It’s been almost a year since we last heard about Harley-Davidson’s new electric bike project, but based on what the company is announcing today, it may be worth the wait. Harley-Davidson unveiled a stunning new electric bike that it says will be sold in March 2021. And the motorcycle manufacturer is also launching its e-bike division as a separate company called Serial 1 Bicycle.
First and foremost, this is a nostalgia play. The name Serial 1 refers to “Serial Number One,” the nickname for the oldest known Harley-Davidson motorcycle built in 1903. The bike’s design, with its white tires, leather saddle and handgrips, and sleek black frame, is about to hark back to that first prototype.
Harley’s new company has moved out of the company’s SnackWorks Product Development Center, where a small group of “passionate motorcycle and bicycle enthusiasts” is working to create and develop a worthy e-bike called the Harley-Davidson, Harley says.
Harley-Davidson will not offer any specs, so we can only speculate about power level, battery size, range and price. Based on photos only, the Serial 1 has a mid-drive motor, a belt drive system (probably a gates carbon system that lasts longer), a frame-integrated battery, frame-integrated headlights and taillights, and leather. Accents.
One thing is clear, though: it wasn’t one of the three prototype bikes that Hurley showed at last year’s EICMA motorcycle show in Milan. Aaron Frank, Brand Manager of Serial 1, will not comment on future M models Dello but noted that EICMA’s prototypes are “indicative of what Serial 1 eBycles might look like.”
“Great steps are being taken to make bikes as easy and intuitive to operate as possible, including key features such as integrated batteries, integrated lighting and a mid-mount motor with internal brake lines and wiring,” Frank said in an email. Edge.
Also there is no word from the company as to whether it plans to put its fun electric moped into production, which we first saw in early 2019. (Given the popularity and hype surrounding similar models of Juicy, Red Power bikes and lithium bicycles, as well as the growing global electric moped market, Harley-Davidson will jump on the bandwagon and put these bad guys on the streets.)
U.S. Electric bikes have been sold in India since the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic, although most e-bikes are imported from foreign countries. The U.S. imported about 270,000 e-bikes last year. This year, the total is expected to end somewhere between 500,000 and 600,000 Bloomberg Citing data from the Light Electric Vehicle Association.
Harley is about to enter a very crowded market where huge bike manufacturers like Specialized, Track and Giant are also competing with fast growing e-bike companies like Red Power bikes, Pedgo and X-Tram electric bikes. It may not even be the first motorcycle brand to make the shift: UK-based Triumph unveiled its own prototype of the Tracker GT earlier this year. And Ducati launched its first e-bike last year.
Omot Tomotive brands are also moving into the action: BMW is building electric bikes and motorcycles, Audi is producing electric mounted bikes, Mercedes Benz has unveiled electric scooters, Ford has acquired e-scooter startup Spin, and the latest Did mountain bike. But, it hasn’t even been without its pitfalls. The e-bike brand Areev, launched by General Motors, was quietly shut down in May, in the early days of the COVID-19 epidemic.
