We’ve been waiting for well over a year, but we’ve finally gotten the full specs on the upcoming LiveWire S2 Del Mar electric motorcycle. The nascent electric motorcycle company, spun out of the legacy motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson’s own internal e-motorcycle development, has just revealed the new bike’s full specs to the public.
We already had limited information about the upcoming bike, including that LiveWire was targeting a power rating of around 80 horsepower (60 kW) and a city range of approximately 100 miles (160 km). The S2 Del Mar was also said to feature a 0-60 mph time of around 3.1 seconds.
Now with the full spec list in hand, we can confirm that the true figures are actually even more impressive.
The final horsepower figure turns out to be 84 hp (63 kW). The bike will also put out 194 ft-lb of torque, or 263 newton-meters. The 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) acceleration shaved 0.1 seconds off the original estimate, landing at an even 3.0 seconds. And if riders maintain that twist of the wrist, the bike will top out at 103 mph (166 km/h).
The 436 lb (198 kg) bike’s city range also got a boost, increasing to 113 miles (181 km). Highway range at 55 mph (88 km/h) drops to 70 miles (113 km). Riding even faster at a sustained 70 mph (113 km/h) will further reduce the range to 43 miles (69 km).
The bike’s battery was revealed to have a capacity of 10.5 kWh, which also happens to be just about bang on what I guessed based on my own test riding last year.
Using the LiveWire S2 Del Mar’s J1772 plug will charge the battery from 20-80% in 1.3 hours on a Level 2 charge, or from 0-100% in 2.4 hours. Using a Level 1 connection (charging from a typical home electrical outlet) will net the same result in 5.9 hours or 8.4 hours, respectively.
The upcoming electric motorcycle uses a modular cast aluminum frame, though the ARROW architecture means that the “frame” is mostly replaced by the battery box itself.
The bike will include a cast aluminum swingarm, Brembo Monobloc brakes, Showa suspension, 10-spoke cast aluminum 19″ wheels, 4-inch round TFT display for gauges, USB-C charging for accessories, and support LiveWire’s app for additional features such as navigation and over-the-air updates. The bike includes a 2-year unlimited warranty and 5-year warranty on the battery.
Electrek’s Take
Having test rode the original prototype bike last year, I wrote that “first you ride it, then you want to buy it.” That’s exactly what I did, and I’m excited to soon be receiving my own LiveWire S2 Del Mar LE. When exactly that will be is still a bit unclear as the delivery state has been slowly walked back a few times, but it sounds like deliveries are pretty darn close.
The S2 Del Mar will come at a critical juncture for LiveWire, and is largely seen as the bike that will help decide the company’s fate. The LiveWire One, which is the brand’s current flagship motorcycle, has been received critical acclaim but carries a fairly high $23,000 barrier to entry. That has priced out much of the younger urban crowd that are entering the electric motorcycle market without the same kind of decades long endearment held by Harley-Davidson’s existing customer base.
When Harley spun out LiveWire as its own electric motorcycle brand, it did so to give the company room to stand on its own two electric feet. And with a price point of just $15,499, the LiveWire S2 Del Mar will likely prove to be more attractive to a wider urban audience.
That urban audience is key, since the 113 mile city range is a clear indication that this isn’t a touring bike. To be fair, the S2 Del Mar’s battery is only 32% smaller than the LiveWire One’s battery, and a simple public charging station can get the battery a majority of the way charged in under an hour, but no one expects to this bike to be used for long distance riding. Instead, the S2 Del Mar is expected to bring high performance to the commuter motorcycle market. There’s no other electric vehicle on the road that can do 0-60 mph in 3.0 seconds at this price, or even close. And so for those that want a powerful, fast and fun electric motorcycle, but don’t want to spend the $25-$30k that those types of bikes usually cost, the S2 Del Mar is poised to give it to them.
