Ride CT & Ride New England Serving New England, NYC and The Hudson Valley!
HARWINTON, CT – It still looks showroom new, and its odometer only shows about 1,600 miles after almost five years of ownership. “It’s definitely a fun bike to ride. There’s no doubt at all,” said John Birden recently of his 2020 Harley-Davidson LiveWire electric motorcycle.
RIDE-CT was at Yankee-Harley-Davidson in Bristol on Nov. 23, 2019 when he picked up the model and joined him on the ride home to Harwinton. He had a 10-month wait to receive it and traded in a barely used 2019 Harley-Davidson Softail Slim. Back then the LiveWire had a starting price of $29,799. The model now starts at $22,799.
Birden’s enthusiasm for the LiveWire was evident at the outset and hasn’t waned. The low mileage figure, he said, can be partially traced to a bout of kidney cancer last year that curtailed his riding. He also still has a 1999 Softail that requires use.
“It’s definitely an awesome bike to ride. It’s fun. It accelerates. You’ve got the different (riding) modes,” he said of the LiveWire, listing its ease of use and its quiet demeanor as reasons that he’s fond of it.
“It’s definitely easier (to ride) because I have a few gas bikes also, other bikes that I ride quite often. I flip back and forth, and the Softail is nice to ride but this thing is so much easier, especially on the hot days ’cause you don’t have the heat from the motor coming up on you. That’s definitely a big plus not having to deal with the heat,” Birden said.
“It is kind of relaxing with no noise,” he continued, noting that after getting the LiveWire, he “took the straight pipes off and put the mufflers back on the Softail. With the mufflers on, you don’t draw as much attention. I like the quiet. I do like the quiet.”
While most electric motorcycles are viewed being designed primarily for urban use because of the limited range of their batteries, Birden hasn’t suffered any signs of range anxiety. “The range was supposed to be around 100 miles, 120, depending on how you drive, and that’s pretty much what it hits,” he said.
“I charge it at home. I don’t use the charging station (elsewhere) because I don’t have the patience to sit there for 45 minutes, so I watch my gauge on it and when it starts to get down around 15 percent that’s when I charge it. I pull it in the garage, plug it in overnight, and by morning it’s ready to go.”
The LiveWire is sufficient “because I’m not a long distance rider. For one, I have a bad back, and I can’t ride for hours on end. I go out for an hour, two hours at the tops, and I don’t even use half the battery so for me it works out really well.”
With five years having passed since he bought the electric model, LiveWire still hasn’t found a significant foothold with the motorcycle buying public. Shortly after launching the model, Harley-Davidson spun off LiveWire into separate entity retaining the LiveWire moniker.
Financial results for the third quarter of 2024 released Thursday by the company showed a loss of $25 million with 99 models sold, up from 50 units in 2023. But the company is still moving forward with plans to next month announce entry in a new motorcycle category.
Meanwhile, on Oct. 14, Italian electric sport bike builder Energica announced that it was filing for bankruptcy. Suffice to safe, riders haven’t flocked to electric models no matter their brand name.
Since getting the LiveWire, there has been one addition to the bike – a tank plaque from the manufacturer noting its status as a “First Strike” model and among the first 500 built. That may help raise its status as a collector’s item in the future, which pleases Birden. “Because I have a First Strike and because I have number 60, yeah, definitely,” he said.
