Had Harley-Davidson Listened To One Guy, They'd Have Had An Electric Bike 40 Years Ago

Harley-Davidson¡¯s fame knows no bounds in the biking fraternity and even beyond that. A major reason is that the brand has always been at the forefront of adopting new technologies in their bike offerings. The recently launched LiveWire is a big example of that. The American bike maker has already put out an electric motorcycle up for grabs, while most of the other majors in the industry are still weighing their options.

But thinking that the LiveWire is the very first all-electric Harley-Davidson motorcycle produced will probably get you on your way out from a quiz show. In fact, it took Harley-Davidson a lot of time to catch up to the idea, after its first motorcycle unit got an electric drivetrain, all thanks to a group of engineers who worked on it 40 years ago!

1978 electric Harley-Davidson motorcycle. (Image: RM Sotheby¡¯s Auctions)

The first all-electric Harley-Davidson

Let us rewind to the year 1978. Steve Fehr, an engineer from the Transitron Electric Corporation living in Honolulu, Hawaii had a belief that Harley-Davidson should come out with an electric motorcycle. In order to convince the firm of the idea, he started to build one himself.

To bring the plan to action, Steve first started to put together a team, mostly comprising of his peers from Transitron. The group then selected a 1971 Harley-Davidson XLH Sportster as a suitable option for the conversion.

The designing part was quickly turned into a practical application, as the crew took out the original 900cc gas engine of the bike and replaced it with a variable speed 24V 90A electric motor. The motor was linked to a 4-speed automatic transmission with a belt drive. The system was then concluded with a direct chain drive to the rear wheel.

The group then added a self-developed controller and gauges for measuring the current flow and voltage as well as an electronic speedometer and tachometer.

The 276 kg bike was powered by four hefty deep-cycle lead-acid batteries due to the lack of options at the time. With this battery back up, the bike was able to reach a top speed of 80 km/h and attain acceleration of 0 to 51 km/h in 5-6 seconds.

1978 electric Harley-Davidson motorcycle. (Image: RM Sotheby¡¯s Auctions)

Interesting enough?

Not for Harley-Davidson! Even with the impressive specs that the electric bike claimed, Harley-Davidson was just not interested in the project. Probably because of the heavy weight of the bike which might not have made it a very good commercial offering.

The point that Steve was trying to put across though was that the bike could have been more refined and much more efficient had Harley backed the project, with its resources and capital.

The one silver lining, however, was that noted Harley-Davidson designer Brooks Stevens set his eyes on the project. He then collaborated with Steve to create a test 579 km track for the electric bike and the duo went on to test the bike through the thick and thin.

Unfortunately, that was the farthest point in the electric motorcycle¡¯s story. Post a total investment of $70,000 and extensive testing, the project still did not gain any enthusiasm from the industry or investors. The motorcycle was then put inside Brook Steven¡¯s museum where it remained until his death. It was then auctioned for $11,000 back in 2014.

1978 electric Harley-Davidson motorcycle. (Image: RM Sotheby¡¯s Auctions)

The true visionary

This was right around the time when Harley-Davidson first unveiled the LiveWire prototype. An ode to Steve and his team, or not, we don¡¯t know. But it is quite clear that Harley-Davidson took 40 years to catch up to what Steve and his team had accomplished in the 70¡¯s. The ¡®visionary¡¯ title, hence, inclines much more towards him than the firm.

But the company has now come to terms with the idea and hence, the LiveWire has finally taken shape. Read all about the first ever all-electric production by Harley here.