Harley-Davidson LiveWire Production Begins After Charging Issue

Harley-Davidson has resumed the production of the all-electric LiveWire motorcycle after determining that an issue with charging was limited to a single motorcycle. The company has now said that Harley-Davidson LiveWire owners can now resume charging their motorcycles at home. Harley-Davidson had previously advised customers to the only charge at dealerships until the charging issue was resolved. The issue has still not been specified, but Harley-Davidson claims that the issue was found only on one motorcycle after “rigorous analysis”. The first all-electric Harley-Davidson received a serious setback last week when production was halted due to a problem with the bike’s charging system

After the issue was reported, Harley-Davidson did not recall any of the LiveWire motorcycles already on the road, but the company did stop production and deliveries and also began simultaneous testing and analysis. Nevertheless, the issue will be a speed breaker to Harley-Davidson’s plans to garner some positive publicity for its electric motorcycle program. The company has now released a statement, which, while not going into the specifics of the problem, mentions that it was actually limited to just one motorcycle.

“Temporarily stopping LiveWire production allowed us to confirm that the non-standard condition identified on one motorcycle was a singular occurrence,” the statement said, adding, “after completing rigorous analysis this week, we have resumed LiveWire production and deliveries.”

The issue did, however, affect Harley-Davidson’s image after the company’s first foray into electrification just weeks after deliveries of the LiveWire began. The LiveWire is meant to complement Harley-Davidson’s traditional v-twin internal combustion engines, and not replace them, and went into production in 2019. Deliveries to dealers in Europe and the US began in September 2019. The LiveWire has also been showcased in India, but so far, there have been no definitive plans of launching the electric Harley commercially in India.