First production Harley Davidson LiveWire lands in NZ

Friday, 14 February 2020

Rolling Thunder Harley-Davidson in Christchurch is the first New Zealand dealer to take delivery of the all-electric LiveWire.

Just the one unit has landed so far, destined to remain a show bike until the model launches in proper this September.

We spoke to Chris Elles who told us that while final details are still being worked out, we can expect a range similar to a Sportster equipped with a peanut tank on the highway or a standard Softail around town.

Harley-Davidson is beating many major manufacturers to the punch with its all-electric LiveWire.

Charging the 15.5kWh battery pack from 20 to 100 per cent should take around 40 minutes while completely rejuicing should be done in an hour. This is on a Level 3 fast charger, standard home chargers should fill the battery from zero to 100 overnight.

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He said HD tends to be conservative with its estimates, so real times could be a little quicker.

We're still waiting on a final price but the LiveWire's sticker over in the States is a rather pointy US$29,799, making it roughly equal to the Ultra Limited, which costs $44,995 here.

If you're interested in the LiveWire but aren't sure of its overall capabilities (and aren't in Christchurch to see for yourself), be sure to check out the Long Way Up, Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman's latest expedition. Following the BMW 1200 GS-powered Long Way Down and Long Way Around, Long Way Up sees the pair ride modified LiveWires from Patagonia in Argentina through South America to California in the United States.