we'll all have our own opinions about Harley's latest adventure

[Steve Swan]

This should get more comments than Frank's '27 build thread.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/h...042007091.html

[pisten-bully]

IMHO ...if they build a good one, and it's competitively priced (....not like the Livewire) then I say go for it, more power to them (pun intended)!

Remember the beginnings ....with bicycles built by HD, Indian, Schwin, and other motorcycle companies. If the company and the dealers can make money then that's good.

Was on a hike a few weeks ago and this fellow came pedaling up from behind, no lycra ...just street clothes, and he wasn't skinny like a lot of bike riders, but he was on an electric mountain bike and having a good ride with a smile on his face. AND he had paid over $3k for his bike...so there's your market!

Check out the competition:
http://https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bikes/mountain-bikes/electric-mountain-bikes/c/B512/

[Steve Swan]

IMHO ...if they build a good one, and it's competitively priced (....not like the Livewire) then I say go for it, more power to them (pun intended)!

Remember the beginnings ....with bicycles built by HD, Indian, Schwin, and other motorcycle companies. If the company and the dealers can make money then that's good.

Was on a hike a few weeks ago and this fellow came pedaling up from behind, no lycra ...just street clothes, and he wasn't skinny like a lot of bike riders, but he was on an electric mountain bike and having a good ride with a smile on his face. AND he had paid over $3k for his bike...so there's your market!

Harry, i appreciate and share your comments. Having an electric Harley bicycle would be cool, i've entertained buying an E-bike from time to time, if the factory produces one, it might be hard for me to say no.

[exeric]

I ride my bicycle most every day here in Florida, and love it. It always amazes me how far I can go, and where I can go. Also, due to the China plague, I see a lot more people riding bicycles these days and I think that is great for the environment, and for the rider's sanity.

[PaulCDF]

I hope HD builds them here in the USA. I agree with Harry if quality is there and pricing is competitive I'd consider one.
Keeping my lungs and legs in shape is always a good thing AND may help me keep kick-starting my Chief.

[Paps]

The upside for the MoCo is profit. The downside for the public is cost and where will all this electric energy come from ? The making of adequate batteries to power battery powered machines is costly and super environmentally unfriendly. The energy needed for larger vehicles like cars, trucks and the like must be generated from somewhere. Wind and solar will not support all of this energy use of electrical vehicles and still support home, business, and factory use. No matter how one sums it all up, fossil fuels are currently the only means to adequately produce electricity. The more vehicles plugging in at fuel stations and at home, will only cause blackouts all across the nation. Nuclear power does a good job in conjunction with fossil fuel power to serve all of those demands, however.......nuclear and fossil fuels for producing electricity are frown upon by those who believe we are harming the environment. As yourselves this..... What do you think all of those electromagnetic waves are doing to us and our environment ?

[brettxlch]

Harry, i appreciate and share your comments. Having an electric Harley bicycle would be cool, i've entertained buying an E-bike from time to time, if the factory produces one, it might be hard for me to say no.

I agree Steve, to stay in business u have to change, sometimes u have too shoot from the Hip....Times are changing....Ive heard sales were slow on all their models, My local dealer said business sux, nobody is buying...I just hope 2021 is better than 2020.....

[BoschZEV]

What do you think all of those electromagnetic waves are doing to us and our environment ?

They're doing nothing to us or our environment because 60 Hz is far too low to have any physical effect.

and where will all this electric energy come from ? ... The more vehicles plugging in at fuel stations and at home, will only cause blackouts all across the nation.

This is simply wrong. Peer-reviewed governmental as well as industry-supported studies estimate that widespread adoption of electric vehicles over the next two decades will represent only 5% of the total electric demand.

Aside from the non-polluting aspects of wind and solar, an electric vehicle powered by a coal-fired plant still represents a gain since large power plants are thermodynamically more efficient than individual automobile engines. Plus, those plants are located in remote areas where their pollution impacts the health of far fewer people than if the emissions were being dumped in the middle of cities.

[Steve Swan]

I agree Steve, to stay in business u have to change, sometimes u have too shoot from the Hip....Times are changing....Ive heard sales were slow on all their models, My local dealer said business sux, nobody is buying...I just hope 2021 is better than 2020.....

Harry, i think it's safe to say our generation is the last direct link to the old timers who came after the generation of early pioneers, i.e., Hedstrom, Hendee, Davidson, Harley, Curtis, Henderson, etc, etc. That being said, everything our generation collectively knows will be passed on to the generation following us which will be fewer in numbers than our generation. i would venture the same for interest in what H-D represents to us represents something different to the current and subsequent generations of buyers. I showed my restored '27 at the local H-D dealer a couple years back, hundreds of people there walking around, the majority in their 30's-40's, most did not even look, the remainder barely gave a casual glance. 20-somethings showed more interest than the 30/40 somethings. So, yes, H-D has to do what is necessary to attract young prospective buyers. i think the "#1" bicycle is cool. How it will rate with 20-something looking at other state of the art E-bikes is completely another matter. H-D is gambling on name recognition which may not mean a thing to a prospective buyer who has done their due diligence with research and the name "Harley-Davidson" means little except a vague recognition of something the prospect has heard of. I hope the factory sells millions of #1.

[Rubone]

A bicycle is made to be "self propelled" and makes a great mode of transportation and exercise. An electric bike is a truly dumb product, made for lazy folks who don't think. Perfect for modern humans...

[tfburke3]

Next thing you know some lazy folk will come up with he idea to put a gas motor on a bicycle.(sarcasm)
Electric bikes ,motorcycles , cars and trucks will become more popular.Last few years in Manhattan and I assume other big citys ebikes are all over the place delivery work vehiches,commuters etc.Fishing friends who could barely pedal their beach bikes a mile now cruise on ebikes for access not previously with in reach.
I imagine some older mountain bikers are in the same boat.
I will wait until there is some cheap basket case to restore.
I also hope HD is successful with the ebikes but I think the odds are against,although a national dealership network would I think be a huge advantage.
BTW,who made the first commerically sold electric motorcycle?

[EricOlson]

...i would venture the same for interest in what H-D represents to us represents something different to the current and subsequent generations of buyers...How it will rate with 20-something looking at other state of the art E-bikes is completely another matter...

Steve, when I read your post I was immediately reminded of a conversation I had with a late 20-something coworker a couple of years ago. He is an avid bike rider, and when he learned I had a Harley he asked me how long I thought the company could weather the poor sales they were currently experiencing. I told him I thought they would have to create new products that would appeal to a younger audience, perhaps bicycles. He quickly said he would NOT buy a Harley bicycle, no matter what. I asked why and he said he felt there was a certain sort of person who owned a Harley and he wasn't that sort, no matter what kind of product it was. I asked him if I was that "sort of person" and he didn't answer. I guess I know where I stand with him.

I certainly don't think he represents all 20-somethings, in fact I really hope he is just part of a small group, and that Harley can adapt and continue to stay in business as long as possible.

[BoschZEV]

BTW,who made the first commerically sold electric motorcycle?

The earliest patent I'm aware of is from 1870. Yes, eighteen seventy. In the 1930s the Belgian Socovel brothers designed a machine based on lead-acid batteries with a range of ~25 miles at a top speed of ~20 mph. Those specs don't sound very impressive, but by 1936 they had sold an estimated 1000 of them.

[brettxlch]

A bicycle is made to be "self propelled" and makes a great mode of transportation and exercise. An electric bike is a truly dumb product, made for lazy folks who don't think. Perfect for modern humans...

Well my nephew said he wouldnt ride and antique bike because it wont keep up with traffic...lol ...I think its its more like , im not looking cool....what would (will) my buddies think????Its all about the image, ive heard it from guys my age in their 50s, not cool enuff....Its just the culture..Ide take and old bike anyday...But Harley is in the business of making new bikes.....Cant knock em for trying...

[exeric]

I hope H-D succeeds with their e-bike. I see e-bikes around my town and they look practical, and fun. I love bicycles and I think they have it over motorcycles for true transportation liberty (you can go where people walk, and where people drive cars). I know that pisses some walkers, and drivers off but that is a situation of courtesy, and respect. I always consider the rights of walkers first, and the roads are/were built with taxes paid by motorists (so cars pay for that right).

On a speculative note; can battery technology progress exponentially and become efficient enough to exploit renewable energy to be a true option to fossil fuel? Right now, I don't see it possible for renewable energy to feed 7.5 billion people (and more in the near future). Curious what others think. My personal belief is, over-population is the true issue, and not energy, alternative wa, wa, and other bullsh!t