Livewire Opens Reservations For Its S2 Del Mar

[advrider]

Harley-Davidson’s spin-off electric motorcycle manufacturer, now known as LiveWire, has gone public. To mark the occasion, they are announcing that they are now accepting reservations for the production version of their LiveWire S2 Del Mar.

S2 Del Mar specs

In making the announcement, LiveWire offered some of the bike’s technical specifications. According to their press release, the production S2 Del Mar produces a claimed 80 hp (59.6 kW), 184 lb-ft of torque, and will deliver a 0 to 60 mph time of 3.1 seconds. Range is said to be 110 miles in the city. Unfortunately, no highway range figures were given.

LiveWire says the S2 Del Mar has a “model target weight” of 431 pounds. It is somewhat surprising that LiveWire has to provide a target weight, given that the model should be production-ready or nearly production ready. We will have to wait and see what the final weight number will be.

LiveWire appears to have been inspired by Flat track motorcycle styling. Photo: LiveWire

The S2 Del Mar uses LiveWire’s scalable modular ARROW architecture.  It serves as the central component of the motorcycle chassis. In addition, the company says the new bike has a LiveWire proprietary battery, motor, charging, and control systems. These systems were designed in-house at LiveWire Labs in Mountain View, California.

Charging

You can charge the S2 Del Mar with both Level 1 and Level 2 chargers. LiveWire says that charging the bike’s 10.5 kWh battery pack from 20 percent to 80 percent will take 75 minutes if a Level 2 charger is used.

Range

The massive elephant in the room for electric motorcycles is the range or the lack thereof. LiveWire does claim 110 miles in the city but does not make any claims for the machine’s highway range, and that is a bit worrisome. Their press release offers the following disclaimer:

*Range estimates are based on expected performance on a fully-charged battery and are derived from SAE J2982 Riding Range Test Procedure data on a sample motorcycle under ideal laboratory conditions. Actual range will vary depending on personal riding habits, road and driving conditions, ambient weather, vehicle condition and maintenance, tire pressure, vehicle configuration (parts and accessories), and vehicle loading (cargo, rider and passenger weight).

That’s an understandable disclaimer since all of the above things affect not only electric motorcycles but also internal combustion-engined machines. But what it does suggest is that their 110-mile range claim will likely be shorter. How much shorter is anyone’s guess. And the fact that they do not state the highway range when many other electric motorcycle manufacturers do, makes the bike’s overall range capability questionable.

The S2 Del Mar features a 4-inch TFT display. Photo: LiveWire

Urban riding

Perhaps one of the reasons that LiveWire did not announce a highway range is that they say the bike is:

“Built for agility and soulful by design, S2 Del Mar is the mark of urban riding and beyond.”

However, they later seem to suggest that the bike is more than an urban machine, saying:

“The newest electric riding experience form LiveWire presents an upright position for a comfortable and controlled riding experience. Equipped with custom developed LiveWire Dunlop DT1 tires equally capable on paved and dirt surfaces, the capabilities of Del Mar are uncompromised by road condition.

This statement seems to suggest that the S2 Del Mar is suitable for other missions. That’s great, but why didn’t they announce the highway range? Highway range is the bugaboo of most currently available electric motorcycles, and everyone knows it. Other manufacturers producing street legal bikes usually report it. That makes the omission of the S2 Del Mar’s highway range even more worrisome.

Flat tracker styling

The S2 Del Mar has a very noticeable “flat track” looking design. Overall, it looks like a compact, upright motorcycle with a flat track racer style. So if LiveWire intended to mimic flat track machines, they have hit the mark.

CEO comments

Jochen Zeitz, the Chairman and CEO of the LiveWire Group, is excited about the company’s newest model.

“Today we are pleased to be opening reservations for the production edition of the S2 Del Mar – our second LiveWire motorcycle and the next step in the evolution of the LiveWire Brand. The modular ARROW architecture underpinning the Del Mar, developed in-house at LiveWire Labs, demonstrates our ambition to lead in the EV space and establish LiveWire as the most desirable electric motorcycle brand in the world. We’re excited about the future at LiveWire and look forward to the company creating the path to the electrification of motorcycling.”

Pricing and availability

The S2 Del Mar will be available in three colors; Pacific Gray, Nightfall Blue, and Asphalt Black and will be available at dealerships in the spring of 2023. LiveWire has set the bike’s MSRP at $16,999.

 

 

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