Saturday Morning: Project LiveWire test ride
Sidenote: My car rolled over to 30k miles as I began my Saturday adventure.
My morning was an early start. The night before was like Christmas Eve, I was so excited I couldn't sleep! I think I finally fell asleep around midnight and was up about 6:15. My test ride was scheduled for 9am and we were advised to be there 30 minutes early for the safety briefing. The dealership hosting this event was all the way in the West valley about 40 miles away so I left the house at 7:30am. It was a cool 55° when I left the house so I grabbed my jacket, helmet and gloves to keep me warm on the ride, double checking I had everything I needed and I was off!
When I arrived I located the rider check-in, and was given 2 lengthy release forms to sign. One was your typical Waiver and Release, motorcycles are inherently dangerous, I'll be exposed to public roads that have danger, if you die don't sue, etc etc. The second was an acknowledgement of safety information and release. My favorite acknowledgement was #2 on the second form...
"I acknowledge that each LiveWire motorcycle that I will be allowed to operate, ride upon or otherwise use is a hand built, non-production, test motorcycle. I understand that hand built, non-production, test motorcycles are not manufactured for general consumer use and are not fully tested. I also understand that there is increased risk involved in operating or riding upon hand built, non-production, test motorcycles"
If reading that doesn't make you feel like a badass I don't know what will ;)
Here's a shot of what the setup looked like. They had two bikes under the tent, one was up on a lift so you could get a good up close look at it, the other was set up on a dyno machine so you could take it for a spin without taking it out on the road. They also had a gear display that offered a look at some future options, a high def heads up display helmet and some riding gear with LED lights integrated into it for better visibility. If look closely in the picture towards the back middle you'll notice a white vending machine looking box. It has a touch screen on the front of it with some terms and conditions and once you press accept it will give you a hashtag code, if you tweet to the vending machine using the hashtag it will spit out a prize for you! I got a nifty keychain and a sticker!
Ok, here's the caveat to this all, I don't have many pictures to share. 1- I was supposed to have a tag along, but he couldn't make it. 2- I didn't even think about it to be honest. I read an article once that talked about taking pictures, it went on to say that while you are worried about taking pictures to remember the moment, you also miss out on experiencing the moment and 3-it seems like it all happened so fast lol, and while we were sitting on the bikes, they were telling us how to work the bikes, so I didn't have time to take pictures and listen... I figure listening to the safety briefing was more important anyway.
Here are some facts about the bike:
* Only 53 were made and I was told they have lost 3, as to why, I don't know. I'm guessing either they were dropped or mechanically lost.
* Each bike was handmade and costs $150,000... and they let me ride it!
* Weighs about 460 lbs, lightest bike Harley has put together
* 0-60mph in 4 seconds, top speed of 95mph
* 3.5 hour charge time on 220v with a distance of about 55 miles
Here is the bike I actually rode.
After we signed our waivers we waited for all the riders signed up to arrive. Several people were walking up wanting a ride (I've been signed up since a month and they think they can just walk up... please) a few got to go on a waitlist but even that filled up while we were waiting. I was in the first group (total of 5 riders, I was the only girl!) of the day and it looked like they had rides scheduled about every half hour maybe?
We started with a 5-7 minute safety video that talked about how this bike was different from a normal motorcycle. There is no clutch and no shifting on this bike (which feels weird). The video also talked about how quick the response of the bike was and the importance of a flat wrist on the throttle (well it's not really a throttle is it)
After the video it was time to gear up and get on the bikes for the hands on safety instruction. The bike itself has a similar set up as far as controls go, very close to my current Harley (Turn signals, horn, run switch etc.) Everything else is run through a touchscreen. When you push the run button the touch screen activates.
I snagged the picture below from a google search. This picture shows the system status screen, battery life on the left (ours was at 99% being the first pack out for the day) You have two modes at the bottom, the range ride option limits you to using 75% of the battery at any time, which gives you greater battery life/better range, the power mode on the other hand gives you access to 100% of the battery for more 'speed'/less distance.
Once you make your selection the number 111 displays signifying that acceleration is disabled (also representing 111 years as a company) when you are ready to active the accelerator you press start and 0mph will display.
After a few more "do not's" like, don't pop wheelies, stoppies, power slides, and yes I have to say this selfies. (Apparently since there is no need for a clutch hand, people were rolling taking selfies... seriously?!) A few more reminders about the quick response (and a story that one man popped a wheelie not meaning too and was removed from his test ride) and protocol for a dropped bike (you have to leave the bike there, they will come pick it and you up in a truck, they have to do a full review of the bike to make sure it is able to go back out) all good information to have, but I'll be honest, it makes you think if you can handle this lol.
After all the reminders we were instructed to roll out, one bike at a time (I was bike 5) to follow the lead bike. You bet your bottom everyone was Verrrrrry slow to roll on that throttle, but once you had a feel for it you were good. There were 5 LiveWire bikes along with a lead bike and a trail bike following behind the group. It was probably about a 6 mile ride and took about 10 minutes. Just long enough to get a test but not nearly long enough.
My thoughts:
The bike is very well balanced and it's a smooth ride. The under-mounted mirrors look really cool, but are terrible for being able to see anything. They are not kidding about the response! It's very quick to get up to speed (and fun!) The sound is nothing like a Harley, but sounds cool as hell. It's been described as the sound a jet engine makes as it gets up to speed, I think it sounds like a screaming banshee. The bike is equipped with a rear brake but there is no need to ever use it, even the hand brake we just used to alert the rider behind us that we were slowing. The bike does all the braking for you. As you let of the throttle the slowdown is immediate, which took a bit to get used to, on a normal bike as you slow you still coast a bit to a stop, not the case on the LiveWire. As you let off the throttle its the same feeling as engine braking to slow and the bike responds fast and slows quickly. The LiveWire uses regenerative braking to give energy back to help recharge the battery. It was weird to be stopped at a stop light and actually be able to talk to the bike next to you. We got several looks as we rolled down the street and one guy even asked if it was new. Overall it was a very cool experience and I'm so glad I got to be a part of it!
Once we returned from our quick test ride, we were ushered back into the tent to take a survey. The whole point of this tour is get feedback from riders to make the bike that much better when they are ready for production. The whole LiveWire team kept mentioning that this bike will never be made. No one else will get to ride this bike, meaning it will not be this exact bike. Improvements will need to be made before an electric Harley can go into production. The battery life is no where near where it needs to be for a production bike and at a cost of $105k who could afford it? The problem facing all electric vehicles is the cost of the battery, Tesla Motors is facing the same issue, once that gets figured out the cost of the battery will come down immensely. Charging through a 220V outlet is not common to a household so that will need to be changed for better usability. But you gotta start somewhere right?! I feel so incredibly lucky that I got to be a part of this. Once Harley puts an electric bike into production, I can say that I was a pioneer ;)
Someone trying out the bike on the Dyno, notice the bright LED lights
A closer look at the front of the bike
I wish I would have grabbed someone to take a picture of me on the bike, but alas.... no photo evidence, just the memories :)
Saturday Afternoon: Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. ASU Sun Devils
At least my morning went well....
About this time last year dad and I were watching the Fighting Irish in South Bend under the exact opposite of conditions as I had yesterday. November 2nd 2013 in Indiana the high temperature was 49°F and a 50% chance of showers... and it was cold and it did rain and it was windy. (Thank you weather underground for your historical weather data page)
The weather November 8, 2014 in Tempe, Arizona was 91°F mostly sunny. The record high for that day was 92°, the average should have been 81° and let me be honest... I could have used that 10 degree difference. It was not exactly what I envisioned for an early November college football game. When I purchased these tickets awhile back the time was TBD, I was hoping for a night game... nope. This game started at 1:30pm Arizona time.
I picked up K-Zu and then we headed for the light rail (AZ's fancy public transit train) we had to wait for 3 trains to roll by because the previous 2 were all stuffed to the max with no room for us! This was a big game, ASU was ranked No. 9 in the nation and Notre Dame ranked No. 10, it was a packed game, and a packed train. It was a sea of maroon and gold but there was quite a bit of green as well.
Crowded Public Transportation is fun!
It's nice to see your team's colors at an away game
You know it's going to be a fun game when "Let's go Irish" is being chanted as you wait on the train platform and then you see flags being carried to the tune of "Here come the Irish" though "ASU! ASU! ASU!" was drowning it out at times. Walking into the stadium I was sporting my Irish green, when someone points and says I hope you brought sunblock for those pasty legs. I know this was a jab at Irish being pasty white pale skinned folks, but it was also funny because I too get poked fun at for being incredibly pale for an Arizonian, and also I should have brought sunblock.
K-Zu and I
K-Zu said she was going to be Switzerland and be neutral for cheering, but that changed pretty quickly once ASU started lighting up the scoreboard.
Blimp shadow
Warm ups. The golden helmets were shining pretty in the sun
Packed house
The blistering sun
One thing I forgot to take into account was the fact that there would be no shade and the blistering sun would be shining down upon us. I did bring a bottle of water along, but ended up paying a ridiculous amount of money for water once we got there. Boy was it toasty.
Notre Dame was rotten the first half trailing 34-10. We left with 4 minutes left in the 3rd quarter to beat the traffic and also so we wouldn't be shoved in like sardines on the light rail. We watched the rest of the game at my house and I thought for a moment that Notre Dame was making a comeback... alas that was not the case and they ended up losing. I'm glad we didn't stick around for the end, I didn't want to have to do the visiting team walk of shame and listen to the heckling lol.
I went to watch my Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the desert and all I have to show for it is a sunburned left half. With that loss it looks like our bowl game dreams are drifting away, we dropped from No.10 to No.16, it was not a pretty loss. At least we got those points up on the board in the second half... otherwise it could have been uglier.
Well there you have my whole Saturday, the highlight obviously being my test ride. It was a busy weekend overall, Today (Sunday) I went to the Progressive International Motorcycle Show, but I'll save that for tomorrow's post. Hope everyone had a great weekend too!
