Filed under: EV/Plug-in, On Two Wheels, USA



It's approximately 385 miles from Detroit to Milwaukee. With former General Motors executive Jim Federico helping to lead Harley-Davidson's rather quiet trek into the electric-vehicle age, that distance theoretically just got quite a bit shorter. Now, if we only knew how many full charges it will take Harley's LiveWire EV to get from one city to the other, we'd really be happy.

Federico was GM's chief engineer when the automaker was developing vehicles such as the Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in and Chevrolet Spark EV, so his timing in taking over research and development at Harley as it prepares to start testing its first electric motorcycle is fortuitous, Automotive News notes. Harley, long known for its rather loud V-twin engines and heavy bikes, is kicking off its Project LiveWire this summer, letting prospective customers test the electric bike at 30 dealerships across the country. We got our brief turn the other day. With an estimated 0-60 time of four seconds and a 60-mile range, we can foresee a lot of hog riders having fun on this bike. Harley says it will test the e-bike in Canada and Europe next year.

Federico was with GM for about 36 years before stepping down earlier this year. He took his position as Harley's vice president of engineering on June 2.The unexpected connection between Chevy Volt and electric Harley LiveWire originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 01 Jul 2014 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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