Harley Davidson's new electric motorcycle will be shown to the public for the first time when the company introduces the two-wheeler at an invite-only event in New York on Monday.
Employees from the motorcycle giant will then travel the roadways of America to collect feedback from the public about what they would like to see in the company's next motor bike.
"We think that the trends in both EV technology and customer openness to EV products, both automotive and motorcycles, is only going to increase, and when you think about sustainability and environmental trends, we just see that being an increasing part of the lifestyle and the requirements of riders," Matt Levatich, Harley Davidson president told the Associated Press. "So, nobody can predict right now how big that industry will be or how significant it will be."
"It does validate what we've been doing; it adds additional credibility to it. It is certainly going to draw more people's attention to electric motorcycles," added Scot Harden, global marketing vice president at top high-powered electric bike seller Zero. "The marketing horsepower of Harley-Davidson is going to be able to do things for us that we can't do on our own. So far, the new Harley is slated to have a quiet motor that sounds the same as the hum people hear from an airplane's engine." Zero is aiming to sell 2,400 electric motorcycles to the public in 2014. This is number is significantly lower than the 260,000 motorcycles Harley sold during the same time period.
"When you ride a motorcycle, it's the movement of the top of the bike side-to-side that gives you agility in regard to making turns," said Gary Gauthier, of Detroit electric vehicle non-profit NextEnergy. "So, if I put weight low in a motorcycle, I can turn faster. I can drop the bike down and make quicker moves."
"That's the deal with the cars; you can't jump in a Tesla and drive to LA, it won't make it," added Alan Cavallo, a San Jose State University police captain. "People want the convenience of I pull into a gas station, I pour some gas in my tank and I go."
