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"I felt as a stand-alone brand it would really have the opportunity to shine and lead in the electrification of the sport with a more urban customer in mind," Harley-Davidson Chairman and CEO Jochen Zeitz said on Yahoo Finance Live. Zeitz — who joined as a board member in 2007 and took over as CEO in the middle of 2020 — will be the acting CEO of LiveWire for two years after the deal closes.
The company also disclosed a "strategic" partnership with Taiwan-based scooter maker Kymco, which will help manufacture and distribute LiveWire's electric bikes.
Indeed, LiveWire is not without a bit of history inside Harley.The iconic American company unveiled Project LiveWire, its marketing campaign for the electric bike, during a June 2014 U.S. tour down Route 66. At the time and under then CEO Matt Levatich, electric vehicles were just in their infancy and Harley used the tour to drum interest in its first electric bike.
By 2018, the company still under Levatich had released the super powerful electric motorcycle LiveWire with a sticker price close to $30,000. That sticker price led to dealers having trouble selling the impressive piece of machinery.
Come July 2021 and now under the leadership of turnaround expert Zeitz, the LiveWire One was unveiled with a sticker price of close to $22,000. The bike is able to travel about 146 miles on a single charge. Just before the debut of the LiveWire One, Zeitz established the business as a stand-alone entity in a precursor to the spin-off news this week.
Previously, all new road-registered electric bikes would receive a price reduction of ￡1500 or 20% - whichever was smallest at the point of sale. However, new plans will see battery motorcycles priced up to ￡10,000 receive 35% off, up to a maxiumum of ￡500 and mopeds get 35% off, up to a value of ￡150.
Announced on Wednesday, December 15, as part of a larger revision to the plug-in scheme, the DfT says these changes have been made to help funding go further – with ￡582 million pledged to continue the grants until at least 2022-2023.Chief Executive of the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA), Tony Campbell, criticised the plans, saying: "This is not a way to incentivise the consumer to think electric and buy electric products. What this will do, clearly, is it suddenly completely changes the landscape of the affordability of an electric power two-wheeler.
"If you're looking at one of the cheaper model Zeros for around ￡10,000, that ￡1500 could've been the difference, or the motivator."
A prime example of this would be the A2-compliant ￡12,300 Zero FXE - one of the firm's cheapest motorcycles, which will now no longer be entitled to any money off. Under the old scheme, it would've been ￡10,800.
The announcement also leaves high-end electric machines from the likes of Harley-Davidson, and Energica exempt from a grant, but Campbell believes the real impact will be felt in small capacity electric mopeds and scooters, where they are proving to be popular."￡150 is 10% of what the previous grant was, so they've taken 90% away," the MCIA boss continued. "It's purely spreadsheet politics. It's not about decarbonisation, it is about the fact that they've probably overspent on other sectors and now we're clearly paying the price as well.
"Moped category vehicles make up roughly 50% of the market now," he continued. "In most cases, the grant - as it was - fundamentally aligned an electric powered two-wheeler with its internal combustion engine equivalent, which is why we've seen such a success rate in the grant and its impact in sales.
"The moped category this year will probably end up with around 10,000 vehicles - half of which will be fully electric," he added. "If you look at the 50% it looks like a fantastic success story, but this is only the tip of potentially what the iceberg could look like.
"Therefore, it's ridiculous at this point, to change the grant when it has been so successful."On top of the grant revisions, the announcement went on to pledge improvements to the UK charging infrastructure in 2022, with over 27,600 charging devices now publicly available.
The official statement continued: "Earlier in the year, government consulted to improve the consumer experience at public electric vehicle charge points. Next year we will introduce new rules that will increase confidence in our electric vehicle charging infrastructure.This will mandate a minimum payment method – such as contactless payment – for new 7.1kw and above charge points, including rapids.
"Consumers will soon be able to compare costs across networks in a recognisable format similar to pence per litre for fuel and there will be new standards to ensure reliable charging for electric vehicle drivers."
The SPAC, or special purpose acquisition corp. IMPX, will merger with the LiveWire brand in a deal with a (pro forma) enterprise value of about $1.77 billion. The company’s stock is expected to list on the NYSE, under the ticker “LVW.”The new company will have about $545 million in cash to expedite its go-to-market model and invest in product development and manufacturing. LiveWire will have two strategic partners — Harley-Davidson and KYMCO, Taiwan.
Financial Aspects: LiveWire was first established as a separate division at Harley in 2019. The company is also making STACYC, an all-electric balance bike for kids. Once the deal closes, Harley CEO Jochen Zeitz will act as LiveWire’s CEO for up to two years. ABIC’s shareholders will own about 17% of the company, while the company retains about 74% of its equity. For GAAP financial reporting purposes, Harley will continue to report LiveWire’s results.An interesting point in the announcement is the cooperation with KYMCO, which earlier this year announced their street electric model – RevoNEX to be manufectured in Italy, and also offer the F9 electric scooter. KYMCO has a strategic partnership for developing technology, electric drive, and building the Ionex battery swapping network, with FELO and SUPER SOCO (Vmoto).
Despite labeling this SPAC merger “the first electric 2-wheeler in the NYSE”, it appears they overlooked some recent companies like Volcon that went public 2 months ago, as well as much less recent like NIU, which has been listed in NYSE since 2018, but still has not fully launched their electric motorcycle model, RQi.
A company named NAWA has just revealed that their newest brainchild is an all-electric, hybrid battery concept, putting the Nawa Racer as the first of its kind to be made eventually available to the masses. The bike will be debuting at EICMA in a handful of hours – but what we’re more interested in is how they got the bloody thing to work.
Despite recent (and ongoing) restrictions, NAWA has survived the odds – and the Racer sports more than a few revolutionary bits and bobs.
We’re talking a set of next-gen nano-based ultracapacitors, dubbed NAWAcap, with the report stating that the Racer is the company’s first zero-emission electric motorbike to house such cutting-edge technology. The developers of the bike have combined the nano-based ultra-capacitors with conventional lithium-ion cells to create a hybrid battery system,” continues the report.
“…thanks to this hybrid battery system, the bike will have the ability to store energy in start-stop riding conditions.”We had such a fantastic response to our NAWARacer concept at CES 2020 that we had to take the next step and showcase what our NAWACap technology truly can do,” said Pascal Boulanger, Founder of NAWA Technologies, and CTO in a NAWA press release.
“In order to develop a fully dynamic prototype and best reflect our next-gen energy storage technology, a world-leading consortium has been brought together to design and build a fully functioning version.”This is what companies worldwide have been trying to harness – a way to house larger amounts of electric energy without the machine leaking too much juice, overcharging the battery, or displaying wimpy range.
EICMA opens tomorrow, but that’s still not soon enough for us…regardless, we will keep you posted on other news as it comes down our pipeline. In the meantime, be sure to check in on the new bikes Kawasaki and MV Agusta will be revealing at EICMA, as well as Rossi’s “One More Lap” event.
On the one side, we have the solid, stalwart fossil fuel lovers – the majority of us, I imagine, aboard the usual ICE-blessed Kawasaki, Triumph, Harley-Davidson, Yamaha, KTM, Honda and Suzuki.
Why do we love to play with petrol? You’ll hear a range of reasons, from the traditional ‘it sounds better,’ to the obligatory, ‘it’s more convenient,’ ‘I trust them more,’ ‘the others are ugly’…and, of course, the obvious: ‘It’s cheaper.’Still, the argument that clean tootles about the town are the ever-growing option can’t be swiped to the side like your latest Tinder catfish. It’s happening, and it’s happening more than ever.
The counter-arguments from the opposite side of the camp? Anything from, ‘It’s new,’ to ‘it’s better for the environment,’ ‘it’s cool,’ or, “I’m having my mid-life crisis, and it was the perfect new toy to play with” (an actual quote from an acquaintance of mine).
So let’s look at the real reasons why y’all should be even considering alternative fuel – and we’ll start with the potential cons of current clean energy cats.
A bloke by the name of Geoff – in connection with an article on TheDriven – isn’t the biggest fan of electric machines when it comes to efficiency. He actually believes that hydrogen is where the future of motorcycle riding should be – and his first argument deals with the heaviness of a battery.
“In a car like our [Tesla] Model 3, around 50% of the weight is batteries – this is impossible in an EVMC as it wouldn’t be able to be held upright and couldn’t be picked up if it fell over,” Geoff argues.
“Lithium can work for cars where battery weight is not an issue and bicycles where range and speed are not issues. For EVMCs, on the other hand, range and weight are utterly critical DNA design issues. If it’s one thing, lithium can’t do its EVMCs.”Despite lighter EV machines like SONDORS and RQI’s NIU boasting a light step to the scale (~90kg/200lbs. and 100kg/22lbs., respectively), he’s right – the power-to-weight ratio has been a big issue with the earlier electric bikes of the industry.
Still, with newer lineups of bikes from cutting-edge companies like Energica bringing something like the 258–280 kg Ego to the table (peak power at 126 kW / 171 hp, torque at 159 lb.-ft., top speed of 150 mph, and range sitting at 261 miles for city / 123 miles for highway / 153 miles for combined), that argument will soon only be valid for the more budget-friendly/lower-priced EV bikes. This is relatively easily fixed for now with the concept that [most] decently priced electric motorcycles are best suited for a more urban setting until their range is extended with the advancement of electric technology.
…Unless you’ve plotted your course and gotten your hands on something like the Harley-Davidson LiveWire – a machine that (most of you know by now) charges to 80 percent in 40 minutes and 100 percent in an hour, punting the machine’s range to 146 miles before running dry.
Now, Earle Motors has debuted their LiveWire One? electric darling on the stage of this year’s first Autopia 2099 – and the amount of work main man Alex put into the machine is staggering.
Alex Earle is a creative gent (he teaches Powersports design at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena), and he’s a bit of a stickler when it comes to the details surrounding his custom LiveWire One?, christened ‘E/MULHOLLAND CUSTOM.’ I live near the base of Mulholland Drive, a famous and very curvy road winding from Los Angeles up into the mountains,” explains Earle.
“On weekends, it’s nuts with cars and bikes, but on an evening during the week, nobody is there. It’s like my private road. Unlike an internal combustion bike, the LiveWire One? is quiet, and smooth, and cool. I can make a run-up Mulholland or Decker Canyon Road, stop at Old Place or the Rock Store. It’s a great escape.”For the build itself, Earle admits he was picky because this was a different machine than a fossil fuel bike, and it required different needs from the project.
“There’s no exhaust, for example, which is always an easy starting point for customization. And no fuel tank. I had two goals in mind – to consolidate the design and adjust the ergonomics for my own comfort. I want it to fit like a tailored suit.”
Earle decked this particular machine out in composite from a 3D printer (a great option, since we were told that carbon fiber and electricity could create a flammable EV hazard), with the tank cover of the machine dressed in a neat coat of ‘Synthetic Haze.’
For the space just below the tank cover, Earle created a new ‘fin’ that could better streamline the bodywork to connect the bike’s front to the seat. “The fins are the same shape as those on the battery case in the center of the bike,” he explains.
“Saddlemen covered the seat in black leather, and it looks great. I also installed a chrome handlebar that’s lower than stock, chrome because it doesn’t get scuffed up when I transport the bike.”
“Some of the inspiration for this project comes from my students, who show up in class with these computers they have built themselves, and they are liquid-cooled,” says Earle. “People have been hot-rodding motorcycles the same way for 70 years, but how will that happen in the future, when bikes are electric? How will this generation customize a bike? They can 3D print their own parts. They could liquid cool the electronics.
Max Biaggi Sets New Electric Bike Land Speed Record
Mere days after announcing that the team behind 2020’s electric motorcycle land speed record was re-engineering the Voxan Wattman to give yet more power and aim for more records, Max Biaggi has once again piloted the machine to smash his own record by no less than 30mph.To get more news about davincimotor, you can visit davincimotor.com official website.
Running on a decommissioned NASA runway in Florida, Biaggi broke 18 records for electric motorcycles, including the outright top speed record, raising it to 283mph average over two runs, one in each direction, with a one-way top speed of 292.204mph. 10 new records were set in the under 300kg category, with a further nine set in the over 300kg category. Fully faired, semi-faired and naked versions were run.The record was the result of intense testing and R&D over the year since the previous record was set by the same team and rider. Lighter and more powerful batteries were fitted and the motor’s power output boosted to 435bhp, up from 362bhp. The suspension, by double wishbones front and back, was modified, as was the bodywork, becoming more aerodynamically efficient.
Being powered by an electric motor, there is obviously a lack of conventional internal combustion engine and exhaust noise, but that doesn’t mean the runs were silent.
"It’s very different from when I used to ride noisy bikes, with a thermal engine. Because electric motors make just the little zzzzzzttttt," Biaggi said. "But at speed, the wind creates a really big noise. You feel like an airplane taking off. When you break the wall of the air, you make some noise."The real question that this record raises is, what next? How far can the concept be pushed and what speeds can be realised?
"Who knows?’ said Biaggi. ’It’s a good question. Gildo—the president of Venturi, who makes this happen—he is not a dreamer. He’s a pioneer. If he thinks of something... after a few months or a few years, it starts to become reality," he said. "If something really teases me, and gives me the right adrenaline, I’ll accept."Whether Biaggi remains involved or not, you can bet that the people at Voxan won’t be giving up just yet. Give them another year and they’ll be sure to be reaching for 300mph. it might not sound all that big a leap, but as the effort required is directly proportional to the speed being aimed for, don’t expect it to be easy.
2022 Zero Motorcycles lineup offers more range
For quite a while now, Zero has been the biggest name in electric motorcycles. The company started before most of its competitors and has held on longer. It's become as close to a household name in the electric motorcycle world as any company is likely to get. The bikes it offers -- SR, SR/F and SR/S -- are compelling in their performance and styling. And now, according to an announcement made by Zero on Thursday, their range is about to get extra compelling, too.To get more news about zeroemissions, you can visit davincimotor.com official website.
The most significant part of Zero's 2022 model announcement is the introduction of battery capacities up to 21 kilowatt-hours. This is possible thanks to a change in its battery-pack design and architecture, which it calls Z-Force. That big chunk of energy storage is good for a reasonably staggering 227 miles of range in the city and 113 on the highway at 70 mph. For comparison's sake, the Livewire One in my garage right now offers a maximum range of 146 miles in the city and around 90 miles on the highway.
But that's not all. Zero is also offering a service called the Cypher Store, which allows owners to upgrade their motorcycle through purchases via the Zero app. Some of the features you can enable through the Cypher Store include faster charging, extended range, a performance boost or even heated grips. Of course, I think most of this should just simply be included on a bike as expensive as the Zero.
The other significant change -- and this is a good one -- is the complete redesign of the base model Zero SR, which now packs 74 horsepower and 122 pound-feet of torque. Previous versions of this felt sort of e-bike-like rather than motorcycle-like, and that always put me off. The new version takes a bunch of the styling cues and some of the components from its bigger and more expensive SR/F and SR/S siblings, but offers a more palatable base price of $17,995. Of course, if you want that class-leading range, you're going to have to spend more than that -- nearly $21,000, in fact.
Electric motorcycles
Electric motorcycles are the next big thing. The market is currently dominated by cheap scooter imports from China, but boutique electric motorcycle companies such as Zero and Brammo are making better-quality products. They are about to be challenged by the established motorcycle companies such as BMW, Harley-Davidson, Victory, Yamaha and KTM. We bring you the latest developments in battery technology, government subsidies and other news about electric motorcycles. We have also ridden several electric motorcycles and review them for performance, handling, range, comfort and styling.To get more news about ev, you can visit davincimotor.com official website.
The SOL Pocket Rocket is a piece of machinery you’re probably unfamiliar with. Designed and manufactured by Speed Of Light (SOL) Motors in Germany, the little e-bike was first unveiled 3 years ago, in October 2018. There’s been little news of the model since, but RideApart has now reported that the company has started accepting pre-orders.
The Pocket Rocket, as its name suggests, is a puny little e-bike that one might even mistake for a bicycle. Measuring 67.7 inches long, 28.7 inches wide, and 46.4 inches tall, the Pocket Rocket is a compact machine. It employs a lightweight aluminum frame with 16-inch wheels at either end and weighs a total of just 55kg (121lbs). It’s got a minimalistic design, and the removable battery, controls, rear and front headlights are seamlessly integrated into the frame.
The Pocket Rocket is available in a standard model and one that wears an ‘S’ suffix. Interestingly, both variants share the exact dimensions and hardware, except the motor. While the standard model gets a 5kW unit that can propel the bike to 45kph (28mph), the Pocket Rocket S features a 6.5kW motor that can get you up to a claimed 80kph (50mph). Both variants use a hub-mounted motor powered by the same 58V, 2.5 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. The claimed range for both variants is the same at 50-80km (31-50 miles). Considering the speed, weight, and range of the Pocket Rocket, it’ll make for the perfect ride to get around town.
Pre-orders for the SOL Pocket Rocket have started at €500 (around $590.) However, prices for the standard model are starting at €5,980 ($7,056), making this a relatively expensive product. Pre-bookings are open in select European countries, including Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.
This 70mph Electric Motorcycle Kollter Can Be Yours For Less Than $6k
Kollter launched their E-SUM at the Milan show in Italy late in 2017 and began selling the first of their bikes in December of that year around the world.To get more news about davincidynamic, you can visit davincimotor.com official website.
A relative newcomer to the American market, the company now offers the ES1, which joins the Sondors Metacycle as an EV motorcycle capable of reaching highway speeds at a reasonable price. So while you can’t yet buy a Sondors, you can buy a Kollter right now.
The appeal is that for your $5,990, you get a capable commuting machine - at around half the price of the cheapest Zero offering the FXS ($9,495).
This bike includes onboard storage for two removable 2.3 kWh batteries, but you only get one for the entry priced bike. However, you can get a second pack for another $990.
The batteries power a 15 hp electric motor, and that motor moves the Kollter ES1 to a top speed of 72 mph (115 kph), and there’s also an off-road model or a ‘performance’ model, which offers an additional boost to 16 hp. Kollter says the bikes have a range of up to 85 miles (137 km) in city driving or 37 miles (60 km) in highway driving conditions.
One interesting factor is that there is no onboard charger and not enough onboard storage to carry a second battery.
While Kollter’s U.S. marketing site says, the bikes feature ‘German design,’ variations of this bike are also marketed as a Tinbot. But Jiangsu Keyroad Transportation Technology Co. actually launched the bikes in China.