http://www.100-biker.co.uk | issue 250 | 100% Biker | 9
fact that you can order a LiveWire today
while it will be another two years before the
Psyche comes to market worries Curtiss
CEO Matt Chambers not a whit, He says:
“The bottom line is we are poised to pre-sell
more volume in 2020 than Harley sells of
its Livewire. We believe we can equal them
in terms of delivered volume. Coming into
2021 we will be back ordered for 12—
months, no discounting, and Livewires will
be all over CycleTrader at discount.”
Now, this could be rhetoric or Matt
Chambers could have a valid point. He
criticises the LiveWire for being ‘rather
commodity looking ... a catalyst for
[Harley’s] petrol line. How uninspiring’.
Although time will tell, it may well be that
Harley has made a mistake in attempting
to make its electric bike look as much like
its petrol sibling as possible. In fact, it does
appear that Harley is treating the LiveWire
as a gateway model to get people onto
its petrol-powered models. This could be
a mistake; this is a new market with which
we are dealing and one where many do
not have such traditional preconceptions
of what a motorcycle should look like,
not to mention the fact that, whether
for economic or ecological reason, the
customer is actively choosing an electric
bike, not a fossil fuelled machine.
Chambers also predicts that the number
of LiveWires sold will be unsustainably
low for a company like Harley, saying;
“We have out-planned [Harley-Davidson],
out-designed them, out-engineered them,
out-branded them and out-promoted
them ... Our planning is future forward
and nuanced. Like our motorcycles, we
are lean, smart and cool compared to
the Harley [Electirc Vehicle] plan, their
gasser-based balance sheet, and their ill-
conceived and scarily branded ‘LiveWire’.”
He also refers to Harley’s ‘seven-year-old
technology’ on the LiveWire and the fact
that it only has one model.
Then again, Harley is financing the
LiveWire project internally and not through
crowdfunding (however successful that
has proved) as Curtiss is currently doing.
But we have to consider the LiveWire very
much as we would a start-up because
we really don’t believe that, while it may
help with marketing and widespread
promotion, in this case the Harley name is
not the selling point Milwaukee believes it
to be. That then puts the Psyche and the
LiveWire on very much a level playing field
and means the next few years could be
very interesting indeed.Shades of a flat twinTWISTED IRON PROPER
CHOPPER SHOW
One of our favourite weekend events, Twisted
Iron’s The Happening is, as many of you will
know, taking a break for this year. But we
are delighted to say that the good people
at Twisted Iron—in other words, Russell and
Bev Cort—will be putting on a Ride-In Proper
Chopper Show on 29th September.
Like its monthly Twisted Turnouts, it will
be held at This is Your Garage in Culham,
Oxfordshire. There will be some very special
handcrafted prizes for winners and runners-
ups, some of which are being created by
the remarkably talented Kai Hirst of Loyalty
Customs whose twisted metalwork has won
him fans worldwide. There will also be an
award for Best Paint, provided by Ben from
Bearknuckle Customs who will be giving live
demonstrations of his craft during the day.
The chopper show will run alongside one
of Twisted Iron’s ever-popular autojumbles,
hosted on this occasion by Lucky Luke’s
Parts Supply. Luke is no stranger to bringing
you some real ‘Old Gold’ Classic Parts for
survivors and he always has parts available
via his online business. Pitches are only £
for autojumble traders with payment made
on the day. Professional enquiries can be
made to [email protected].
To keep you fed and watered during the
day, the onsite café, D’s Diner will be serving
breakfast and lunch as well as running a cash
bar. Entertainment will be taken care of by
some fine live music and it all takes between
9am and 4pm. For more details, see http://www.
facebook.com/twistedironthehappening.
Twisted Iron Proper Chopper Show
This Is Your Garage, Unit 120, No1 Site,
Culham, Oxfordshire OX14 3DA