LAS VEGAS — Harley-Davidson is getting serious about electric bikes, revealing that its first-ever e-bike is available for pre-order and is packed with smarts, supplied by Panasonic.
Called the Harley-Davidson LiveWire, the bike was shown off in all its glory at the Panasonic’s CES 2019 press conference, complete with news that you can pre-order it now for the princely sum of $29,799.
In the flesh (well, metal) the bike is a beauty, bearing all the hallmarks of a Harley-Davidson but with a distinct lack of a gasoline smell.
MORE: Byton Wants to Be the iPhone of Electric Cars
The bike has a range of 110 miles, according to Harley-Davidson and will do 0-60 in under 3.5 seconds. Given it doesn’t have a motor, there’s no changing through gears or anything like that, which may not suit purists but it will certainly make riding a bike a whole lot easier to master for those new to (non-)motorbikes.
The Harley-Davidson LiveWire is connected, too. The reason it showed up at Panasonic’s press conference is because the bike is a collaboration with Panasonic Automotive and uses its OneConnect service.
According to Panasonic, this “makes Harley-Davidson the first mass-market manufacturer in North America with a cellular-connected electric motorcycle.”
The OneConnect technology works with Harley Davidson’s own H-D Connect tech and app, offering things like vehicle location, battery charge levels and a reminder if the bike needs servicing.
The Harley-Davidson LiveWire will be out in August (opens in new tab) and comes in three color options: Yellow Fuse, Orange Fuse and Vivid Black. At $29,799, it will be one of the most expensive electric bikes around.