Living With the Harley Davidson LiveWire, and the Truth About the UK Electric Charging Network
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- Опубліковано 14 кві 2021
- I pick up a Harley Davidson LiveWire for a one week test. The problem; a 160 mile distance from my home, to the pick up location. The LiveWire has approximately 100 miles of range, so at least one charge is required.
I go through the full rollercoaster of electric vehicle ownership emotions in a single day.
And I experience what the UK electric car and motorcycle charging network's really like- an eye opening experience.
Riding gear:
- Furygan Melbourne Boots: amzn.to/2OQL4Yr
- AGV X3000 helmet: amzn.to/3mSwQ6c
- Garibaldi Vintage Smoked Gloves: amzn.to/32fRdkd
- Broger California Riding Jeans: brogermoto.com/collections/mo...
- Blackbird Byron Jacket: blackbirdmotorcyclewear.com/p...
Find me here:
- Instagram: www.freddiedobbs.com
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Good review mate. I’m not a biker but this kept me entertained 40 minutes, much better than the BBC
Thanks so much!🙂
That charging situation is scaring me. To think that this was in a built up location too. Imagine being somewhere in the middle of nowhere and having your one charger around you be faulty or taking 8 hours.
That happened to me when I rented a tesla in Tasmania. The entire trip was basically ruined by charge anxiety. Big blunder.
Hey Freddie. Your videos are so good and SO unique! I love the personal up close vlog we get of your whole experience and life, and not just normal reviews that everyone else makes. Your channel will blow UP, and i'm staying for it ;)
Thanks so much Oliver, hugely appreciate it and I'm very glad you like the videos🙂
@Caiden Wade Thanks Caiden!
I concur
Enjoyed this vid. The filming was like a travel documentary. I’m happy you’ve got Monika reviewing the pillion seats on all these bikes. I’ve never seen moto journalists review pillion seats. Can’t wait for the next one!
Really glad you enjoyed it, thanks Ian! Over 50% of my riding’s with a pillion, so I always think at least some people will also find it useful to know- glad you find it useful!
Love your reviews Freddie I am definitely a fan of your channel. As you clearly demonstrated, the infrastructure isn't there. Also, it may be cheap to "fill" but time is money and if I'm sat waiting for an hour to charge my bike, its costing me my time. You ride a bike for the freedom it brings, electric bikes in the current form take that away due to the challenges for charging and the time it takes. Another point I'd like to make is that a silent bike is a danger, you want to be heard on a motorcycle. Riding around in silence is a recipe for an accident. The last point is maybe a personal one for me, but I want to be engaged with my machine, changing gears, blipping the throttle, the smell, sound, vibration, everything that attracted us to motorcycling is being stripped away by these "posh scooters". Lets not forget that the manufacture of these electric bikes has a much larger carbon foot print than a combustion engine due to the precious metals required for battery manufacture and subsequent disposal. Love your channel, but this electric bike sounds like an hair dryer. As awesome as it looks, its not for me. I just want to jump on my motorcycle and ride, not worry about charging points and twiddling my fingers for an hour to save £2.50 for an additional 50 miles......
Well said.
Finally someone doing a UA-cam and actually entertaining at the same time. Thanks Freddie, would love to do a ride out if your in Devon some time. Keep it real.
Thank you!🙂
Never seen you before, never ridden a bike but I do enjoy electric vehicles; I loved this, you seem familiar and your cinematography is first class!
Found you while researching the R NineT and have kept watching. You do an excellent job on your videos. Nice work.
Thanks so much Scott, really appreciate it!
Love your passion for riding and (as a daily electric motorbike rider) so happy that you loved the same things I love about electric! :)
Another excellent review, very informative well done! 👏🏻
Love your enthusiasm mate. Really like you show us your gear every time too👍🏻
Thanks Glenn, really glad you enjoy them!🙂🙌🏻🙌🏻
Thoroughly thoroughly enjoy your info-docs. So informative on so many motorcycle topics. Thank you both for your work. Stay safe. 😁
Thanks!
I am excited to see these electric bikes making our heads turn towards the new wave of machines! I always do enjoy your reviews! So spot on and done with a human factor of your love for all bikes and a grand sense of humor! Thank you for this review! It is informative and enlightening to all of us desiring to know more about this beautiful bike! I do not think there is a cooler biker in all of England! All great points about charging the bike! RideWithPeace/Texas.
You and Monica are the dream team for the content and production value of your yourtube channel. Love it. Keep it up!
Wonderful, informative and relaxing content! Keep up the good work!!! Greetings from Sweden!
Thanks so much for the support over in Sweden, so glad you like the content! My grandmother was Swedish and I have lots of family over there- beautiful country to ride I can imagine!🙂
Only just seen this Freddie & Monika, fantastic review and vlog, thanks again 👍❤️
I see the dream. Love it!!! By far the best review I have seen on youtube. I like your style. 👍👍
This video was instrumental in finalizing my decision on picking up a Livewire. Thank you Freddie!
Stunning video quality with honest opinions. This is a Channel with motorcycles not about motorcycles. Good stuff please keep it up it deserves to succeed. And it will 👍
Thanks Freddie & Monica. very enjoyable as always!
Well done sir. Proper user testing.
Appreciate it!🙂🙌🏻
first of all - your videos are amazing!! I hope this channel blows up :) Please do more RnineT videos.. I just bought a 2014 model and I cant wait to pick it up.
Second: somehow this video is oddly satisfying because it takes away my fear of combustion engines dissapearing... It makes me feel at ease with the future because this does indeed look like the future uf motorcycles will be exciting nonetheless :) Sorry for my bad english.. greetings from Switzerland!
Thanks Stephane! Oh wow, enjoy your R9T- what a bike!!!🙂
Another good video Freddie, you have highlighted the biggest problem with this whole thing, I'd love to embrace electric but god help us with 9 years to go!
Really appreciate it! Agreed- I can't see how it'll be possible!
great review as always
Looking great in the Nubuck jacket Freddie!
I like your review style, there, Dexter Manley. Good job.
Great video. More than a regular review
Another lovely day, thanks. I can’t see myself ever gelling with a coal powered bike though to be honest.
Hi Freddie, very interesting to see your frustrations with the charging. The only experience I have electric bikes has been watching the long way up.
Great to see you in the Cotswolds, i recognised the villages straight away as they are my local rides 👍🏻
Thanks Leigh! This is my first experience with any electric vehicle- very wye opening!
And my first time in the Cotswolds ( I think)! I couldn’t believe how stunning it is!😍👌🏻
@@FreddieDobbs Agreed, you guys make it look stunning in the video, I guess I take it for granted.... hopefully your having more luck with charging as the week goes on, look forward to hearing more.
@@OCDProject appreciate it- I’m off to try and find a working charger this morning🤞🏻🤞🏻
Hi from Greece! Superb video
This video was one of the reasons I picked mine up. I am almost at 3K miles and still loving it.
Awewome review Freddie - sold
Best electric bike review I've seen yet.
Always look forward to your reviews, you keep it interesting and informative.
Hugely appreciate it, thanks Mark!
Well done mate , very enlightening about the bike!
Think I will stick with my GS,
Smart jacket though!!
Thanks Mark! It’s a very interesting experience!
Good to meet you at the Electric Forecourt Freddie. Safe ride Home.
Very nice to meet you too! Thanks very much- I picked the best possible day for it!
You will make it great someday. Good luck mate
An absolutely brilliant review and incredibly enlightening, that network really doesn't look like something that would help convince someone to go Electric yet. The average petrol station has about 10 cars filling up when I go, electric looked like only a handful. I can only imagine the chaos that'll come with everyone going electric in the future. Plus the annoyance of all of them being broken, i've had 4th attempts at petrol stations before and that was worse enough. Truly honest review, would be great to meet you in person & co-lab sometime
Thanks very much! It was a very eye opening day. For city riding, it's a dream mode of transport (especially if you have a house and driveway), but not for long distances, it doesn't work.
Sounds great, we'll have to lock something in soon🙂
@@FreddieDobbs It is very tempting for the future, for now my entry into electric will probably be a little NIU Scooter just the 4 mile to & from train station every day will cost about 4p and the batteries come out easily for in-house charging.
Brill, do you have instagram we can chat more on there?
@@AnotherHipster Those NIUs look brilliant- an incredibly sensible mode of city transport, and the removable batteries- amazing (I need to look into these properly).
@@FreddieDobbs Cheers they are incredibly popular at my local train station [st albans] and I came so close to buying one in Feb 2020 for about £2000 which is 45mph, 100 mile range top level with GPS tracker & two batteries. I can't share links but look at my friends channel ''Helmet Head'' he has one on loan for a few episodes & explains it well
Cracking review, The absolute ups and downs. That would wreck my head with the charging points and what happens when you don’t have a car to sit into and the weather is far worse. It’s really not feasible to be hoping to fill your bike as a 50/50 chance. Ridiculous. Thanks for the video man 👏
Really glad you found it useful! Until I own a house with charger, I'd be too scared to own an electric vehicle- it's so stressful!
@@FreddieDobbs Million percent & the most important after watching your three videos is Infrastructure, Infrastructure & Infrastructure 😎
very good job ! you've well transmitted the experience of adventure from an early adopter
"cafe racer" stopping by from coffee shop to another just for charging . The bike great but, autonomy is ridiculous , charging time insufferable and supply network deployment makes a travel a nightmare . I will let this to improve a lot before i go electric.
Thanks Fran! I may have a Bonneville styled electric bike coming in August, along with a charging bay where I'll be staying, so I'll be able to experience an eclectic bike purely as a city bike (because as it stands they are purely viable as city bikes)
I own an Ebike and the. Constant worry of running out of charge is a huge pain in the neck. It severely limits where you would dare go. So the electric vehicle world needs much improvement as far as charge station locations vey quickly if electrics are to be the go to transpo. Texas is watching so keep the videos coming and thanks for posting.
Monica is so good with the camera just love watching your videos
Those flashers are going to take about 10 miles worth of juice from your ride. Great video as usual. 😆
Love the video guys! great down to earth production and I loved the scenery! No clue why, but nothing relaxes me more then the English countryside. Beautiful.
Love the bike too, I honestly would buy it on looks alone, not to mention the battery power makes it one of those "star trek" experiences for me :D
BUT...the biggest challenge for all EV vehicles (and the crazy politicians that think they can convert people by 2030) is the charging network. Even if it was simply and as easy as that first charge, Who in their busy day is going to have time to sit and charge a vehicle for an hour? I can do that...or full up my gas vehicle in 5 minutes and I'm off again. Charging overnight at home is the standard, and this will mean that purchasing ANY EV vehicle will boil down to it's range.
You can't get that cool car/bike you wanted because it's range won't let you do your daily stuff without picking your nose for an hour at some random Inn. Great if you want to just chill, but if your working...and you have to grab the groceries...and your partner is expecting you for dinner in an hour with friends...how is a charging station going to compete with a 5 minute gas fill? It can't...charging networks will be the biggest (and most impacting environmentally) and most costly aspect of this transition.
And that doesn't even take into account the power creation needed when market saturation hits even 50%. If we think that solar panels and wind turbines will proved enough power for a grid necessary to charge that many EV vehicles, we may have a very big reality check coming. It would easily turn into charging becoming as expensive or more expensive then filling your car with gas. green technologies always look better when they have a very low market saturation. This won't be a 10 year transition, more like a 40 or 50 year transition.
And if politicians think they can just drop it on people and expect it to work they need to worry about election season.
Without the engine vibration, noise, clutch work, this will be a very different experience. I think I need those bike riding attributes to get my mind off the day to day and escape, enjoy the ride. They need to understand and engineer something other than a silent chunk of plastic with only a twist and go throttle don’t you think ?! The conversation with a passenger and slipping in and out of town without disruption is a nice touch. I do not like how technical it is with connecting to a charging station. Great channel !
I do agree- I hope they make electric bikes more characterful on reflection. The charging's a disgrace in large parts of the UK- it's not fair on electric vehicle owners
Often cycle through Northleach on my way home. Lovely hills.
Great review. 👍 You've talked me out of a bike I have no desire to buy for obvious reasons.
And this misery happens every ride.
i am very glad that i find your channel nice job mate, try a Triumph bobber thats my personal bike. regards from México
Hi Eric and thanks so much- great to have a watcher from Mexico! The Bobber's VERY high on my list of bikes to try🙂
Very very good review and honest opinion. Thanks a lot! I think the range and the poweplant distribution are lacking. If only you could ride along for 200 miles.....
An excellent bikereport - again!
I was so hoping that the infrastructure in the UK held up to, and made the process as easy as possible as I'd love to purchase an electric bike as I'm actuallyin the market for a new toy...... but I live in Australia where we have a virtually non existent network compared to the UK, and the challenge of enormous distance for rationalisation when we plan any trip with an electric vehicle.
I'm going to go and ride a live wire to have a glimpse into my future, and try and feel "the dream" that you were initially so giddy about, but for now at least, I think the ICE is my only real option for enjoyable and easy motoring here Down Under.
Lucky for me that you've all but sold me on a new BMW R Nine T from one of your previous reviews. 😃😃
Please keep the content coming, the practical way you cut through all the bike industry marketing BS and get to the heart of the bikes you review is exactly what I want to see.
The execution of the review coupled with the amazing settings you ride through and seamless editing leaves me waiting for the next one that drops.......
Keep em coming Bro 🤟💯👊
Thank you so much Jeremy, that means a lot!😃🙌🏻🙌🏻
Honestly, I’ve never been so stressed out as I was when riding the LiveWire- it was very unpleasant at times due to range anxiety
Great video. I'm very close to buying an electric bike and the livewire is at the top of my list.
Once again great commentary, confidence on camera...the Livewire? Well it's a bit of a luxury item for that individual who has at least a Level 2 charger at home and isn't planning on lengthy road trips. I remember the hassles Ewan and Charlie had in South America ugh! Looking forward to saying high to Monica on camera 😄
Thanks very much Di! It is definitely a luxury (and second bike) as things stand.
I felt like I was doing a mini UK Long Way Up on this journey!🤣
I’ll get Monika on camera- she does the majority of the hard work!👌🏻🙂
@@FreddieDobbs I enjoy her giggles from behind the camera! Happy Monday to you both.....:)
Great vlog showing the good and bad 👏
I think the rear back is in the usual place to stop u jumping from a proper bike 👍 to this and grabbing a handful thinking it’s the clutch 😳 that’s not gonna end well 😂.
If u sit at a fuel station and count the number of vehicles filling up at the same time let’s say 8 it takes 5 minutes to do then ur off so how long is the wait time for sockets gonna be 🤔. U could be sat for at least an hour waiting to plug in. However having said all this my commute is 11 round trip an electric scoot would be absolutely awesome for this journey. It’s got to get better charging network wise 👍
Thanks Andy- good point about the rear brake! Agreed- I still can't see exactly how it'll work once electric filling stations are widespread.
Exactly my thoughts; for daily commuting (if you can charge at home or at work), it's a dream- the perfect mode of transport
Never been on a bike in my life but I would love to learn to ride because of this machine. Biggest zonk by FAR is the range though.
I love the bike. Had a demo and found your review mentioned all the things I liked. The issue for me is that in Northern Ireland there is not enough support. It’s only useful for me sadly to do journeys under 100 miles between destination and home. Hopefully in the next 2-3 years it gets better. All the faffing about with apps and standing around did my head in. I’ll just stick with my cvo road glide for a while. Thanks for your thoughts just found your channel today. Incidentally I was told the reason there isn’t a brake lever front left is that people used to riding a full sized bike may go to operate a clutch lever and brake accidentally.
I prefer the setup where both brakes are on the right side, you can hold the bike in place with your foot. I would like to see the Modes controlled by the left foot, like a gearbox, and no clutch lever. Also a big fail for me is the two indicator switches, that is a rubbish design..
@@andrewmorgan6775 The indicator switch design seems to cause problems for people. Funny thing is ive been riding bikes all my life and until I rode a few Harleys ive never seen indicator buttons on the left and right - I honestly adapted to it in minutes, which surprised me..... not a problem. Actually makes more sense as sometimes I have found the cancellation center button on some bikes can be a little temperamental at times. Interestingly the Pan American has the single indicator switch system on the left....
@@theonlyredspecial thanks for that, it's the first time I'd ever seen it.
This sounds really good! I *might* consider going electric for my next bike- *if* they solve the charging-problems.
Spendingall this money on remote charging-points is a waste. Within a few years, all electric bikes will have *removable* batteries. You'll just go to a "filling-station", swap out your discharged battery, and swap in a fresh charged-up one. Only the stations will need chargers.
Awesome bike and looks great but you are right about the charging infrastructure, its absolutely horrendous. The government / suppliers need to get their act together and quickly! Part of the reason that I returned to internal combustion! Brilliant video though and what a bike! 👌
Great video. The infrastructure problem is the same in the USA. Good presence on the coasts, but no infrastructure in between. Chevy recently announced it will install a high speed 480V charger in your home for free with the purchase of an EV vehicle. Spot-on assessment, the vehicles are great, but the infrastructure needs to catch up to prove successful.
Nearly 60 never owned a bike loved the video almost makes me want an electric bike. It looks mega cool, sounds easier tondrive than all the gears and clutches etc.
Honda has DCT bikes that are basically automatic for the user, no clutch.
My man filming in Northleach fuck yeah man!
Great content Freddie! What kind of camera do you guys use?
Good job it wasn’t raining. Charging point doesn’t look very well protected from the weather when in use. It was amusing seeing your enthusiasm diminish as the day progressed. Good job you had a nice warm car to sit in whilst waiting to charge the bike.
Very good point- I was so lucky it wasn’t raining, otherwise waiting 45 minutes by a charging bike in the pouring rain would be hellish! Even waiting in nice weather for 45 minutes is very boring when alone. Huge amounts still to be done!
Far too stressful!...I think ideal for commuting to place of work and back and then charging at home overnight etc but touring or even back road scratching then too impractical.....even if all the fast fill up points were working correctly Freddie , I would soon get bored an frustrated having to wait 45 mins to an hour every time!...that’s a lot of coffee!...at least you had the lovely Monica there with you to wile away the time! she must have the patience of a saint too!.....great vid pal.....👍
Thanks very much- Monikais very patient (luckily for me!). I completely agree- for a daily commuter (if you own a house with a driveway), then it's the perfect transport in my eyes, but for touring or even Sunday blasts with friends, it's not viable.
@@FreddieDobbs You made a very valid point at the beginning that not everyone lives in the ideal suburban set up of a semi and a drive!.....it maybe ideal for city riding but not for city dwellers in their flats and apartments!.....I think I’ll wait 20 years and see if bikes have got small lithium batteries, are lighter and have increased range tenfold! 👍
Hi Freddie, sorry I can't help but laugh during your "nightmare" in charging, while at the same time sharing your "roller coaster...of emotions". BUT, at the very end of you and Monica's fantastic and entertaining vlog (with excellent matching music to boot), I heave a great sigh of relief! What an exhilirating video. Call me Ed, thanks.
Sitting at the lights the other day on my Tiger 800, Arrow can burbling away, I thought "i love the sound of this". Struggling with the thought of no noise!
I love your videos, the content and the energy you provide. Great job. And as for the e-volution of bikes I believe Triumph will step up the game to a whole new level (can't wait for the TE-1 to hit the market)
Cheers and keep on the great work
Thanks very much Seb, really appreciate it! Completely agree- the TE-1's stats look super impressive. We're not far away now from these being mainstream!
Great video! I can relate to your frustration since I drive a Nissan Leaf, but fortunately I have a charger in my garage, so it's fully charged every morning. I wish my next bike will be electric. I settled for the Indian FTR this time. Keep it up!
Oooooh the FTR looks INCREDIBLE!!! If I had a garage, I'd seriously consider switching to electric too👌
@@FreddieDobbs You have to try one. It's something else. 👍
Have you had a beefed up power supply installed to be able to fast fast charge?
@@alexmorgan3435 No. I charge at 3.6kW, but I never empty the battery.
@@alexmorgan3435 Not at all, but I drive less than 50km per day, so the slow charging works fine.
Great Show Freddie and of course Monika but Think I’ll stick to my Speed Twin 😊😊
Thanks Anthony, I think I'd do the same in your boat too!🙂
Lining up a ride shortly. I have an e-golf and have been driving it for almost four years now. I know the charge network fairly well and all the trials and tribulations. Overall I’m not phased by the lack of infrastructure. Shell has now started rolling out ABB based rapid chargers and BP are due to update theirs shortly. Chargemap is pretty good. You can tell it to filter out dead chargers and pubs and hotels for rest breaks. Getting there, but still a ways to go.
Get a ride organised on the Energica bikes. They look a better bet, both for range, cost and performance.
Excellent review. Thank you for doing this. I am an EV user (car) and agree with your point re:charging infrastructure. Did you get a parking charge notice from Lidl?
Love the idea but the anxiety I can do without especially for £28K motorcycles I will stick with my Africa Twin DCT thanks your vlogs are excellent I really enjoy them 😊
Im not sold on these till it’s got better range and easier to fill quickly
Well done for persevering. That journey seemed like a nightmare. It would have been quicker to cycle and more environmentally friendly.
OK, Freddie, The British manufacturer Maeving will be releasing their new RM1S model in April 2024, it weighs 124kg with it's two battery option and it produces 160Nm of torque, the top speed is only 65mph, but the machine is designed for city riding so it's fast enough for that. Maeving was founded by two ex-Triumph engineers and they are based in Coventry. The RM1S model will retail in 2014 for £7495, which for a British designed and hand built machine is a fair price. The batteries can be removed and charged at home using a domestic 3-pin socket. I hope you will be able to test ride one next year.
As I see it,it's not worth it at the moment...lack of infrastructure,time consuming,you have to get out of your way to find a filling station,batteries underperforming with a poor range,plus the prices you pay for this vehicles,significantly higher than its petrol equivalent,not to mention the devaluation of the bike,good luck selling one second hand knowing batteries currently last 4/5 years. I didn't mention character since that is a personal preference,but there are overwhelming reasons to wait a few years before putting a big chunk of money on one of these...Good job, Freddie&Monica! Keep on rockin'!
Thanks for that Freddie. Ive always wondered with these, did you feel vulnerable at all in the traffic, being so quiet and other vehicles not hearing you??
Good point about people hearing you. I've had numerous occasions when i was almost hit by an electric car backing out of a parking spot, and that was while walking! Me thinks i'll have to put playing cards in the wheels like when I was a kid in the 70's to make my bike sound like a motorcycle.
Excited puppy.
I am!😆
WHAT a show , Hi five for that and the HARLEY , FRUSTRACTION on charging , Hi five . FIAT Hi five for the sit down and shelter . Monika Hi five plus a five star ratting for the chuckle in the back ground and kept the camera steady , did you enjoy your day ? . I do hope you drink DE-CAFF coffee as road rage will be off the Richter scale . Just remember young chap , it may look nice , it may feel nice , but every thing you throw your leg over , will not live up to great expectations after splashing out a few grand . Real life gets in the way . One point do you have a charging point in your lock up ? If not we await part two , for the week to come . Thank you both for the video and the time spent on the making this 37.55 min clip of the future .
It was a great day and the charging station was the only pleasant charging experience I had! Good point- unfortunately we don't have any charging spots where we live!
You should redo this trip now, it's a whole different ball game with chargers everywhere
To be fair, early electronic gas pumps were broken pretty often too. As the technology improved, they became much better. The difference is that there were a LOT of gas stations, so you could often literally go across the street if one station was down. Going back to the early days of IC, how many gas stations do you you figure there were back in 1900?
've been a Livewire One owner in Paris for 7 months. Here is my honest review. Pros: endless, smooth lovely power, great handling at all speeds, unique feeling as close to an ICE as possible and often better, incredible around town for filtering and top sports bike acceleration...cons: poor turrning circle, seat averagely comfortable, front mudguard needs replacing as it sprays all the water directly in your face and no replacement available...I love it, BUT, my Livewire journey has been a complete nightmare. Bought new for 25k euros in September 2023, and even since I've been back to the workshop for different minor and very major issues: indicators stopped working, handling felt off compared to the demo model, application wouldn't connect and worst of all intermittant charging errors (EVSE) that meant it was in the workshop for two months. I just got it back and the errors have started again. Furthermore, since Harley and Livewire are separate entities, no price negotiations when purchasing and keep being shunted back and fowards between Harley and Livewire when it comes to problems. For a premium machine, I feel like a second-class citizen. I've owned a Zero before and dozens of ICEs and never had major problems. It is also impossible to resell second hand. When it works, it's a dream machine, but when things go wrong, neither the technical knowhow, nor the service and no second hand market for sellers..
Great vid.
There’s just no standardisation for the infrastructure and I agree I can’t see how things are going to improve by 2030 without some serious work. It would do my head in downloading a new app every bloody recharge.
I think the swap out standardised batteries that a lot of the Japanese manufacturers are going with will probably be the winner in the end but even then that’s going to take time to roll out.
Good to see Monica seeing the funny side of your ranting 😂
Completely agree- it has to be completely standardised. And downloading apps every time I want to fill up; mind blowingly annoying!
The switchable battery idea’s very interesting!!
Monika had had enough of me by the end!!😆
The aim is no private transport for the plebs, you and me.
If everyone goes to electric vehicles, the current and future infrastructure would collapse.
Very educating, a mountain ⛰ to climb, like you told.
You might have been better instead of heading to Epping, head for Braintree (as you’re going to Ipswich) there’s a massive charging station in Braintree.
Good initial Vid. I still think you will find range limit and the price are the biggest negatives about this bike. I bet the guys at Harley thought who is this guy rocking up in his little Fiat?. Then you say I'm here for the Livewire and they think ... Ah that makes sense!!! :D May I suggest you look at a Mic you can attach to your shirt ... as the sound levels of your voice change quite a bit throughout the video depending upon your distance from the phone.
Very true about the Fiat!!🤣
Thanks very much for the microphone tip Allan, it’s one of the next bits of kit on my list🙂👌🏻
I agree with you, The rear brake handle must be left side.
Great vehicle. Great review. I want one (says someone in colombia where fast charging grid is virtually non existant)(and can afford the 30k pricetag)😅
Thanks JC!! Ahhh I know- it's painful with that price tag and the charging issues!😆
Pipe dream, might work in the city, no touring range, no good if you're in a hurry. No good for isolated rural areas. We don't all live in the city.
Great revue Freddie, but this is an unachievable pipedream, by 2030. Especially if you live in an apartment or terrace house.
Thank You for showing the reality, not only for biker. Conclusion for me (in germany): its no alternative to combustion engines for most people, so far …Not Even on a „fun bike“ …
Part 1 - interesting video, HD deserve a 👍 but it’s too expensive and the range coupled with the poor UK charging infrastructure means going outside the range of your home seems like a nightmare. Same with all electric bikes compared to electric cars. Agree the rear brake ought to be a lever on the left handlebar. 🇬🇧🏍
Thanks Stewy. I agree- as it is, it’s an excellent commuter bike, but can’t be used for touring or long weekend rides. It probably does need to be fairly close to half the price, with a 160-200 mile range to become mainstream
I'm definitely Livewire curious, but as soon as they make a Street or Road Glide, it's on for real!
My first, of 3 HDs, was a 2008 Night Rod Special in black and orange. You couldn't tell me shit! I rode that bad boy cross country and back. I lived my best life on that trip.
My second and third bikes were a 1200 Nightster (for the wife) and a Street Glide for me.
Bike how you like, but HD is for me.
Bro, you're so excited that I wouldn't doubt it if you and your lady went home and made a baby. His/her name would be Harley.
I've had my LW for a year now, 15k miles - it's been incredible and I wouldn't want to be on anything else
I got rid of my electric car for this exact reason. Terrible network in the UK. Great video
Very interesting!
Well that and the £30,000 price has put me off forever.
As the man from Zero said, they will not catch on until they have a 200 mile range, can be fully charged in 10 minutes and charging points are as numerous as petrol stations.
I very strongly agree with every one of those points!🙂
The beginning of the end of petrol engines...
Obviously this is the future..however there won't be many bikers willing to go over to electric just yet!
Maybe they should have a switch to sound like a roaring motorbike for town use!
Nice video Freddie!
Stride and Ride!
You just made me want to go see HD to see what they have. Here in the states, I have never seen a electric motorcycle. Ever! We will see what they are all about. And I have only seen one charging port and it was Tesla only in a shopping mall in up state 🗽 NY. We are told that California will be electric only by 2030. Crazy. Will take 10 years before the east coast get up with this crazy transition to electric. Burn fuel for another energy. So the consumer believes they are not doing anything to "environment " but big business is spewing the waste. Who makes money?! Love the video!
Not going to dismiss electric bikes, just don’t think I’ll be an early adopter. £’s and range and all of that, not quite there yet, like the concept and thought of it in future for me though. One thing, only one charger in these isolated spots, good start but if someone had already been plugged in, you’d need to wait I assume, unless the charge point has more than one outlet? Enjoyed the review Freddie, well done both of you. 👏😍
Thanks Michael and I completely agree- if there was someone else charging up then I could've been waiting up to two hours!! The infrastructure is a million miles away from being ready. I would only buy an electric vehicle if I could charge at home and didn't need it for long journeys. Apart from that, I've been scared off a bit.
Normally Im bashing Harley's. But I must say that this one is a beauty. Give credit where credit is due. The range sucks though. With something like that, you'll want to ride care free for hours. Definitely need to work on that battery life. 45 minutes to work then 45 minutes home and your done... SUCKS! Still a GREAT looking bike...GREAT design. An all electric bagger would be dope! The bags could actually be extra batteries...Dope!
It’s a beautiful bike and an amazing piece of engineering. Hopefully the infrastructure is where it needs to be by 2030
Great bike Freddie, but the worry about charging always in the back of your mind, seems to take the fun out of the riding.
It will be fun running out of charge and walking to the nearest charging point for a can of electrickery!