Is LiveWire Building an Old Harley-Davidson E-Bike Concept?

Might help the brand's bottom line.

By: Jonathon Klein

May 17, 2024 at 7:25am ET

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So I've already talked about LiveWire's latest patent for "virtual brakes" and how I'm not exactly sure it's a great idea. But what I didn't get a chance to talk about, at least not in that article, was three drawings included that appear to show a long-forgotten e-bike/e-dirtbike concept.

The year is 2018 and LiveWire is still part of Harley-Davidson's main portfolio. Hell, Avengers: Infinity War had just dropped, too. It was simpler times. But in a forward-looking statement made by the company, it dropped design sketches, concepts, and what appeared to be customer-ready models, including a dope-looking electric bicycle/dirtbike. All of which was promised to be on their way.

And then they never did.

Harley-Davidson then split LiveWire off and we never heard about those concepts ever again. That is until its recent patent which appears to show off that dope-looking EV. Take a look.

I mean, that's clearly the same design. Same bicycle-style frame, same suspension setup, same finned battery pack. Same, same. What we don't know, however, is why LiveWire decided to use this old concept for one of its brand-new patents.

Now, companies use weird drawings or old concepts all the time to hide future products from prying eyes. But why wouldn't LiveWire just use the Del Mar or Mulholland designs? Why dredge up this long-forgotten EV dirtbike/bicycle concept from when the future was bright, and LiveWire had full of promise?

What do you think?

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Those questions sort of lead me to believe that maybe, just maybe, we're getting something from the brand with this design in the near future. It's honestly no secret that LiveWire is struggling. And its offerings are pretty damn expensive. An easy way to drum up some quick cash would be to produce something like a jacked-up e-bike or something along the lines of a Dust.Moto or Surron. Something with a price tag of around $10,000.

It wouldn't save the company, but it'd go a long way to reducing that negative income. Plus, the design is cool. Might just help LiveWire convert some trendy city-folk into believers. Maybe.