Electric Harley-Davidsons?

Given that the primary reasons to buy a Harley are a look and a sound, this is missing one of the key ingredients. Not interested.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Given that the primary reasons to buy a Harley are a look and a sound, this is missing one of the key ingredients. Not interested.
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Its for the !@#$% Millenials. Grrrrr....... I will keep my Street Glide.
 
flhrci said:
Its for the !@#$% Millenials. Grrrrr....... I will keep my Street Glide.
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Agreed. I’m thinking either a turbo or a big bore kit on my Ultra Classic.
 
I assume they will include some form of subwoofer on this to simulate the gas variety. My Leaf had some sort of chime at low speed to warn pedestrians that they were about to be run over by an oversized RC car. :)

Perhaps HD will give the bike away and make their money by selling "ringtones" for these new e-Hogs. Choices include "obnoxious", "hellacious", and "holy living F is that a motorcycle or a hyperactive pulsejet with a chromed leather beard on top??"
 
flhrci said:
Will there be a "Thinking about...." thread on this topic in the future? LOL
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Maybe. First I have to finish up the Cobra and actually start riding again.
 
No thanks! I actually stopped working in bike shop that I grew up around, as I refused to work on bikes owned by yuppie types, and refused to work on anything newer than 1984, and I am well versed on Harleys from the 1920's to 1984. I finally got a twincam, about 4 years ago, still prefer an older Harley!

No way would I consider an electric. As mentioned no noise, I lost too many friends and guys I know due to bad car drivers, and all had "loud bikes"
 
Sac Arrow said:
An actual Electra Glide?
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Yes. Technically both ours are Electra Glide Ultra Classics, but Laurie’s was converted to a Street Glide. They are both sad and unused.

image.jpg
 
Cap'n Jack said:
About $30K, 94 mile range mixed driving.
https://www.harley-davidson.com/us/en/motorcycles/future-vehicles/livewire.html

I've managed not to merge into motorcyclists riding in my blind spot because I heard them...loud pipes save lives. Cars don't see them either- sometimes motorcycles don't trip the blind spot sensors on cars.
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Nooooo.......tell me it ain't so. Just kidding, it's an idea whose time has come. They shouldn't call it a Harley though. They should do like they they did with the Buell and give it a name other then Harley. That would be Blasphemy.

I rode for over 40 years. Have hundreds of thousands of miles under my belt. Thanks for caring about us. But, I am a believer that a huge majority of auto vs motorcycle accidents are the bikers fault. Yeah, maybe the driver can be cited for something and the blame put there. But I say there is no excuse for the biker to let it happen. You gotta anticipate it and know what your going to do at all times if 'they' do something thats gonna get ya
 
I'm happy to see Harley attempting to innovate. I'm not a Harley guy, but they have a lot of history, and their core demographic is fading fast. But whoever thought $30k for one of these things makes any sense at all is out of their f****** mind.
 
luvflyin said:
Nooooo.......tell me it ain't so. Just kidding, it's an idea whose time has come. They shouldn't call it a Harley though. They should do like they they did with the Buell and give it a name other then Harley. That would be Blasphemy.

I rode for over 40 years. Have hundreds of thousands of miles under my belt. Thanks for caring about us. But, I am a believer that a huge majority of auto vs motorcycle accidents are the bikers fault. Yeah, maybe the driver can be cited for something and the blame put there. But I say there is no excuse for the biker to let it happen. You gotta anticipate it and know what your going to do at all times if 'they' do something thats gonna get ya
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Motorcyclists are out there- they have a right to be. They will need to pass me, and I need to look for them. I know (and many auto drivers don't) that motorcycles can stop much faster than a car, so I gave more space in traffic. I ask two things of motorcycle drivers- don't hang out in my blind spot for long, and don't cut me off when there's a chance we may need that stopping distance.

A different name isn't a bad idea. I thought Buell was purchased by Harley-Davison? Maybe bring the Buell name back.
 
Cap'n Jack said:
Motorcyclists are out there- they have a right to be. They will need to pass me, and I need to look for them. I know (and many auto drivers don't) that motorcycles can stop much faster than a car, so I gave more space in traffic. I ask two things of motorcycle drivers- don't hang out in my blind spot for long, and don't cut me off when there's a chance we may need that stopping distance.
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Sage advice
 
luvflyin said:
Nooooo.......tell me it ain't so. Just kidding, it's an idea whose time has come. They shouldn't call it a Harley though. They should do like they they did with the Buell and give it a name other then Harley. That would be Blasphemy.

I rode for over 40 years. Have hundreds of thousands of miles under my belt. Thanks for caring about us. But, I am a believer that a huge majority of auto vs motorcycle accidents are the bikers fault. Yeah, maybe the driver can be cited for something and the blame put there. But I say there is no excuse for the biker to let it happen. You gotta anticipate it and know what your going to do at all times if 'they' do something thats gonna get ya
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I agree with that. I assume I am invisible and I don't put myself in a situation where a car is going to cut me off in a lane split or where I am going to be mooshed between two cars. And I've been doing this many years. Mostly these days I ride a bicycle, for exercise. But I feel a whole lot less vulnerable on a motorcycle.

Motorcycles have offsetting advantages. Just like aviation, it isn't inherently less safe, just more unforgiving.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Given that the primary reasons to buy a Harley are a look and a sound, this is missing one of the key ingredients. Not interested.
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This one probably doesn't have lack luster performance like a true hog so I would say its missing a few ingredients.
 
old_biker said:
No way would I consider an electric. As mentioned no noise, I lost too many friends and guys I know due to bad car drivers, and all had "loud bikes"
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Even if it did make noise you'll still be dodging brain dead Apple fans wearing their airpods all the time while driving. At least around me they do.
 
Between behemoth trucks and SUV's, and cellphones, I'm wary of driving a 2 seater car anymore, never mind getting back on a bike.
 
NJP_MAN said:
Even if it did make noise you'll still be dodging brain dead Apple fans wearing their airpods all the time while driving. At least around me they do.
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It is really surprising to me on how many motorcycle riders that I see with their ears plugged up with those ear bud things.
 
Come out with one that for the same price will go 180 miles+30 reserve, can be recharged to 100% in less than 10 minutes at any gas station and I’ll be interested. For around town, elections ctric would be fine, but I tend to do stuff like ride 250 miles for lunch because I read about a barbecue joint.
 
Zeldman said:
It is really surprising to me on how many motorcycle riders that I see with their ears plugged up with those ear bud things.
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I'm talking about drivers though. Riders I somewhat understand. They are usually more alert to visual cues and more prone to hearing loss at riding speeds. I wore ear plugs when I used to ride. I don't understand the drivers with ear phones in. I don't think you should use it as your "hands free" solution where being on a phone isnt legal either.
 
Jim K said:
I'm happy to see Harley attempting to innovate. I'm not a Harley guy, but they have a lot of history, and their core demographic is fading fast. But whoever thought $30k for one of these things makes any sense at all is out of their f****** mind.
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Yup, Harley is already late to the game since there are at least 3 other e-bike makers who have bikes with better specs on range and at MUCH lower cost. I can sort of applaud HD for making an effort to stay relevant, but they are already behind the curve.
 
NJP_MAN said:
Even if it did make noise you'll still be dodging brain dead Apple fans wearing their airpods all the time while driving. At least around me they do.
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I have close calls all the time I my car or truck, & had a bunch on my Harley, but the one that almost took me out blew a stop sign while reading a hairstyle magazine, still unsure how I got stopped without being hit. that's when I stopped riding as much.
 
luvflyin said:
Nooooo.......tell me it ain't so. Just kidding, it's an idea whose time has come. They shouldn't call it a Harley though. They should do like they they did with the Buell and give it a name other then Harley. That would be Blasphemy.

I rode for over 40 years. Have hundreds of thousands of miles under my belt. Thanks for caring about us. But, I am a believer that a huge majority of auto vs motorcycle accidents are the bikers fault. Yeah, maybe the driver can be cited for something and the blame put there. But I say there is no excuse for the biker to let it happen. You gotta anticipate it and know what your going to do at all times if 'they' do something thats gonna get ya
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I have rode close to 40 years myself, well over 30 of those year round no matter the weather, & hundreds of thousands of miles, I used to only put 2k to 5k miles on my truck a year & 20k to 40k miles a year on my bike, since a very close call when I stopped riding everyday, I now average 6k - 8k a year on bike & 15k-25k on truck & car

Biker? or Motorcyclist? as I see plenty of motorcyclists being stupid, & we call them "squids" but I hardly ever see Bikers being stupid, of all the Bikers I have known to die, only a very few were at fault, 95% or more were hit whether from behind, 2 of those recently, car cut in front without giving signal, the car was coming in opposite direction & made a left turn, thats most, a few were hit head on, or vehicle T-Boning them. the few that were at fault, 1 was working on his brakes at my house, left to go run errand, when didn't come back quick I went looking & he apparently had his brakes fail, swerved to not hit a stopped vehicle in front of him, but was hit head on when he swerved into oncoming traffic, another swung a curve too wide, hit a fender on a trailer being pulled by a truck, & he was a big influence to get me into Church, 1 got fixated on a sign, & ran off road directly into pole.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Yes. Technically both ours are Electra Glide Ultra Classics, but Laurie’s was converted to a Street Glide. They are both sad and unused.

View attachment 76759
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Good gawd, man. I wish I had the energy to use half your toys or do half your hobbies. Where do you get it? It's because you're narrow, isn't it? :D I need to lose about 30 pounds, that's it?

We have an camper we barely use. A boat, it's sitting in the water a few hundred feet from the house, that doesn't get used like it should. I think I've fished twice this year. WTH?
 
weilke said:
How are they gonna leak oil from an electric motor ?
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Hilarious. Never heard that one before. You do know Harley engines stopped marking their territory a couple decades ago, right?

For you old geezer bikers that have been riding forever... the electric isn't aimed at you. That's why they're selling trikes too, it's their retirement plan. When you can't hold the Ultra up at a traffic light any more, you move on to the Tri-Glide. The electric is specifically aimed at bringing riders and potential riders under the age of, say, 50 or so into the Harley fold. I too think it's a little bit too little, too late, and too expensive -- but that's been the Harley-Davidson way for a long time now. And maybe they'll evolve and do better in the next few generations. It will be interesting to see whether they support this with upgraded battery capacity as technology allows, or not.
 
Zeldman said:
It is really surprising to me on how many motorcycle riders that I see with their ears plugged up with those ear bud things.
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Just to be clear, it's not motor noise on most motorcycles that hurts your hearing, it's the wind and road noise at highway speeds.
 
I don't think I would ever be interested in an electric motorcycle, however, electric bicycles do appeal to me. They are legally bicycles, fill the short distance commute/errand niche, and aren't totally inop if your battery charge runs out. I see them around. Battery power goes a lot further on vehicles that don't need a lot of power to begin with.
 
Fiveslide said:
Good gawd, man. I wish I had the energy to use half your toys or do half your hobbies. Where do you get it? It's because you're narrow, isn't it? :D I need to lose about 30 pounds, that's it?

We have an camper we barely use. A boat, it's sitting in the water a few hundred feet from the house, that doesn't get used like it should. I think I've fished twice this year. WTH?
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Well, there’s only 24 hours in a day and I still need to sleep. No doubt we keep busy. However the motorcycle haven’t been ridden at all this year or last. I’ve worked on the Cobra a lot this summer but haven’t worked on the runway as much as I’d like. Got the dozer working but there are still a few issues with the 9N’s oil system that need attention. Probably won’t get to those until after I get the Cobra built. Go karts, well I haven’t felt like driving mine anyway but my son has mostly taken over it and so I need another for me, maybe a proper dune buggy this time.

And I haven’t flown at all in... I think 6-7 weeks.

Yep, only 24 hours in a day. No amount of coffee can change that.
 
Sac Arrow said:
Just to be clear, it's not motor noise on most motorcycles that hurts your hearing, it's the wind and road noise at highway speeds.
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That depends on the bike. Harley or Gold Wing with factory exhaust? Yep. Big V-twin with open pipes or non highway legal mufflers, not so much. Our Ultra had Screamin’ Eagle slip-ones that were about mid-pack for noise. They were enough to scare off the deer, not enough to get ALL the drivers’ attention but most of them, without being stupidly loud. We knew several guys who ran what were effectively open pipes... definitely more hearing damage from those, or probably even ours, than from road noise. I wore ear plugs on longer trips.
 
DaleB said:
That depends on the bike. Harley or Gold Wing with factory exhaust? Yep. Big V-twin with open pipes or non highway legal mufflers, not so much. Our Ultra had Screamin’ Eagle slip-ones that were about mid-pack for noise. They were enough to scare off the deer, not enough to get ALL the drivers’ attention but most of them, without being stupidly loud. We knew several guys who ran what were effectively open pipes... definitely more hearing damage from those, or probably even ours, than from road noise. I wore ear plugs on longer trips.
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Right, thus my disclaimer.
 
luvflyin said:
I rode for over 40 years. Have hundreds of thousands of miles under my belt. Thanks for caring about us. But, I am a believer that a huge majority of auto vs motorcycle accidents are the bikers fault. Yeah, maybe the driver can be cited for something and the blame put there. But I say there is no excuse for the biker to let it happen. You gotta anticipate it and know what your going to do at all times if 'they' do something thats gonna get ya
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Yep... if you ride long enough you develop a “sixth sense” and can usually anticipate a cager doing something stupid before they themselves even know they’re going to do it.
 
FormerHangie said:
Also, what are they going to install to make it vibrate?
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Only needed at idle. Surprisingly enough, the Twin Cam was amazingly smooth at anything over about 1000-1200 RPM. At idle, it's a paint shaker.

azblackbird said:
Yep... if you ride long enough you develop a “sixth sense” and can usually anticipate a cager doing something stupid before they themselves even know they’re going to do it.
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True. The fact that they exist usually means they're going to do something stupid. When we bought our bike, it was a matter of, "Watch out for drivers doing stupid things". By the time we gave it up, it had become more like, "Every third driver is actively trying to kill us, and we're not allowed to mount a cannon".
 
DaleB said:
Hilarious. Never heard that one before. You do know Harley engines stopped marking their territory a couple decades ago, right?

For you old geezer bikers that have been riding forever... the electric isn't aimed at you. That's why they're selling trikes too, it's their retirement plan. When you can't hold the Ultra up at a traffic light any more, you move on to the Tri-Glide. The electric is specifically aimed at bringing riders and potential riders under the age of, say, 50 or so into the Harley fold. I too think it's a little bit too little, too late, and too expensive -- but that's been the Harley-Davidson way for a long time now. And maybe they'll evolve and do better in the next few generations. It will be interesting to see whether they support this with upgraded battery capacity as technology allows, or not.
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Lol. I had a Yamaha Virago for awhile. I was on road trip once with mostly Harley’s, me and one other ‘rice rocket.’ Came out to the lot after a whistle stop and some clown had put grains of rice under our engines.
 
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