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Harley Davidson to release an Electric Motorcycle

Gabe said:
So is an electric motorcycle worth any premium over a gasoline one?

It seems people want electric motorcycles to offer all the range, speed and convenience of an ICE but it should be priced the same. Is the smoothness, ease of operation, lack of maintenance and basically a free ride when it comes to recharging worth anything? And how much?
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I'd pay a premium if it was reasonable, like an additional 3-4K over what a normal ICE bike would be. If they had an electric bike for $9-10,000 that was the equivalent of a $6,000 CB500 I would get one.
 
Versystim said:
Wow, so much useful information about Harleys from people that have never owned or ridden one. It gives the newbie wannabe sport rider plenty of ammo to parrot and try to sound intelligent and knowledgeable when talking motorcycles.:rolleyes
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Yes lots of ignorance.

Bottom line is a Harley can be what you want it to be from a comfort point of view.

Go to Oakland HD. They have a "fit shop" that can configure your Harley any way you want. If you windscreen isn't right you can make it so. Seat too low?? Too high?? You can get anything you want. Don't like foot placement? Yeah, change it. Handlebars?? What do you want? It's available.

Harleys are not Adventure or Sportbikes, there are a lot of very fine manufacturers that make those.

But for almost any other type of riding they can be made to work and work fairly well.
 
Z3n said:
And yet, you wonder why Harley riders are thought of as knuckle dragging idiots...:rofl
laughing
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Most people don't consider Harley riders to be idiots. You are the minority.
 
There's at least a few million South Park viewers who are in agreement.
 
Gabe said:
So is an electric motorcycle worth any premium over a gasoline one?

It seems people want electric motorcycles to offer all the range, speed and convenience of an ICE but it should be priced the same. Is the smoothness, ease of operation, lack of maintenance and basically a free ride when it comes to recharging worth anything? And how much?
Click to expand...

Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I'd buy an electric motorcycle not for any type of savings at all, but for posing value. :teeth

It has to have some sort of cache to it, no matter what. I'd buy a Tesla, if I could, but NEVER a Nissan Leaf. So money savings is not exactly what lures me to an Electric Bike. For me the electric bike should have suspensions goodies like the BMW S1000RR, Ducati's full color brilliant TFT dash like the 1199, and look like an MVAgusta. It should be tempting.
 
For me it isn't about the savings or the posing. For me, an electric bike provides a certain stealth element, which could come in quite handy for exploring offroad.

Edit: Also, they are EXTREMELY fun to ride, and are definitely a different experience.
 
Seems to be a finely built prototype. Asphalt and Rubber reporting 72hp and a small battery good for ~50 mile range. But H-D is seeking public feedback (hence the tour in the big trailer) before moving it to production. Bigger battery will hopefully be high on the list of updates.
 
Lunch Box said:
For me it isn't about the savings or the posing. For me, an electric bike provides a certain stealth element, which could come in quite handy for exploring offroad.

Edit: Also, they are EXTREMELY fun to ride, and are definitely a different experience.
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I have yet to ride one, but I imagine it puts one of those stupid fuckin' shit eating grins on your face. You know the kind, where when you realize you've been making that face for ten minutes you feel like a moron, but keep on doing it anyway because you feel like you are 12 years old again watching Baywatch when you weren't supposed to.:teeth

I think the H-D eBike looks better than a Zero. Hopefully the tour makes it out our way so I can try it out for myself.
 
Versystim said:
Most people don't consider Harley riders to be idiots. You are the minority.
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That south park episode may as well have been a documentary about how the general public feels about harley riders. :laughing

I don't really give a shit either way, but harley riders have a pretty significant overlap with stupid loud pipes, which (on the street) is usually a sure fire indicator of someone who's a self centered dick with validation issues. You can hang out at 4 corners for awhile if you wanna see the sportbike guys who belong to that catagory. :laughing
 
mrmarklin said:
Go to Oakland HD. They have a "fit shop" that can configure your Harley any way you want. If you windscreen isn't right you can make it so. Seat too low?? Too high?? You can get anything you want. Don't like foot placement? Yeah, change it. Handlebars?? What do you want? It's available.
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Unless you have a VRSC. There's hardly any options for those from H-D. :(
 
Lunch Box said:
For me, an electric bike provides a certain stealth element, which could come in quite handy for exploring offroad.
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That's very interesting. I live 1-2 miles in a straight line from Mt. Diablo entrance, some are private (but in my neighborhood), but most of it is open space, which is totally closed for vehicles - I take it it's because emissions. Would it be legal for me to get an electric bike down there?

If I could sneak in behind stupid EPA regulations and skirt those green sticker/red sticker non-sense and ride in parks where only mountain bikes are allowed.

I'M GAME.
 
CurveSurfer said:
Seems to be a finely built prototype. Asphalt and Rubber reporting 72hp and a small battery good for ~50 mile range. But H-D is seeking public feedback (hence the tour in the big trailer) before moving it to production. Bigger battery will hopefully be high on the list of updates.
Click to expand...

It really has to be a battery that is already out there, sold in volume.

Then a customer can buy it at Auto supply stores as a deep draw lithium Ion marine battery ...From a company that will be making that battery for the other market...not relying on the Harley market.

Or some variation of that scenario.
 
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