6 Potential Criticisms of an Electric Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson has made it clear that we are going to see a fully electric bike from them in the near future. Although the leap forward is exciting in some respects, here's a few potential criticisms you might hear about an electric Harley.
1. Limited Range
What do you think of first when a Harley-Davidson motorcycle comes to mind? A vast stretch of open road, perhaps? A full tank of gas and the world in front of you? One of the biggest hang-ups of electric vehicle technology is the relatively limited range it has before needing to be recharged. Unlike filling a gas tank, a fully electric motorcycle would need to be left plugged in for hours to get sufficiently juiced for another ride. Harley-Davidson's experimental Livewire electric bikes, for all their merits, suffered with just a 50 mile range. Harley themselves have even said they would have to at least double that before they were comfortable with releasing an electric bike. Even so, an electric powered model still means range restriction some bikers will consider unacceptable.
2. Where's The Distinctive Harley Roar?
Noise is usually interpreted as being a problem, but the opposite is true in the case of muscle cars and motorcycles. Driving a Harley without that accompanying roar would be like watching a movie without the soundtrack. Even if the was styled to look like the classic cruiser, without the sound it'll be an awkward change. Some people have argued for adding artificial engine noise to an electric Harley, but then the authenticity would be lost.
3. No Good Vibrations
Like the philosopher Brian Wilson famously said "...Got to keep those loving good vibrations, happening with her." If you twist the throttle of your bike and you can't feel it rumble through your bones, you might as well be in a car. Besides being nearly silent, electric motors are not going to have that V-twin rumble, even less so than the counter balancer equipped twin cam motors.
4. Silent but Deadly
Although many people argue against loud pipes saving lives, there is actual evidence that being too quiet can be dangerous. Pedestrians and other drivers are able to hear when a Harley quite a distance away. If the bike is quiet, it suddenly opens the doors on a new range of accident possibilities. A silent electric vehicle is not just a danger to itself, but to pedestrians, children, and pets used to getting an audible warning, especially the blind.
5. The High Cost
One of the great things about a motorcycle, besides the freedom of two wheels, is the fact that they tend to eat up considerably less gas per mile. Saving on gas is usually one of the big things advocates of electric cars argue. You can't dangle that carrot in front of bikers though, because any electric Harley would be significantly more expensive than its gas counterpart. With bikes already getting good fuel economy, that extra initial cost will take a lot longer to pencil out in your budget.
6. Charging Infrastructure is Lacking
Road and fueling infrastructure have been developed around the needs of gas engine users. Although there are electric vehicle amenities appearing at a growing rate around the country, it'll still be some time before full-electric bikes have the same amount of convenience. This issue rings particularly true for bikers who are looking to take their Harley-Davidson out on the open road for a couple thousand mile tour.
For help keeping your bike running right, check out the how to section of HDforums.com
