Thanks to Himself for hipping me to this vintage Eric Peters post, from 2018.
The Electric Suicide of Harley-Davidson
Imagine a Harley that doesn’t vibrate. No bark through the straight pipes when you push the starter button. No nothing through the pipes – which aren’t there anymore.
There is no starter button.
Just an On/Off switch.
No shifter, either. Because no gears.
All that remains is the “Harley” name on the tank – which isn’t one because it will never be used to store any gas. Might as well paint it on the side of your toaster.
Welcome to the 2019 LiveWire – Harley’s first electric motorcycle. The first of a whole line of them – intended to be ready by 2025.
They’re betting the future of the company on it.
If you have any Harley stock, better unload it.
Quickly.
Because an electric Harley is as silly as juice-bar speakeasy. It runs counter to the point.
People buy motorcycles – and especially Harley motorcycles – because they make that sound.
And also because of the smells – of gas and oil – which attend those sounds. Without which you’ve got what amounts to alcohol-free beer.
Or a girlfriend who won’t sleep with you.
Heh. Indeed. Oh, you’ll for sure be getting yourself a good fucking alright, but you won’t enjoy a single minute of it.
This is not going to end well. For the intangible reasons already articulated – a BLT without the bacon – and for other more tangible reasons.
Harleys – more than any other make of bike – appeal to the cruiser. The long-haul rider. The open road.
But electric bikes – like electric cars – are stunted by abbreviated operational range. A 2019 V-twin Sport Glide carries 5 gallons of easily and quickly replaced gas and gets 47 MPG. It thus can travel almost 240 miles – and when the tank runs low, this Harley can be back on the road in minutes.
That is freedom.
With the LiveWire, you are tied to an electric umbilical cord.
The opposite of freedom.
Yes, t’is, with cars and bikes both. Which is precisely why TPTB insists so vehemently on cramming their blasted EVs down our collective throat.
Over at Eric’s place, there are a cpl-three Harley-hating sourpuss types in the comments who scornfully profess their complete lack of concern for whether H-D carries on as an independent motorcycle manufacturer or not, and who the hell would want one of the outdated POS dinosaurs anydamned way? They’re missing the point at issue, which is, was, and shall eternally remain freedom. This ain’t about motorcycles and/or who makes ‘em. Ultimately, it’s about taking your freedom away from you, nothing more nor less. Y’know, just like with everything else.
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The good news is, they can just keep building Harley’s the same way they always have when the electric bikes fail to sale. An electric bike for around town puttering might be OK. But no one that wants one of those gives a damn about it being a “Harley”.
The plain truth is this.
They’re pushing All EVs because they know they will NEVER allow the required generating capacity to be built. Not even close.
They hope that they can destroy and/or outlaw conventional ICE engines before the SHTF of millions of expensive paperweights sitting in driveways because of rolling blackouts starts getting people seethingly angry.
Absolutely correct. The left hates freedom and personal transport provides freedom in a massive way. They want to get rid of your ability to move at will, and they want you unarmed.
If you decide to get an electric vehicle, make sure you keep at least one gas one. Assuming they don’t outlaw gasoline production and sales… Which we know with 100% confidence they will try to do eventually.