When Harley-Davidson announced the LiveWire, it also made clear that other electric motorcycles were coming. We’ve seen its smallish electric scooter recently re-surface in patent drawings, and now photos of a mid-range motorcycle are also floating around.
We don’t have so much as a name for the machine, just an understanding that it’s supposed to be a step down from the LiveWire. What does that mean? Less power? Less battery range? Longer recharging times? All we’ve got is the photos, which show a flat track-styled bike.
A street tracker does make sense, as that’s the only type of sporty motorcycle that’s uniquely American. Alta was moving in this direction before it got entangled with Harley-Davidson, then went belly-up. As Asphalt & Rubber points out, this machine certainly appears to have a few components that originated in that partnership.
Harley-Davidson’s website simply has the sketch up there, with this blurb: “The middleweight EV concept bridges our EV technology to our rich history of racing and the legendary XR750. As the ultimate city bike, high-performance run-about or next-gen short tracker, this is H-D’s vision of EV for the quick and competitive.” Skimpy details for sure, but here’s an idea: Maybe Harley-Davidson plans to avenge its humiliation in flat track racing by introducing a new electric motorcycle class, and spanking Indian, Kawasaki, and everyone else who’s given them a hard time in recent years?
If somebody would actually make an electric bike that looked like that, with decent range, at a halfways reasonable price, I’d be all over it. That looks cool as hell. Of course, artist’s renderings often do.
Electric flat trackers, like trials bikes make a lot of sense.
And every DUI in my neighborhood will want one.