Source: Motorcycle Cruiser –
Harley has spun off LiveWire as a separate company. The firm’s first new model will be the production version of the S2 Del Mar, which we’re told is coming soon. (LiveWire/)It’s been a bit of a wait, but it looks like LiveWire is almost ready to launch the production version of the all-new S2 Del Mar model, with deliveries of physical bikes expected by spring of 2023. That’s according to a release from Harley-Davidson and LiveWire earlier this week, with the promised arrival coming about a year later than the companies had initially hoped when they first teased us in early 2022. To be clear, the most recent release is not even a true launch announcement, but given the updates on the LiveWire website and the photos H-D sent, we have to believe it’s pretty close. Who knows, maybe they can chalk it up to “supply chain issues”? In any case, LiveWire says it has officially opened reservations for the production version of the all-electric S2 Del Mar.The production edition of the Del Mar will come in three colors; Nimbus Gray is shown here. (LiveWire/)As for the Del Mar Launch Edition bike we saw in the flesh last May (which is sold out), we have yet to hear that any physical units of that bike have been delivered, but then those limited-edition models were being hand-assembled and finished with hand-applied special paint and unique wheel designs. At the time, they were priced at $17,699.But the production model we’re talking about here—which LiveWire says will be delivered immediately after the Launch edition (next year)—will come in three somewhat more pedestrian colors: Nimbus Gray, Nightfall Blue, and Asphalt Black. Based on supplied photos, though, it appears the production version looks otherwise much the same, with cast wheels and a horizontally oriented LED headlight, a tall, slightly pulled-back bar, bar-end mirrors, and sorta upright ergos. We see similar residual H-D badging on some of the right-side covers, as well as the same custom LiveWire/Dunlop DT1 tires that further emphasize the Del Mar’s flat-track style and provide a bit more capability once you get off the asphalt.Related: Harley’s Next Electric, the Del Mar, Is on DeckThe limited Del Mar Launch Edition was priced at $17,699, and the production model (shown) is set at an MSRP of $16,999. (LiveWire/)Both bikes are built on LiveWire’s new scalable Arrow platform that features a proprietary structural battery and a proprietary motor that the firm says will output 80 hp and 184 lb.-ft. of torque, with a projected 0–60 mph time of 3.1 seconds.You also get Level 1 and Level 2 charging on the Del Mar models, but no Level 3 fast-charging option as on the LiveWire One. The bikes feature a round 4-inch TFT LCD display and a 10.5kWh battery pack that powers the bike—it’s a central component of that Arrow architecture, and the first clean-sheet, in-house design from LiveWire.City range is expected to be 110 miles and we’re told the bike has a “projected” 20–80 percent recharge time of 75 minutes (when using L2 chargers). The Del Mar’s weight “target” is 431 pounds. You’ll notice the copious use of words like “targets” and “projections” though, so we would expect slightly different real-world numbers; LiveWire says complete performance highlights and specs will be published at the time of retail launch.The S2 Del Mar is the first model built on LiveWire’s scalable Arrow platform with proprietary battery, motor, charging, and control systems. (LiveWire/)The production S2 Del Mar will have an MSRP of $16,999 when it debuts for real, which is a bit higher than H-D’s initial target of $15,000, but substantially less than the $22,799 LiveWire One it will be joining in the company portfolio. As mentioned earlier, delivery of the production bikes is expected in the spring of 2023. All LiveWire S2 Del Mar motorcycles will be assembled at Harley-Davidson Vehicle Operations in York, Pennsylvania.Round TFT display, upright ergos, and Dunlop DT1s carry over from the Launch Edition. (LiveWire/)In a concurrent release, Harley-Davidson also announced the spinoff of LiveWire, previously its electric motorcycle division, as a separate publicly traded company. The move signals the completion of its joint SPAC deal with AEA-Bridges Impact Corp. (AIBC) to form the new company that will now be called LiveWire Group Inc. That said, H-D still retains a 74 percent stake in the company.Following up in his official statement, Jochen Zeitz, chairman and CEO of LiveWire Group Inc., said: “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 got a peek at the LiveWire Del Mar Launch Edition last May, and the production version of the bike will likely be identical save for some details – though we haven’t seen it in the metal just yet. (Harley-Davidson/)
