Riding Harley-Davidson's Project LiveWire electric bike, and why it won't be the last

Harley-Davidson is a company that knows what it’s about. And Harley is about the V-twin. Whether you’re talking a V-Rod or a big fat cruiser, Harleys are defined by sound, vibration and callous American low-down torque. Sure, even a V-Rod will get dusted by a modest Japanese sport bike, but Harley’s not selling out-and-out performance. They’re selling an experience — a highly popular and lucrative one. So they don’t mess with the formula.

But even brands that are built around an iconic product need to evolve, if only to attract new recruits to the fold. And so Harley is gingerly exploring the possibility of building a bike that foregoes a V-twin. In fact, it does without pistons, exhaust pipes or a gas tank. It’s called Project LiveWire, and it just might become the first electric Harley.

This is obviously a major step, so the company built about two dozen LiveWires and took them on tour to gauge reaction from the faithful. I ventured to one of these events, in Charlotte, N.C., to try the LiveWire for myself and try to make sense of a silent Harley.

OK, it’s not totally silent. Harley gave the bike noisy straight-cut gears, introducing a visceral mechanical element to its electronic machine. When you roll on the throttle, the bike emits a climbing high-pitched whine, the sound you might imagine from a nuclear reactor going into meltdown. It’s not the thumpa-thumpa of a V-twin, but it’s something cool and new and worthy in its own right.

That sound is also accompanied by serious acceleration. Harley says the LiveWire does 0-60 in four seconds flat, and it feels even quicker because of the instant torque and single-speed transmission. See a gap in traffic? Twist the grip and you’re gone—no shifting, no managing revs to stay in the power. It’s smooth, it’s quick and it feels like the future. Claimed range is 53 miles.

I loved this thing, but I’m not a Harley guy. And maybe that’s the point. The question Harley must ask is not whether the purists will buy a LiveWire, but whether the LiveWire will tarnish the brand. I suggest that Porsche is a good reference point—a sect of diehards initially thought the Cayenne was blasphemous, but now there are plenty of 911 owners who have the once-unthinkable SUV in their garages. The brand turned out to be bigger than sports cars.

And judging by the smiles on the faces of the leather-clad bikers rolling in after their rides, the LiveWire might prove that Harley is about more than just the rumble.