Sitting on the Electric Fence

I’ve been riding motorcycles a long time. Things were way different in the mid-seventies with polyester shirts and bell bottom jeans, but mostly it was the amount of hair I had underneath my helmet. It was simple – bikes were simple, and livin’ just came easy. Low-tech television sets and kick-starters on our motorcycles. I remember it all like it was yesterday. And quite frankly, I’m still wearing polyester shirts and bell bottoms.

But things are changing, even with a motorcycle company that is steeped in history dating back to a day when The Wright Brothers were winging it with the first sustained motorized flight in a pasture in North Carolina. To see history through the eyes of Harley-Davidson is a story that’s been told by better ‘tellers than me. And here we are, minutes away from the LiveWire release this fall, and I’m sitting here on the proverbial electric fence about it.

And here we are, minutes away from the LiveWire release this fall, and I’m sitting here on the proverbial electric fence about it.

I get it. Innovation is essential in all aspects of life making it better. It wasn’t enough to have a cellular phone, we needed a phone that flipped and took pictures. You catch my drift? Heck, I’ve owned cars and trucks without power-steering or air conditioning, so I know the advantages of someone thinking about my conveniences and comfort. For that I will always be grateful.

So why then, would a fella like me be on the fence about a futuristic electric motorcycle built by one of the longest running, most recognized companies in the world?

I consider myself an average guy. I ride motorcycles and have for a long time. I’m an enthusiast, and I like all things two-wheeled. I like the LiveWire but it isn’t something I could see myself owning. I do know this isn’t just about me. There will be plenty of those pre-order’s coming in to the Motor Company’s switchboard by those who want to have one of the first off the assembly line or can appreciate the electric vehicle (EV) segment. If I had the opportunity to ride one I would. But, I don’t know. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of siphoning gas out of your buddies bike to put into your near-empty tank to make it to the next gas station, you haven’t lived your best life. I just like the sound and feel of the combustion engine. Oh, and the smell and taste of combustion engine fuel. Go ahead, tell me you never…

So why am I struggling to embrace what makes the combustion engine and the electric motor motorcycles co-exist? Do you remember when the microwave and the VCR first came to be? Man, were they expensive. Maybe that’s part of my problem. It’s the price tag. As new technology comes forth, the initial costs are high and for a working man like me, who enjoys riding his Road King, the just-short-of-a-ashtray-full-of-change away from $30,000 is a lot of money. Plus, I like to ride further than the estimated range the LiveWire has. Again, I’m not the targeted audience for this particular segment, I’m sure. But I am on the radar of Hair Club for Men.

Plus, I like to ride further than the estimated range the LiveWire has. Again, I’m not the targeted audience for this particular segment, I’m sure. But I am on the radar of Hair Club for Men.

I’ve written in other posts about how Harley-Davidson has painted themselves into a corner. Until the concept of the LiveWire came about, the Motor Company has had a problem of changing anything that might upset their core customer, and that particular bike in the line-up they owned. Fuel injection for those die-hard carburetor customers, radiators hanging off the front, etc. Keeping things the same – fenders, engines, the iconic fairing or saddlebags and even the traditional names of models has been a successful business plan and have all past the test of time. That’s our fault. We have demanded a lot, meaning we have demanded the same.

So where does this leave me? It’s going to be okay. Things are changing around me, and like my father witnessing the changes he did, these changes wait for nobody. There will be things coming in the future that will be hard to wrap my head around but once they’re here, we’ll wonder why it took so long. The LiveWire will be here to stay because just as the EV’s have evolved, they will be refined even more, and in turn, costs will come down. I’m just being the old man I swore I’d never become!