Talk about lucky. In the right place at the right time - a smile that makes women melt - a silver tongue.... ok, 2 out of 3
I got a shot at an actual test ride on a Livewire electric motorcycle.
We went on some of the same roads that the Long Beach Gran Prix is raced on. The route consisted of a 3 mile loop around the city of Long Beach, CA. Mostly stop and go in afternoon city traffic. Our Lead rider, was top notch. He'd fall back behind traffic than close the distance giving us - the test group, a chance to feel some of what the bike could do. It blasts acceleration that rivals a sport bike of medium displacement, 600cc. The front wheel was teasing me with leaving the ground but we just didn't have the road or clearance to ride it that hard but it wasn't flinching with how much torque was in my right wrist.
The sound that the bike makes under hard acceleration was pretty cool - right out of Star Wars. A high pitched gear whine with overtones of a motor spinning up in the many thousands.
I'm tall with long legs - the bike was fairly comfortable for me. It had a higher seat height than my Road King and much lighter and thinner. My knees were comfortable, something I have a hard time with on most sport bikes. Up right seating with slight weight on my wrists. Seat was fairly comfy but I was only on it for about 15 minutes.
NO CLUTCH - Just twist the throttle, zero to wow all in one motion.
Nice in the corners, turns easily for a tall bike. I hit it a little in a corner and it behaved very nicely - only broke loose a little
My overall impression is a fun bike that was a blast to ride and in the right situation it would be a nice bike to own. I say in the right situation, the only catch with the Livewire is the limited range any pure electric vehicle has. Our rides usually go a few hundred miles in a day and that exceeds the capabilities of this present iteration. For blasting around the city and getting to work in the morning this would be a great choice.
I rate this effort by the Motor Company a 9.5 - Fun, Fast, Cool. An electric Harley, who'd a thunk?
Photos:
Got my pic with the bike and on the bike in the paddock pre-ride.
I got there very early to sign up, afterwards I got to walk around and get a bunch of pics of the Livewire.