Harley-Davidson's e-bike shocker

Is the motorcycle market ready for a Harley-Davidson EV? Project LiveWire was designed to provide answers, said Chief Engineer Jeff Richlen.

Two motorcycles appeared at a distance, running flat out across an old airport runway in the California desert. As the bikes closed on an observer standing by the tarmac, his ears detected an unusual sound. It wasn't the drone of combustion-engine exhaust, but a turbine-like roar that resembled jet fighter aircraft on a takeoff run.

The fact that the motorcycles were battery-electric Harley-Davidsons would have come as a shock to anyone except Jeff Richlen, one of five chief engineers at the 111-year-old motorcycle maker. Richlen is the leader of Project LiveWire-the company's ambitious program to develop a viable EV demonstrator fleet and immediately test it with the riding public across North America and Europe, collecting a mountain of data and customer input that could help shape future e-hogs should a production program be approved. That is still undecided, Richlen said.