Horses are here to stay.
Electric vehicles are here to stay. Can they do everything an ICE vehicle can do, right now? Oh, hell no.
But, as battery technology continues to improve, and, yes, it will, then the amount of energy that can be stored in a battery, and how fast that energy can be recharged, will also improve.
Will we see 100% of all vehicles on the road be electric in our lifetimes? No.
But it's coming.
Electric vehicles are here to stay. Can they do everything an ICE vehicle can do, right now? Oh, hell no.
But, as battery technology continues to improve, and, yes, it will, then the amount of energy that can be stored in a battery, and how fast that energy can be recharged, will also improve.
Will we see 100% of all vehicles on the road be electric in our lifetimes? No.
But it's coming.
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Road Master
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 807
Likes: 567
From: Detroit Metro Area
Horseless carriages are a joke, and a rich man's toy. Horses are here to stay.
Electric vehicles are here to stay. Can they do everything an ICE vehicle can do, right now? Oh, hell no.
But, as battery technology continues to improve, and, yes, it will, then the amount of energy that can be stored in a battery, and how fast that energy can be recharged, will also improve.
Will we see 100% of all vehicles on the road be electric in our lifetimes? No.
But it's coming.
Electric vehicles are here to stay. Can they do everything an ICE vehicle can do, right now? Oh, hell no.
But, as battery technology continues to improve, and, yes, it will, then the amount of energy that can be stored in a battery, and how fast that energy can be recharged, will also improve.
Will we see 100% of all vehicles on the road be electric in our lifetimes? No.
But it's coming.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 6,174
Likes: 1,960
From: Great State of Canada
I'm just lovin this 
.
Electric cars, trucks and bikes, windmills and solar panels are all falling on their **** for want of a common component which the technology of the day can barely conceive of let alone build; super-capacity storage ! Until the super-capacitor or battery, made from some new element or material yet to be discovered, is brought on line, all this **** will fail. Con Man Musk and governments around the world bet blindly that this crucial element in the renewable energy picture would be in existence by now. Snake eyes !
Son of Ethanol, episode II. The Force Ain't With You.
.Electric cars, trucks and bikes, windmills and solar panels are all falling on their **** for want of a common component which the technology of the day can barely conceive of let alone build; super-capacity storage ! Until the super-capacitor or battery, made from some new element or material yet to be discovered, is brought on line, all this **** will fail. Con Man Musk and governments around the world bet blindly that this crucial element in the renewable energy picture would be in existence by now. Snake eyes !
Son of Ethanol, episode II. The Force Ain't With You.