LiveWire Moves Into The Police Market

LiveWire sales haven’t exactly been booming since Harley-Davidson spun off their electric motorcycle production into its own company, but they might have figured out a way to change that. They’ve just introduced the new S2 Patrol series, which is based off its S2 platform, but adapted for law enforcement use.

These are not all-new models; just like Harley-Davidson’s V-twin police bikes were based off standard machines in their lineup, the new LiveWire models are based off the S2 Del Mar and S2 Alpinista motorcycles. The police-friendly upgrades are not applied to the powertrain or chassis, but to the bike’s accessory package. According to LiveWire’s PR:

“Further augmenting the capabilities of the S2 motorcycle, all S2 Patrol models receive added protection, lighting, storage, and controls, based on the use case and mission, increasing the price accordingly. The standard Patrol kit includes tip-over protection, top case and side cases, 120dB siren, 12 SpeedTech LED lights, AUX power supply, hand guards, and the requisite controls for additional functionality.”

This is most interesting, as these machines are already range-limited, and adding more weight and electrical accessories is not going to improve that issue. However, the reality of many police motorcycles is that they don’t need the range that a patrol car does. Or at least, not all police motorcycles need that range; if they can escort a motorcade across town, or post up at a busy stretch of road with a radar gun, that’s good enough. And as LiveWire points out, if you are looking for a vehicle that can be run inside a stadium or other enclosed space, an electric motorcycle makes sense.

Pricing depends on the package you order and how many bikes you need and no doubt other variables, and these motorcycles are already more expensive than competing machines from Zero. However, when compared to the running costs of a V-twin police bike, LiveWire says police departments can save as much as $15,000 USD a year, which would almost cover the cost of buying the machine to start with. So who knows; while these are not going to replace a full-sized internal combustion bike for duties like patrolling the 401, they certainly will have other areas where they are most useful. And selling the bikes to PDs would help Harley-Davidson get rid of a backlog of vehicles, if consumers aren’t willing to purchase the machines now built in the York, Pennsylvania factory.