www.CVOHARLEY.com
CVO Social => In The News => Topic started by: muddypaws on October 14, 2019, 07:44:42 AM
-
The Harley-Davidson LiveWire Sticker Shock Begins
Market acceptance of the new electric motorcycle looks like it is getting short-circuited by its high price.
Rich Duprey
Oct 13, 2019 at 11:30AM
The LiveWire electric motorcycle from Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG) is just beginning to show up in dealerships, and the response is just about as expected. There's reportedly a lot of interest in the bike -- at least until people see the price tag.
Worse, although the LiveWire was designed with the millennial biker in mind, it's not younger motorcycle buyers who are interested, but existing Harley customers. This could be a more problematic product launch than anticipated.
Man riding LiveWire electric motorcycle
The Harley-Davidson LiveWire electric motorcycle. Image source: Harley-Davidson.
Nosebleed territory
It's no surprise that the $30,000 sticker price on the LiveWire was going to be off-putting. When Zero Motorcycles is selling similarly sized electric motorcycles for one-third to one-half the price of a LiveWire, and Lightning Motorcycle plans a comparable bike for under $13,000, it seems clear Harley misjudged the market.
Reuters reports that dealers may be disappointed with how it's playing out, quoting one as saying, "Interest is very high, but once you get to pricing, interest is thrown out of the window."
That's because millennials might not be able to pay that much for a bike they otherwise might be interested in. With college debt a burden, young consumers are delaying house purchases, and shelling out enough money to buy a midsized car or small SUV just isn't prudent for a two- or three-season vehicle.
Not enough buyers
Even if Harley's older core customers do buy the bike, it's still a problem. Harley had hoped to bring in new blood to replace those who are aging out of the market. It wants to have 4 million new Harley riders by 2027, but analysts estimate only 400 to 1,600 LiveWires will be sold in the first year, less than 1% of total worldwide sales.
It won't be nearly enough to offset declining sales of its traditional motorcycles, but Harley-Davidson says that's actually part of the plan. The motorcycle maker intends to use the LiveWire as a halo product to cast a glow on the other, presumably cheaper, electric motorcycles it will be introducing. Consumers might not be able to afford a LiveWire, but they might be motivated to buy one of the others based on the excitement LiveWire generates.
Yet that excitement might not last, either. There are rumblings the LiveWire rollout isn't going smoothly and customers are unhappy.
Getting their wires crossed
The LiveWire was originally supposed to hit dealer showrooms in August, but that was pushed back to September, and they began shipping toward the end of the month. Some dealers that were supposed to get them at that time still won't get them for another week or two at least.
In speaking with current and former Harley dealers, I heard that there may have been a software problem that is causing the delays. One dealer told me he understood it had to do with when the brake light on the bike would come on, and he believe Harley was delaying the shipments until it was resolved.
I then called Harley-Davidson's investor relations department, and a Harley representative told me that the bikes had indeed shipped at the end of September. Yet some dealers are hearing from customers, particularly those who have placed deposits on the LiveWire. They are reportedly angry over delays and are considering canceling their orders.
Such glitches, if they exist, might be expected from as big a rollout as Harley-Davidson is undertaking with a motorcycle far removed from its grease and gasoline heritage. But they would speak to a deeper problem with slack sales that will only be exacerbated by the high price of the LiveWire.
-
Article point to what I have been thinking all along. To much money, when the competition costs way less.
-
Motley Fool has not been a fan of HD and this is an ongoing negative theme for them. But taking that into account, this is a fairly accurate depiction of the current (no pun intended) state of the Live Wire rollout.
Am still interested to read/hear from the first generation buyers. Why choose HD instead of the other battery bikes that are less $$?
-
Harley has overhead that is too high to build a competitively priced product in the electric motorcycle market. Union, management and legacy benefits factor into the price of the Livewire. The competition is not as severely burdened by those expenses. And it another reason that Harley is far more expensive than their competitors in other market segments. Fewer people (millennials especially) are less willing to pay a "premium price" for a name badge.
Just my 2 cents
-
Oh just give the Livewire 30 or 40 years. It'll make one hell of a collectors item to hang in a man cave. :huepfenjump3:
-
Wow...H-D just stopped production on the live wire product about an hour ago.
Not Good
-
Wow...H-D just stopped production on the live wire product about an hour ago.
Not Good
Citations always (ok, sometimes) help: https://www.wsj.com/articles/harley-davidson-halts-electric-motorcycle-production-11571073048
Article says production temporarily halted due to hardware related charging problems. So, in typical Harley fashion, they can't get a new product to market with FUBARing systems that are new to them. Not even, in this case, major new flagships. Dumasses.
-
^^ I'm sorry but can't help laughing over that article. Just can't. So they released a (ostensibly) mass market electric motorcycle that.... (wait for it.....) can't be charged at home. Can only be charged using "special" charging equipment at the dealerships.
They really are going to market a high margin "Screamin' Electron High Density Electrons" electricity that you can only get at your local dealership :huepfenlol2: :huepfenlol2: 8) 8) :huepfenlol2: :huepfenlol2: !!
-
dumasses
-
Shocking!!!! :oops:
-
Can't charge the bike at home now.....totally useless.....not that I wanted one anyway.
-
I think they see the writing on the wall, cut and run............
-
Hysterical. What a complete debacle.
-
Well the dealer can still use the old excuse for not being able to recharge, " They All Do That "
-
Anyone still think I'm FOS when I mention Harley can't launch any new product or features borrowed from the other industries without screwing it up? I might be willing to cut them some slack if they were actually inventing new stuff and had problems, but they haven't invented anything. It takes a real talent to screw up stuff that has already been proved out over many years by other vehicle companies.
Jerry
-
They will make it right :drink: just ask them.
:trailer:
I haven't seen anywhere how many miles of testing the Livewire got
-
Shouldn't be an issue. Pretty sure they haven't sold any yet that's actually been put into use. I'd be willing to bet that IF any have been sold, they're sitting in a garage and haven't even hit the street.
Sent from my boring Droid phone.
-
Anyone still think I'm FOS when I mention Harley can't launch any new product or features borrowed from the other industries without screwing it up? I might be willing to cut them some slack if they were actually inventing new stuff and had problems, but they haven't invented anything. It takes a real talent to screw up stuff that has already been proved out over many years by other vehicle companies.
Jerry
Jerry,
Anyone that thinks you are "FOS" doesn't know much about Harley Davidson, big business, engineering, manufacturing, and other things I am forgetting. Your commentary is priceless!
Mikey
-
The folks that have a Live Wire on order must be thrilled with the news that their battery bike will not charge at home.
Or not....
-
The folks that have a Live Wire on order must be thrilled with the news that their battery bike will not charge at home.
Or not....
It won't???? That's nuts! Surely it can't be right?
-
L large
I investment
V virtually
E eliminated
W with
I it's
R revolutionary
E engineering
-
https://www.foxnews.com/auto/harley-davidson-suspends-production-livewire (https://www.foxnews.com/auto/harley-davidson-suspends-production-livewire)
This article says owners are not supposed to charge LW at home which indicates there are some out there on the streets. Or more accurately, in owners garages sitting idle because they have to get to a dealer for a charge.
(https://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2012/03/solar-cell-helmet-frauenhofer.jpg)
-
https://www.foxnews.com/auto/harley-davidson-suspends-production-livewire (https://www.foxnews.com/auto/harley-davidson-suspends-production-livewire)
This article says owners are not supposed to charge LW at home which indicates there are some out there on the streets. Or more accurately, in owners garages sitting idle because they have to get to a dealer for a charge.
(https://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2012/03/solar-cell-helmet-frauenhofer.jpg)
Hmmmm - how very HD of them.
-
They could use the same method we used in the assembly plants for our electric forklifts, easily changeable batteries. Drive the bike over to the dealership, pull up to the battery storage area, and have the automation pull the old battery out and stick the freshly charged battery in. Worked like a champ for us. All they'd have to do is convince all the dealers to build and maintain a dedicated battery charging and changing operation in their dealerships. I'm sure the average dealer would be willing to jump all over that extra investment. ;)
Jerry
-
I can see it now...dealers offering a charge up for only $29.99.
:oops: :nixweiss:
-
They could use the same method we used in the assembly plants for our electric forklifts, easily changeable batteries. Drive the bike over to the dealership, pull up to the battery storage area, and have the automation pull the old battery out and stick the freshly charged battery in. Worked like a champ for us. All they'd have to do is convince all the dealers to build and maintain a dedicated battery charging and changing operation in their dealerships. I'm sure the average dealer would be willing to jump all over that extra investment. ;)
Jerry
That's already in use for scooters, and is growing in popularity with some big name makers, Jerry.
https://electrek.co/2019/09/23/check-out-gogoros-giant-new-battery-swap-stations-for-its-electric-scooters/
Jim
-
Be sure to get the ESP.
-
I'm surprised they don't offer a recorded Potato potato sounds you can use while riding so those that just want the sound can have it. :huepfenlol2:
-
If you cant charge at home and don't live next to a dealer or big city, the Livewire is useless. I could not ride it home from Dealer as once home it would have 20 miles range left. Wow, just Wow. I know HD is good at screwing stuff up, but this takes the cake.
-
To get longer distance, once HD figures out how to allow riders to charge these bikes somewhere besides a dealership, maybe HD could offer a pull behind trailer with a gas powered generator? The Live Wire could pull the trailer with the generator running & that would charge the bike when it was on the road.
Trailer would have storage for extra gas cans & spare extension cords to connect to the Live Wire battery. Live Wire owners would automatically qualify for a 10% discount for the Live Generator Trailer, available from the Moco for only $12,995.
-
To get longer distance, once HD figures out how to allow riders to charge these bikes somewhere besides a dealership, maybe HD could offer a pull behind trailer with a gas powered generator? The Live Wire could pull the trailer with the generator running & that would charge the bike when it was on the road.
Trailer would have storage for extra gas cans & spare extension cords to connect to the Live Wire battery. Live Wire owners would automatically qualify for a 10% discount for the Live Generator Trailer, available from the Moco for only $12,995.
OR , they could install a wind turbine on that trailer and have the wind generated by the motion of the bike converted to electric energy and then have it instantly transferred to the battery, creating the first perpetual motion motorcycle. I can only imagine how much some greenie would pay Harley for that model.
Jerry ;)
-
Harley is already having charging issues. You cannot charge the bike at home!
Harley-Davidson Already Pausing Electric Motorcycle Production: Report (https://jalopnik.com/harley-davidson-already-ceasing-electric-motorcycle-pro-1839055468/amp)
-
OR , they could install a wind turbine on that trailer and have the wind generated by the motion of the bike converted to electric energy and then have it instantly transferred to the battery, creating the first perpetual motion motorcycle. I can only imagine how much some greenie would pay Harley for that model.
Jerry ;)
;D
Good idea. In order to get the Full Green Deal Endorsement, Harley needs to remove all plastic parts from the bike & replace them with biodegradable parts made out of corn starch. Solar panel helmet - goes without saying. Hemp boots and jackets and clothing with the Live Wire logo of course.
And like most all the other greenie stuff - just ignore the fact that the LW battery electricity is from gas & coal plants and the lithium battery pollutes as much if not more than a gas combustible engine when all factors of mining, producing, and disposal are taken into account. As Fernando (Billy Crystal) used to say so wisely, "It is better to look good than to feel good."
-
Harley is already having charging issues. You cannot charge the bike at home!
Harley-Davidson Already Pausing Electric Motorcycle Production: Report (https://jalopnik.com/harley-davidson-already-ceasing-electric-motorcycle-pro-1839055468/amp)
A trailer with a REALLY long extension cord on a huge reel is being provided as part of a service campaign, until they can get the bugs out.
Jerry
-
A trailer with a REALLY long extension cord on a huge reel is being provided as part of a service campaign, until they can get the bugs out.
Jerry
The other option is the new "Screamin' Eagle" branded diesel generator mounted in the bed of the chase truck that is also a new "Screamin Eagle" accessory item.
-
Harley-Davidson’s all-electric LiveWire bike, an attempt to attract a younger audience to its two-wheeled legacy, has been having one hell of a struggle just keeping its head above water. The numbers haven’t been great, but now there’s an even bigger problem: charging equipment. Harley-Davidson is ceasing both production and delivery immediately.
The problem with the charging equipment has not been identified by Harley-Davidson, The Wall Street Journal reports. But the company has advised buyers not to use any charging outlets at home; instead, the LiveWire should only be charged with the professional equipment that can be found at, say, charging stations.
-
As a Harley and Tesla owner, I want to see the electric Harley succeed. However, with only a 70 mile range it's useless to me.
-
In other parts of article, it said 140 miles on a charge. That must be in city?
-
In other parts of article, it said 140 miles on a charge. That must be in city?
It might be. But 140 would be perfect conditions. My Tesla was initally rated at 265, now only charges to 240, and I get about 160 miles with my driving style. With an electric Harley, I'd be surprised to get 100 miles from a 140 mile rating.
100 miles won't even cover a couple hours of riding with friends.
-
Hmmmm - how very HD of them.
Yes it is. HD is consistent when it involves product innovations. Not a good type of consistency, the other kind. The kind that doesn't work & frustrates customers. The type of consistency that is driving the company stock price from a high of 74 in April 2014 to its closing price yesterday October 15, 2019 at 36. :o US stock market (DJA), same time frame went from 16,500 April 2014 to 27,000 yesterday October 15. There appears to be a trend.... 8)
-
How on earth could anyone believe that this was tested to the extent necessary and only just now, at delivery time, find out there is a problem with being able to charge this thing. This is one of the most central parts of this machine, there is no way this has gone UN-noticed until delivery time.
No way I'm buying this. I will be very, very surprised if these things EVER get delivered. I still say, they see the writing on the wall, cut and run............
OR,
It can only be assumed that Harley "once again" planned on using the consumer to test their newest release.
-
How on earth could anyone believe that this was tested to the extent necessary and only just now, at delivery time, find out there is a problem with being able to charge this thing. This is one of the most central parts of this machine, there is no way this has gone UN-noticed until delivery time.
No way I'm buying this. I will be very, very surprised if these things EVER get delivered. I still say, they see the writing on the wall, cut and run............
You are spot-on with that comment. Youdathunk that charging with any source would have been first on any electric vehicle QA checklist, not the last thing they look into as they are crating them up for dealer delivery... :nixweiss:
If that's the case, why did they notice it at that point (at the last) in the process? Since they really had not delivered any, what clued them in on checking something that seems to any normal human as a "given"?
-
That's spot on. As someone who has experience in product validation and verification, this is a substantial miss.
-
IMO it won't make any difference if the Livewire will charge or not. At $30k and a range shorter than lesser priced e-motorcycles, this is going to be a flop. Might as well get it over with fast.
-
I'm surprised they don't offer a recorded Potato potato sounds you can use while riding so those that just want the sound can have it. :huepfenlol2:
The potato, potato, potato sound track comes with rub on tattoos and all the proper gear. It's called the "biker image" package. Only $2995 when you purchase a new LiveWire.
But wait....it gets better!...Harley is offering "Road Rescue Relief" ony $1995. Run out of juice, we pick you and your LiveWire up in a cool black and orange "RRR" truck and deliver you to a charging station.
The good news....you can finance the whole package for 84 months at a low 12.99% apr.
WHAT A DEAL! The new green biker has arrived! ARE YOU IN?
Sent from my SM-J327T using Tapatalk
-
Maybe HD should install pedals like a bicycle. That way if your battery goes dead, you will be able to pedal your way home to re charge. Ooops. You cannot recharge it at home.
-
Local dealership called me yesterday, the fella goes by the name Crash, sounds like the guy to let test ride your bike after service.
He wanted to let me know they are having an open house this Saturday and wanted to set up a time for me to test ride a new bike and wondered if the LiveWire was of any interest to me. I asked if the charging problem was fixed or not, he said no but the bike can be recharged at the dealership. I than asked when it was projected to be fixed and his response was,
" It is fine, the concern was battery temp while being recharged at home and the they will start to release the bikes sold when they have the charging system perfect as they have with other bikes and problems they had, being it has the H-D name on it."
I had to pull the phone away from my face cause I was laughing.
-
Guys were standing in line to test ride a Livewire @ Biketoberfest yesterday. I have to admit, They look cool. Not something I need, it just wouldn't work based on distance for me. We recently bought a new car and a neighbor wanted to know if I was spending that much money why didn't I buy a Tesla? I told him there were time I wanted to actually leave the state and a Tesla wouldn't allow that without a charge. He thought Tesla had a gasoline motor to recharge the battery when needed.
-
Guys were standing in line to test ride a Livewire @ Biketoberfest yesterday. I have to admit, They look cool. Not something I need, it just wouldn't work based on distance for me. We recently bought a new car and a neighbor wanted to know if I was spending that much money why didn't I buy a Tesla? I told him there were time I wanted to actually leave the state and a Tesla wouldn't allow that without a charge. He thought Tesla had a gasoline motor to recharge the battery when needed.
I use my Tesla for road trips often. Stopping to charge isn't bad, at all. It gives us a little time to get out and stretch our legs every few hours, and maybe grab a bite to eat.
-
We stayed at a Best Western in Missoula for a couple days this summer.
They have a charging station there, we saw 2 Tesla's towed to it for recharging 1 day and 1 dropped off the next.
-
So as I understand it, you can ride your VERY limited range HD Livewire to the dealership to charge? So by the time you back home, you have just enough charge left to return to the dealer to recharge again? What a joke.
-
"Harley-Davidson has resumed production and deliveries of its electric LiveWire motorcycle after determining an issue with charging was isolated to a single vehicle."
https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/18/harley-davidson-has-resumed-production-of-the-livewire/ (https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/18/harley-davidson-has-resumed-production-of-the-livewire/)
Huh?
-
"Harley-Davidson has resumed production and deliveries of its electric LiveWire motorcycle after determining an issue with charging was isolated to a single vehicle."
Well, so much for "they all do that"... ;D :huepfenjump3: :nervous: :huepfenlol2: :bananarock:
-
"Harley-Davidson has resumed production and deliveries of its electric LiveWire motorcycle after determining an issue with charging was isolated to a single vehicle."
https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/18/harley-davidson-has-resumed-production-of-the-livewire/ (https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/18/harley-davidson-has-resumed-production-of-the-livewire/)
Huh?
Hmmmmmm :D :D
-
"Harley-Davidson has resumed production and deliveries of its electric LiveWire motorcycle after determining an issue with charging was isolated to a single vehicle."
https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/18/harley-davidson-has-resumed-production-of-the-livewire/ (https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/18/harley-davidson-has-resumed-production-of-the-livewire/)
Huh?
Nothing like a QA department over reaction & shutting down production to get you some buyer remorse and nervousness in the marketplace. Bad juju.
A guess which is just a guess is that HD encountered this charging problem somewhere during the testing phase. Another guess is some (many?) potential LW buyers have reconsidered because they do not wish to risk burning down their garages while the battery bike is on charge.
-
Isolated to a single vehicle. LOL. Nice spin in an effort to control chaos. More like isolated to a single vehicle cause they only tested one. Probably had to flash them all with a software update.
-
Well, so much for "they all do that"... ;D :huepfenjump3: :nervous: :huepfenlol2: :bananarock:
You forgot the ... "It's NORMAL", ... part. ;)
-
Maybe they have only sold one LiveWire. At that point it would be a 100% failure of the charging station.
:oops: :nixweiss:
-
Harley-Davidson resumes production of LiveWire; problem was with only one motorcycle (https://amp.jsonline.com/amp/4052084002)
-
Interesting quote from that article, Greg:
"We take pride in our rigorous quality assurance measures and our drive to deliver the world’s best motorcycles."
Maybe they need to tattoo that on every line worker, QA/QC inspector, manager and customer service rep... ;D
-
Harley-Davidson resumes production of LiveWire; problem was with only one motorcycle (https://amp.jsonline.com/amp/4052084002)
"Only 1 of them does that."
-
So as I understand it, you can ride your VERY limited range HD Livewire to the dealership to charge? So by the time you back home, you have just enough charge left to return to the dealer to recharge again? What a joke.
Seriously do not believe I can ride a live wire from the Dealer home and have enough charge to make it back. Its 112 miles for me round trip. Not much fun to only be able to ride to the dealer and back.
There were lots of people waiting to Demo the Livewire Thursday and Friday at Desintion Daytona. They must have had lots of demo bikes to keep demo going all day, figure four demo rides and it needs a charge, maybe five rides.
-
Seriously do not believe I can ride a live wire from the Dealer home and have enough charge to make it back. Its 112 miles for me round trip.
Buy yourself a chase truck with generator. Problem solved
Sent from my SM-J327T using Tapatalk
-
Thread resurrection:
Weren’t these things like $30k a few years ago?
This one’s only $10.9k, that’s a helluva depreciation
https://bham.craigslist.org/mpo/d/birmingham-2020-harley-davidson-elw/7569989451.html
-
There are 2020's still at the Dealer's...about to be 3 years old in a week!