Electric propulsion

Did you know? Electric transportation is actually older than the good ole petrol engine. The electrically powered tricycle of a French electrical engineer named Gustave Trouvé from 1881 marks the beginning of electromobility. So why was there never an electric Harley before the LiveWire? Or why did only locomotives run on electricity for so many decades? The batteries are to blame, or more precisely their quality and design. The first available batteries were heavy and unsafe to handle. Lead and sulphuric acid are the keywords here. Mr. Trouvé's tricycle, for example, had a maximum speed of 7 mph, a range of just over 13 mls and used a huge battery pack weighing a good 50 kg. And charging took hours with the direct current networks available at the time. Apart from the fact that people in the countryside were still sitting in the evenings with kerosene lighting until at least the 1920s and 1930s, because the villages were not yet connected to power supply. Where the heck were you supposed to charge batteries then? So it was quite logical that the first Harley and all subsequent ones had a gasoline engine. Because gasoline was still available in the last village pharmacy if necessary.

Weight vs Power vs Range

A lot has changed since the days of Gustave Trouvé. Li-ion batteries are used instead of lead plates in sloshing acid. The DC motors no longer have wear-prone carbon brushes, but instead rely on innovative electronic controls. Unfortunately, the weight problem still exists. While electricity or electrical charge weighs nothing, the containers for the charge are all the heavier, even in the age of Li-ion batteries. The high-voltage battery pack of a LiveWire weighs 104 kg (40% of the vehicle mass), the motor delivers around 105 hp, but if you really “pull the throttle”, you have to “gas up” after 100 km at the latest. And woe betide you if there is no fast-charging station in the countryside.

So what is so electrifying about electric propulsion?

Whether Harley-Davidson LiveWire or Super73 e-bike, an electric motor generates a consistently high torque from the very first rpm - in complete contrast to the old-fashioned petrol engine. A twist of the accelerator handle delivers catapult-like instant power to the rear wheel. The buddy on the stroked Sportster can shift gears as fast as he wants, nothing can get past the electric tailwind.