Electric Harley

[dmax1]

:rofl_200::rofl_200::rofl_200::rofl_200:

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/autos/harley-davidson-plans-unveil-electric-motorcycle-n135451

 

[fmcandrew]

I actually like it...wish I knew more about it (specs), but it looks like it has clean lines, it's sleak and has a mono shock in the rear. I'd think it'd be light & nimble...but it's a Harley so not sure yet...

 

[jfeagins]

A guy will have to put some playing cards through the spokes with clothes pins to get any sound out of it, and kiss the potato potato sound good bye unless you want to blare a recording of it through some oversized handlebar mounted speakers.

And how the heck will a guy be able to duplicate the oil leaks?

 

[nidyanazo]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdaEX5jh5Lk&hd=1

 

[ImCannibal]

It's made by Harley, it will find a way to fall apart, they all do.

 

[Tex85]

It's made by Harley, it will find a way to fall apart, they all do.

+1, lol

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[Fire-medic]

I like Harleys! Not enough to spend $35,000 for a CVO but they are nicely-finished. They do different things than a VMax, right? But I don't have to do 125 mph in the 1/4-mi to enjoy a ride.

There are cars now that do provide a soundtrack thru their speakers and it can be either noise cancellation or aural enhancement of the operational acoustics. This is a new era in machinery! W/electrical vehicles we can punch-in whatever firing order and #\cylinders we wish! V-12 Ferrari on the way to work? V-twin for the weekend? Your choice.

 

[V-Four]

I just read about this today coincidentally. ..

I dont usually think of HD to be really 'cutting edge' of technology.


Interesting though.

Theyll prolly get customers from anywhere else ..with exception of their own fan base ironically enough.

 

[alorio1]

That thing will never sell unless they make it sound like this, there is a lot of irritating back round noise, so beware..........
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKkpaQd_6mY&list=UU8JnQCunO4fcOCcocZPsS0Q&index=12

 

[ImCannibal]

It'll may sell to a newer generation of bike owners. That being said, there's no stopping an oldschool Harley fan from being a Harley fan. No matter the fact that Harleys are under powered, have a terrible firing angle and rate, are way way way overpriced for something that has had almost zero design changes made since the 50's, and every engine model they have only seems peppy because they have more torque than horsepower (which leads to your kidneys falling out of your ass and all the bolts falling out of everything). All of that aside, there's no comparing an American v-twin to v4 power. There isn't a stock 883 out there that will keep up with a stock Honda v45 750, and there aren't any stock Harley 1200-1600cc bikes that will keep up with a bone stock gen1 VMAX. And IMO, because I don't feel like I'm going to poop blood for a week after riding a v4, I think they're more comfortable for cruising.

 

[Kronx]

From what I've been reading on electric motorcycles, they can haul ass. Godzillas of torque. Most electric bikes aren't even running at half the motor's capacity.

LAPD is testing some out:

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2013/10/09/lapd-tests-out-new-electric-motorcycles/

 

[m-cman]

Harleys website has a sound bite of the new bike. Kinda sounds like jet.

 

[jethrobolas]

0 to 60 in 4 seconds. Fast for a stock Hardly. Still won't beat a stock gen 1 in a pissing match. I only get 120 miles to a tank, but my recharge time is 6 minutes on a leisure ride. Guess I better bring my inverter with some jumper cables to help a "brother" out if the ride is longer than 150 miles. Plus 7 hours.
I don't hate, but I still am confused. I am sure one day electrics will surpass fossil fuels, but it is still a while in the coming.





Ok, maybe I hate a little bit, but they are on 2 wheels, and a rider is a rider.

 

[davesax36]

I like the way it sounds, looks, pretty much everything. I just hope they put enough batteries in it and price it so a new generation of riders can actually afford one.

 

[CaptainKyle]

I think it looks pretty sharp

 

[piercew]

And how the heck will a guy be able to duplicate the oil leaks?

When I was a kid my dad bought me this toy robot that you put a few drops of 3 in 1 oil in the head and when you turned it on the oil would heat up and it would make smoke come out the ears. It also smelled like burning 3 in 1 oil. Maybe Harley can do the same thing. Just put an oil tank under the seat and it then it will randomly piss the oil onto the ground while you are inside. Maybe even add a feature where it won't start until you have walked at least 4 miles to get more oil.

But its a Harley so they probably just use garbage batteries that won't hold a charge after the first season, wire that is one gauge too small and crimped connections so you can spend more time chasing burned, broken, corroded and loose connections.

 

[9.nub]

Ya know ... I say good on HD. Have you really looked at their 2014 line-up. Ultra classics with water cooled heads, radial tires, etc. I take it as evidence that may have pulled heads from butts and looked at circles the competition has run around them for years.

Now to see them pursuing an electric bike is outstanding IMO. To see them investing to develop a bike that won't "potato potato" with two cylinders means they may be poised to make H-D master of something bigger than nostalgia. They may just turn themselves into a company that makes a US built bike mean something special to consumers like myself. I always knew we had the talent and know-how; maybe we'll back those ingredients with budget and strategy.

 

[Diablotin]

It's good to see they are trying to think outside the box. So far the specs are not so bad. But the bad is the 50 miles range for now. I hope to see some 100 hp with 150 miles range in the coming years from harley or any other. Japanese haven't really anything yet but this will come very soon I guess.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

 

[nidyanazo]

It'll may sell to a newer generation of bike owners. That being said, there's no stopping an oldschool Harley fan from being a Harley fan. No matter the fact that Harleys are under powered, have a terrible firing angle and rate, are way way way overpriced for something that has had almost zero design changes made since the 50's, and every engine model they have only seems peppy because they have more torque than horsepower (which leads to your kidneys falling out of your ass and all the bolts falling out of everything). All of that aside, there's no comparing an American v-twin to v4 power. There isn't a stock 883 out there that will keep up with a stock Honda v45 750, and there aren't any stock Harley 1200-1600cc bikes that will keep up with a bone stock gen1 VMAX. And IMO, because I don't feel like I'm going to poop blood for a week after riding a v4, I think they're more comfortable for cruising.

Here's what I find funny. The VMAX is more quintessentially American then HD's- It embodies all the virtues US riders love the most..EVERYONE knows it as THE muscle bike. Honestly, I get talked to by people everywhere I go about my 'max. Guys in their 50's-60's who were my age (30) when it came out seem to know everything about it, and what an Icon it was (is).
I'm sure most of you know it already, but for those who aren't familiar- watch the great 15min doc. of the vmax history of development (can find it on youtube) it details the process of designing it and how it was based on the wants of American riders at the time of inception- Yamaha designers went around and talked to US drag racers to get their input, and really wanted it to evoke emotions of muscle cars/drag racing, and v8 power- from a revolutionary new motorcycle. And so they did. Coming back to my original point, HD's seem to miss the mark but are accepted by the public as THE bike America builds... Which is fine and accurate, but it sucks that the American bike image is one of a slow, poorly engineered cruiser. If anything the HD should be the muscle bike, and japanese bikes should be practical, economical cruisers... But as it is, the VMAX seems to be widely recognized as the only true muscle bike, both from a power/engine type viewpoint, and also of a design and visual point.

 

[eggohead]

Yamaha released infor on a electric bike of theirs in April.
http://www.autoblog.com/2014/04/23/yamaha-pes1-ped1-electric-motorcycles-production/