Will the Harley-Davidson LiveWire be used for the new ‘Long Way Up'?
Rumours suggest Charlie Boorman and Ewan McGregor will use a Harley-Davidson LiveWire electric motorcycle for their next ‘Long Way Up’ adventure
After riding a couple of conventional petrol-powered adventures together, it appears that Charlie and Ewan are going electric for their new ‘Long Way Up’ series, riding the new Harley-Davidson LiveWire e-motorcycle.
The pair will be travelling from South America to the U.S, a journey which far exceeds the LiveWire’s 145mile city range and 95mile combined city/highway range - so they’ll need to be pretty creative with how they juice them up along the way.
The information for the basis of this article comes from a report published by Argentina Autoblog, whereby, they spotted four Harley-Davidson LiveWire’s being delivered to Ewan and Charlie in Buenos Aires, Argentina, along with two modified Rivian electric support vans (each with a range of 400 miles).
So, by my calculations, that’s the whole crew will be using electric vehicles. Someone call Guinness World Records, surely this must be a first?!
Alas, it appears that some extra support vehicles - including two 4x4 Sprinter vans - have also landed which will carry spares and likely some portable DC fast chargers...
With the last ‘Long Way Down/Round’ adventures being completed on BMW GS motorcycles you’d think the lads would be much of the same, or perhaps even ride the Moto Guzzi V85 TT - especially as McGregor is a Moto Guzzi Ambassador. But, no. There has been an electric twist.
Electric publicity boost for Harley-Davidson LiveWire?
For Harley-Davidson, this is clearly a win as they get to showcase their new flagship electric LiveWire. However, it’s also high risk, because the Livewire was never designed for such adventures and will likely need a significant amount of modification to make the journey.
In a way, this is the ultimate test of what electric motorcycles can really do, even when pushed out of their infrastructure rich comfort zone.
If the LiveWire survives the trials and tribulations of the Americas could it beckon the start of an electric revolution?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
