Milwaukee-based motorbike firm Harley-Davidson is feeling the sting of supply-chain points which have plagued main producers for years. Now the corporate has been pressured to pause manufacturing throughout all of its numerous motorcycles, excluding its LiveWire electric motorcycles.
And it’s not simply manufacturing that’s pausing. Shipments are additionally halted.
As the corporate defined, it took the choice to “suspend all vehicle assembly and shipments” except for its electric motorcycles.
Going into additional element, H-D says that “this decision, taken out of an abundance of caution, is based on information provided by a third-party supplier to Harley-Davidson late on Tuesday (5/17) concerning a regulatory compliance matter relating to the supplier’s component part.”
While the half is probably going frequent throughout most or all of the corporate’s gas-powered motorcycles, its LiveWire sub-brand is all-electric and shares minimal elements with the corporate’s gasoline bikes.
Instead, Harley-Davidson developed a lot of the essential tech for its LiveWire motorcycles in home, together with creating its personal batteries and motors. In truth, a lot of the tech that H-D engineers have developed has gone on to contribute to different models within the model’s household tree, such because the batteries utilized in H-D’s electric bicycle model Serial 1.
The authentic Harley-Davidson LiveWire morphed into the LiveWire One when H-D spun off LiveWire as a sub-brand final yr.
Harley-Davidson is now nonetheless coming down off the excessive of its main electric motorbike unveiling final week.
LiveWire dropped the long-anticipated Del Mar electric motorbike, which lowered LiveWire’s pricing from a lofty $22k for the LiveWire One to a considerably extra manageable $15k.
The Del Mar isn’t as quick or highly effective because the LiveWire One, nor does it have as a lot vary. But it ought to assist the model open the door to a wider vary of riders, particularly in the important thing youthful demographics of recent riders that aren’t gained over as simply by Harley’s legacy way of life branding.
![Harley-Davidson pauses production for two weeks on all models except for electric motorcycles](https://electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/05/del-mar-image.jpeg?quality=82&strip=all&w=792)
The LiveWire Del Mar can also be constructed on a brand new platform referred to as the ARROW structure. This platform was particularly designed by LiveWire to supply a number of motorcycles utilizing the identical body. Though on this case, ARROW doesn’t as a lot have a body because it does a structural battery.
The design is predicated upon a structural battery case that just about replaces a standard motorbike body. Other key elements such because the inverter, controller {hardware}, and onboard charger have been built-in right into a single unit and mounted to the skin of the structural battery. That charger helps Level 1 and Level 2 charging however not DC quick charging just like the flagship LiveWire One.
The battery makes use of 21700-format battery cells within the structural pack to scale back total system mass and replaces the necessity for a redundant body.
The Del Mar’s electric motor makes use of a direct drive setup as an alternative of the delicate but sophisticated Revelation motor developed for the LiveWire One.
While Harley-Davidson has briefly paused electric motorbike manufacturing earlier than, this longer two-week pause for all of its gas-powered models is unprecedented in its electric division. Electric motorcycles largely stay dearer than their gas-powered brethren, however a key benefit on this case is that electric motorcycles are a lot easier to supply and preserve resulting from considerably fewer shifting components and diminished upkeep issues.
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