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Thorough review of the Livewire

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  • Wideglider
    Wideglider
    5 years ago
    When considering the price don't forget to factor in greatly reduced running/maintenance costs. 
    It is an electric motor, compared to an engine - an electric motor has just a single moving part! No wear from pieces of metal rubbing against each other or opening/closing against each other, no springs, no gears meshing, no pistons, no cylinder/ring wear, no compression loss, no valves opening/closing, no exhaust/mufflers caboning up, no soot, no engine/transmission/primary oil, no seals/gaskets, no petrol costs, no fuel tank corrosion, no fuel tap/line leaks, no air leaks, no starter motor, no clutch, no gearbox, no oil cooler, no water/radiator, no ignition module/cam position sensor, no spark plugs, no injectors or carbs, no air filter, no tuning, no detonation or overheating damage, no vibration damage, no heat damage.
    The running costs saved per km just on fuel savings alone are quite substantial, then maintenance costs being low you would get a return on your initial money outlay soon enough.
    One disadvantage with high voltage power system is there would be much less for the owner to tinker with!
  • paulybronco
    paulybronco
    5 years ago
    Quoting Wideglider on 09 Jan 2019 09:28 AMedited: 09 Jan 2019 09:31 AM

    When considering the price don't forget to factor in greatly reduced running/maintenance costs. 

    It is an electric motor, compared to an engine - an electric motor has just a single moving part! No wear from pieces of metal rubbing against each other or opening/closing against each other, no springs, no gears meshing, no pistons, no cylinder/ring wear, no compression loss, no valves opening/closing, no exhaust/mufflers caboning up, no soot, no engine/transmission/primary oil, no seals/gaskets, no petrol costs, no fuel tank corrosion, no fuel tap/line leaks, no air leaks, no starter motor, no clutch, no gearbox, no oil cooler, no water/radiator, no ignition module/cam position sensor, no spark plugs, no injectors or carbs, no air filter, no tuning, no detonation or overheating damage, no vibration damage, no heat damage.
    The running costs saved per km just on fuel savings alone are quite substantial, then maintenance costs being low you would get a return on your initial money outlay soon enough.
    One disadvantage with high voltage power system is there would be much less for the owner to tinker with!

    What are all the aftermarket guys going to do now......centrelink?
  • Wideglider
    Wideglider
    5 years ago
    Quoting Wideglider on 09 Jan 2019 09:28 AMedited: 09 Jan 2019 09:31 AM

    When considering the price don't forget to factor in greatly reduced running/maintenance costs. 

    It is an electric motor, compared to an engine - an electric motor has just a single moving part! No wear from pieces of metal rubbing against each other or opening/closing against each other, no springs, no gears meshing, no pistons, no cylinder/ring wear, no compression loss, no valves opening/closing, no exhaust/mufflers caboning up, no soot, no engine/transmission/primary oil, no seals/gaskets, no petrol costs, no fuel tank corrosion, no fuel tap/line leaks, no air leaks, no starter motor, no clutch, no gearbox, no oil cooler, no water/radiator, no ignition module/cam position sensor, no spark plugs, no injectors or carbs, no air filter, no tuning, no detonation or overheating damage, no vibration damage, no heat damage.
    The running costs saved per km just on fuel savings alone are quite substantial, then maintenance costs being low you would get a return on your initial money outlay soon enough.
    One disadvantage with high voltage power system is there would be much less for the owner to tinker with!

    Quoting paulybronco on 09 Jan 2019 12:31 PM

    What are all the aftermarket guys going to do now......centrelink?

    Still aftermarket parts options - suspension, brakes, wheels, seats etc.
    Although with the bike coming with Brembo brakes & Showa suspension you would wanna keep them.
  • Liam
    Liam
    5 years ago
    I recently rode a Zero. Totally amazing. Electric will be the future. Start prepping your bikes for home made ethanol and some veggie oil. Electric bike are at first try bloody AWSOME. But ultimately, currently BORING. Notice awsome and boring carry the same weight. But, and it's a big but I think, currently around 80% recharge in 15 to 20 minutes. That will drop to 100% in a few minutes and the range will exceed a 1000klm. How do I know? What was a 4 cylinder putting out in the 80's and what are they putting out now.
    You will be able to have your Tour Glide, two up, straight cut gears so it sounds awsome, maybe as they do now an engine soundtrack to go with it. In 20 years time 99% of bikers will wonder what all the fuss was about. Oh yeah those of us who can hang on to a current HD gas guzzler might live long enough to own a piece of history. 
    Not me, so I'm riding my XBones every day.

  • Soapbox2627
    Soapbox2627
    5 years ago
    Quoting Liam on 25 Mar 2019 10:45 AM

    I recently rode a Zero. Totally amazing. Electric will be the future. Start prepping your bikes for home made ethanol and some veggie oil. Electric bike are at first try bloody AWSOME. But ultimately, currently BORING. Notice awsome and boring carry the same weight. But, and it's a big but I think, currently around 80% recharge in 15 to 20 minutes. That will drop to 100% in a few minutes and the range will exceed a 1000klm. How do I know? What was a 4 cylinder putting out in the 80's and what are they putting out now.

    You will be able to have your Tour Glide, two up, straight cut gears so it sounds awsome, maybe as they do now an engine soundtrack to go with it. In 20 years time 99% of bikers will wonder what all the fuss was about. Oh yeah those of us who can hang on to a current HD gas guzzler might live long enough to own a piece of history. 
    Not me, so I'm riding my XBones every day.

    and by then, the old x-bones will be worth $20 and fuel for it will be priced out of your pension affordability

    I doubt I will ever own one, my retirement plans does not include this kind of toy
  • Krash Kinkade
    Krash Kinkade
    5 years ago
    a friend was telling me he is buying a little electric car for $60k soon to save on fuel cost's , he does not drive much, so I said u can buy a lot of fuel with the $.
    my thoughts is short maximum range & if you need to drive up big hill's the range will be less. if a large volume of electric cars & mc's on the road the gov loose fuel tax revenue, so the charging points would most probably attract tax's. what I'm wondering is if it takes two to four hours to charge what do you do while waiting ( like would you leave a car or bike in a servo while it is filling up for four hour's ? )

  • Soapbox2627
    Soapbox2627
    5 years ago
    Quoting Krash Kinkade on 25 Mar 2019 09:00 PM

    a friend was telling me he is buying a little electric car for $60k soon to save on fuel cost's , he does not drive much, so I said u can buy a lot of fuel with the $.

    my thoughts is short maximum range & if you need to drive up big hill's the range will be less. if a large volume of electric cars & mc's on the road the gov loose fuel tax revenue, so the charging points would most probably attract tax's. what I'm wondering is if it takes two to four hours to charge what do you do while waiting ( like would you leave a car or bike in a servo while it is filling up for four hour's ? )

    I'd say plan the trip around when you eat, 4 hour before, now thinking about it, 4 hours is a lot of time to kill when traveling

    leaving the car charging for 4 hours would be no different to going shopping and having parked in the parking lot for the same time
  • Nutty
    Nutty
    5 years ago
    Fuel costs mean SFA. Governments world-wide are already planning per-km road usage charges to replace fuel excise revenue. NZ already has it for diesels. As for avoiding Harley dealer mechanics, anyone with half a brain already does that...
  • Far Canal
    Far Canal
    5 years ago
    If everyone has an electric car or bike or both, that'd use a lot of electricity.
    Where is all the electricity going to come from?, seems some capital cities electricity grids already get overloaded on hot days. Add millions of vehicles to the equation and it seems like a big ask.
  • JFE
    JFE
    5 years ago
    The only way I’ve heard that ppl are making EV’s work is to use them for around town duty and charge them overnight from their home solar system. Got a mate that does that with his hybrid Mitsubishi. A bike could work for that but if the Livewire is circa $40,000 then you aren’t buying one to save $$!
    If/when I get to solar, I’d consider a set-up for the run around car but for now the outlay costs EV car + solar + adequate home charging point don’t add up. That will change as energy prices keep going north and inevitably, government will intervene more to subsidise EV’s and solar (please note I don’t totally support taxpayer subsidies for EV’s, their infrastructure or solar). 

    Outside of all this, I have a level of faith technology will evolve enough in the next 5-10 years that will make what we take for granted now to be ‘old news’.
  • cdvreede
    cdvreede
    5 years ago
    Quoting JFE on 26 Mar 2019 10:26 PM

    The only way I’ve heard that ppl are making EV’s work is to use them for around town duty and charge them overnight from their home solar system. Got a mate that does that with his hybrid Mitsubishi. A bike could work for that but if the Livewire is circa $40,000 then you aren’t buying one to save $$!

    If/when I get to solar, I’d consider a set-up for the run around car but for now the outlay costs EV car + solar + adequate home charging point don’t add up. That will change as energy prices keep going north and inevitably, government will intervene more to subsidise EV’s and solar (please note I don’t totally support taxpayer subsidies for EV’s, their infrastructure or solar). 

    Outside of all this, I have a level of faith technology will evolve enough in the next 5-10 years that will make what we take for granted now to be ‘old news’.

    solar not that good for overnite charging - especially in winter...
  • paulybronco
    paulybronco
    5 years ago
    Quoting JFE on 26 Mar 2019 10:26 PM

    The only way I’ve heard that ppl are making EV’s work is to use them for around town duty and charge them overnight from their home solar system. Got a mate that does that with his hybrid Mitsubishi. A bike could work for that but if the Livewire is circa $40,000 then you aren’t buying one to save $$!

    If/when I get to solar, I’d consider a set-up for the run around car but for now the outlay costs EV car + solar + adequate home charging point don’t add up. That will change as energy prices keep going north and inevitably, government will intervene more to subsidise EV’s and solar (please note I don’t totally support taxpayer subsidies for EV’s, their infrastructure or solar). 

    Outside of all this, I have a level of faith technology will evolve enough in the next 5-10 years that will make what we take for granted now to be ‘old news’.

    Quoting cdvreede on 04 Apr 2019 10:14 AM

    solar not that good for overnite charging - especially in winter...

    Guess you live in one of those southern states
  • steelo
    steelo
    5 years ago
    This is the only downside as I see it


    83277_32bff18093b2f7772608977445a61f6c.jpg
  • Ratbob
    Ratbob
    5 years ago
    Quoting steelo on 15 Apr 2019 08:18 AM

    This is the only downside as I see it


    83277_32bff18093b2f7772608977445a61f6c.jpg
    Yeah man, she’s looking for good vibrations.
    Maybe HD will dial in some vibes for the babes.
  • paulybronco
    paulybronco
    4 years ago
    Quoting JFE on 26 Mar 2019 10:26 PM

    The only way I’ve heard that ppl are making EV’s work is to use them for around town duty and charge them overnight from their home solar system. Got a mate that does that with his hybrid Mitsubishi. A bike could work for that but if the Livewire is circa $40,000 then you aren’t buying one to save $$!

    If/when I get to solar, I’d consider a set-up for the run around car but for now the outlay costs EV car + solar + adequate home charging point don’t add up. That will change as energy prices keep going north and inevitably, government will intervene more to subsidise EV’s and solar (please note I don’t totally support taxpayer subsidies for EV’s, their infrastructure or solar). 

    Outside of all this, I have a level of faith technology will evolve enough in the next 5-10 years that will make what we take for granted now to be ‘old news’.

    Quoting cdvreede on 04 Apr 2019 10:14 AM

    solar not that good for overnite charging - especially in winter...

    Had to come.....AMG AMP...
  • Ratbob
    Ratbob
    4 years ago
    Quoting JFE on 26 Mar 2019 10:26 PM

    The only way I’ve heard that ppl are making EV’s work is to use them for around town duty and charge them overnight from their home solar system. Got a mate that does that with his hybrid Mitsubishi. A bike could work for that but if the Livewire is circa $40,000 then you aren’t buying one to save $$!

    If/when I get to solar, I’d consider a set-up for the run around car but for now the outlay costs EV car + solar + adequate home charging point don’t add up. That will change as energy prices keep going north and inevitably, government will intervene more to subsidise EV’s and solar (please note I don’t totally support taxpayer subsidies for EV’s, their infrastructure or solar). 

    Outside of all this, I have a level of faith technology will evolve enough in the next 5-10 years that will make what we take for granted now to be ‘old news’.

    Quoting cdvreede on 04 Apr 2019 10:14 AM

    solar not that good for overnite charging - especially in winter...

    Quoting paulybronco on 14 May 2019 04:37 AM

    Had to come.....AMG AMP...

    Surprised there was no mention of Hydrogen power, it certainly makes filling up faster. 
  • paulybronco
    paulybronco
    4 years ago
    Quoting Ratbob on 14 May 2019 07:28 AM

    Surprised there was no mention of Hydrogen power, it certainly makes filling up faster. 

    Quoting paulybronco on 14 May 2019 07:35 AM

    The germans had a bit of a disaster using hydrogen in the past




    Quoting Ratbob on 14 May 2019 10:01 AM

    Yeah it was a good burnout, can't imagine it being worse than one of those ageing LPG tanks hanging off the back of far too many cars.
    I reckon they'll start going off soon, can't even refill my BBQ bottle without an inquisition.

    Keep telling you folks your living in the wrong state....we dont even have to get a roadworthy every year for your bike/car
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