
From the past few days, the Harley-Davidson’s LiveWire electric motorcycle was getting all the attention. But it is not the only motorcycle coming out of the H-D. The company is coming up with new prototypes of their new E-bike.
What’s up with the new project?
Last time before a year we heard about their E-bike project. At that time the company released the first look of their coming E-bike and mountain bikes. Recently, the company has unveiled its design of the upcoming item in its Annual Dealer’s Meeting.
The company is planning 3 different models. Two-step over city-bike and one step through.Though “city bike” might be a bit dainty of a title, as these bikes look a tad more rugged, especially with those large tires and relaxed rake angle
From the reports of the company: “Harley-Davidson’s first electric pedal-assist bicycles are light, fast, and easy for anyone to ride. Designed to shine in urban environments, this all-new line of E-bicycles is just one more example of how Harley-Davidson’s More Roads initiative is actively working to inspire a new generation of two-wheeled riders around the world.”
The basic design
Harley-Davidson is almost sure to enter into a crowded space as soon as they enter the market. The low range of the bikes is $500 and the higher range can go up to $10,000.
The bike contains standard E-bike parts.
There’s a mid-drive motor down by the cranks, though it is a bit blocker than expectation. That chunky down tube very well may be holding the battery, or it could be integrated into the brick above the motor.
All it takes is a twist of the throttle to turn your whole world into a howling blur. #LiveWire #HarleyDavidson
— Harley-Davidson (@harleydavidson) August 22, 2019
There is nowhere a huge motor set-up on the bike. So, the user has to padel the bike to take move forward with it.
The lack of cruiser-style pedal forward geometry and serious cycling saddles are two more nods. These are the likely pedal-assist nature of H-D cycles.
All these sound pretty based on an E-bike but things start getting strange once we look at the brakes. There is only one brake lever in the bike. The one lever brake is common for motorcycles not for cycles.
So the question comes, are they planning for a foot brake bike? This is not impossible for this company though. This kind of brake can be engaged to pedaling backward but the hydraulic disc brakes that we see for these bikes don’t completely match with the criteria.
Maybe they would use the hydraulic linked brake and this won’t be the first one to adapt the feature. We have seen the similar in Rungu three-wheeled E-bikes, where the two front wheels each had their hydraulic disc brake and was actuated with a single hand brake.
The company says it to be a plan as the final prototype is more direct to the features of the bike.
Expectation is high from the manufacturer sides
“Prototype model is shown. Production model features will vary. Not yet available for sale. All future models shown may not be available in all markets.”, said one of the newsmen of the company.
There is some pretty language with what the bike designing is described but this bike is taken to be a good newcomer to the company. The expectation is high that the mass would like it.