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- South San Francisco, CA
This weekend in SF the good old bar and shield had a demo test ride event. Which meant a bunch of EV geeks and also motorcyclists came through and rode some Livewires. Sharing my experience and thoughts of the bike.
*Disclaimer* - As a former employee of Alta and still in the EV industry I do not have any preferences or pre-tenses towards HD. Too many people get misinformed and then talk trash. This post isnt about that. Go do that somewhere else.
Event Details:
HD had there event at a kinda crafty/artsy event with lots of young people in my age (25-35) category. Well done operation by HD. They had us run in groups of five with a front and lead rider on a RoadGlides staggered config. HD had quite alot of bikes and a huge DC Fast charger hooked up to a diesel generator.....They had quite a presence with the bikes and a pop-up.
They initially had us register our info and then right after threw is on a Livewire on a rolling road to get used to the controls and feels of the bike. Quite a few riders throttled hard since they weren't used to the to the response of the EV bike. Made for some interesting noises
After that they then brought us over to the road where they had the bikes ready for the street. 10 min ride on a pre-determined course. Basically went in about a simple loop. Finished the loop and then brought the bikes back to the staging area.
Feel and experience:
Overall, its very much a sporty bike than a dirt bike in both weight and feel. The fit and finish is very much HD. Not many turns on the course so could not really feel how it was in the turns though it leaned well. Suspension is pretty stiff and can be adjusted. The map button is on the right but not in the position to change maps on the fly. More like changing maps when at a stop. There is cruise control, Traction control, and two toggle buttons on the left and right sides.
Four map configs - Eco, Road, Race and Rain.
Rain had a sluggish response - heavy regen (Kinda a weird version of Map 1 on a Alta). Road was more spirited and less regen (Map 2 and 3), Eco was medium regen and more responsive than Rain (map 2). Race was the most powerful/responsive and no regen. Did not see a custom map mode or setting on the bike.
Would I buy it? Not at 30k. Maybe others will. I will keep Sumoing on the Alta (lots of jaws dropped when I rode by on the SM )
And now pictures:
*Disclaimer* - As a former employee of Alta and still in the EV industry I do not have any preferences or pre-tenses towards HD. Too many people get misinformed and then talk trash. This post isnt about that. Go do that somewhere else.
Event Details:
HD had there event at a kinda crafty/artsy event with lots of young people in my age (25-35) category. Well done operation by HD. They had us run in groups of five with a front and lead rider on a RoadGlides staggered config. HD had quite alot of bikes and a huge DC Fast charger hooked up to a diesel generator.....They had quite a presence with the bikes and a pop-up.
They initially had us register our info and then right after threw is on a Livewire on a rolling road to get used to the controls and feels of the bike. Quite a few riders throttled hard since they weren't used to the to the response of the EV bike. Made for some interesting noises
After that they then brought us over to the road where they had the bikes ready for the street. 10 min ride on a pre-determined course. Basically went in about a simple loop. Finished the loop and then brought the bikes back to the staging area.
Feel and experience:
Overall, its very much a sporty bike than a dirt bike in both weight and feel. The fit and finish is very much HD. Not many turns on the course so could not really feel how it was in the turns though it leaned well. Suspension is pretty stiff and can be adjusted. The map button is on the right but not in the position to change maps on the fly. More like changing maps when at a stop. There is cruise control, Traction control, and two toggle buttons on the left and right sides.
Four map configs - Eco, Road, Race and Rain.
Rain had a sluggish response - heavy regen (Kinda a weird version of Map 1 on a Alta). Road was more spirited and less regen (Map 2 and 3), Eco was medium regen and more responsive than Rain (map 2). Race was the most powerful/responsive and no regen. Did not see a custom map mode or setting on the bike.
Would I buy it? Not at 30k. Maybe others will. I will keep Sumoing on the Alta (lots of jaws dropped when I rode by on the SM
) And now pictures:
