I'd usually say the 07, but I just went on a short 5 mile highway blast on my FZ6, got it up to 135mph (naked FZ6!), and this is one of those situations where I'd want to be on teh 09 so I can pop a wheelie from 60 to 120 in 4th. Other 364 days of the year, the 07 would be more then enough.
I can honestly say that Livewire is the first e-bike I've ever been interested in, and the first Harley I've been interested in in a long, long time. I have no idea how the Motor Company will play their hand on this, but they're holding aces right now.
Might be the first HD I'd be interested in, too, except for the (current) 53 mile range. That doesn't even get me to the bar and back. http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/06/19/harley-davidson-unveils-first-electric-motorcycle/
Oh boy, another reason for me to dislike HD. Excuse me but one of the pleasures of riding a motorcycle, at least for me, is to feel and hear the awesome powertrain underneath me. Screw electric bikes and the mindset that they are somehow saving the environment.
Environmental issues aside (not that I've even seen anyone on here touting that aspect of E-bikes anyway), electric motors have a bunch of advantages over internal combustion engines. You'd definitely be able to feel the powertrain as it kicks you in the ass with instantaneous torque at any RPM from 0 on up to 15,000 RPM. And you can hear it, too, though it isn't as loud as an ICE. Nor is it as hot, or smelly, or maintenance-intensive. An electric moto would be a wonderful thing for commuting in city traffic. I mean, has anyone ever appreciated the heat that most of these things throw off, when you're sitting at a standstill in traffic during the height of the summer? That all said, I do get what you're saying. But I do think that an electric motor can also be an "awesome powertrain."
I was pretty much sold on the 1200GS as my next bike but now I keep thinking I may want an RT instead
With you on this one. Doesn't matter really what the 'purists' think anyway. In 20 years all motorcycles will be electric and riders starting out will never have known any different than that. We will have lived in the age of the latest motorcycles with ICE. Depending on the attitude (rusted in the past, anti progress or welcoming new tech) either forever nostalgic like the gentlemen above, or just embracing anything that will keep us on two wheels regardless... I would love to ride an electric one day, but haven't seen many in Europe, and certainly not for test rides. Most e bike companies are American, and export is slow. They are also not quite there yet for me (but nudging on acceptable) Range just a tiny bit more and that will be good enough for me. Then they will only need time to get the price down a little. For real long distance and long days rides, or multiple days, petrol is still the way to go. But a huge amount of bikers on this forum has multiple bikes, so having one for commuting and another one for travel is really not absurd
Won't happen until a quantum leap in battery technology exists. It will take a battery that's reasonable in price and has the capability to power a vehicle at highway speeds for 300 miles, then be rechargeable in the same amount of time it would take to fill the fuel tank on an ICE vehicle, and at a comparable price to liquid fuel. The battery would also have to survive for 100,000 miles of driving before needing to be replaced. You're still going to have to burn fossil fuel to generate the electricity to charge the battery unless more nuke plants are built. Wind and solar won't be enough to power the whole world.
Agreed. I would love to have one as a commuter (and it would work for me even with current shitty battery technology) but I don't have enough disposable income to be able to stomach the prices right now. I think even the cheapest Zero is still somewhere around $10K. I do think the issue of obsolescence will hit EVs harder than it does ICE-powered vehicles, though. Especially today's early adopters - they're really going to take a reaming when, ten years down the road when we finally get good batteries worked out, their 2014 Zero RS is worth a tenth of its original purchase price. Obviously, just about every vehicle depreciates, but if you'd bought (for instance) a 2004 GSXR1000, you could still sell it today for about half of what you paid for it, since there's not all that much difference in performance. EV motorcycles have nowhere to go but up, and I think that rapid improvements in EV powertrains will start happening pretty quickly.
Totally off-topic, but I do not agree with you on the fossil thing... I will agree on the fact that battery tech is not there yet, but look what we were using as a phone only 15 years ago. But E-bikes are already useable, albeit in a rather specific usability case. (commuting or short one day rides) If this is what 80% of people do (just throwing out a number) it means that the current crop of e-bikes is already fit for a large majority of casual bikers... BMW C evolution would totally work as a daily driver for me, no problem, and would for most Europeans... On the fossil fuel, consider this statement "Every hour the sun beams onto Earth more than enough energy to satisfy global energy needs for an entire year." .... AN ENTIRE YEAR. We just don't have the tech yet to capture a small amount of it, but it is coming. Already countries in Europe (germany/denmark/...) can get to 30% from their energy from wind or solar on a good day. They are totally screwing up the traditional exchanges where electricity is traded coming from traditional sources, where in some circumstances traditional suppliers are paying to put their energy on the net. I dont know how far USA is with this sort of thing, but it seems very typical to think of nuclear energy straight away...
Not for me. The moment of truth for some will be when they're at the dealer will they spend $20K on an electric bike or a Electra Glide?
ha ha "Hardley is very proud of LiveWire's soundtrack, which it describes as, "Fighter jet on aircraft carrier." That's gonna go over well with the pirates. Today i want an electric yamaha pes1 @190 lbs
This: But, I'd probably save the money, buy a VTR for track duty, and use the difference for tracktime, tires, and suspension. But in person, the Tricolore will give ya sweaty gums.