Iconic motorcycle brand Harley-Davidson is starting a new bike line, an electric bicycle brand that is named the Serial 1 Cycle Company. On Tuesday, Harley-Davidson unveiled the first model, the Serial 1 – and it is a beauty.
The emblematic motorcycle brand established the name Serial 1 Company, a nod to Harley-Davidson’s Serial Number One, the company’s oldest known motorcycle that launched in 1903.
Harley-Davidson wanted to create an e-bike “worthy of the Harley-Davidson name.”“When Harley-Davidson first put power to two wheels in 1903, it changed how the world moved, forever,” Serial 1 Cycle brand director Aaron Frank told Electrek. “Inspired by the entrepreneurial vision of Harley-Davidson’s founders, we hope to once again change how cyclists and the cycling-curious move around their world with a Serial 1 eBicycle.”
“Great steps are being taken to make the bikes as easy and intuitive to operate as possible, which includes key features like a mid-mounted motor with integrated battery, integrated lighting and internal brake lines and wiring,” Frank told The Verge.
“As we’ve previously seen, the design includes a mid-drive motor, a belt drive system that looks very much like a Gates Carbon Drive setup (which would make sense, as Harley-Davidson’s other belt-driven motorcycles including the all-electric LiveWire also uses belt drive systems from Gates), frame-integrated headlights and taillights, thru-axle wheel hubs, what appear to be Tektro dual-piston hydraulic disc brakes on 203 mm rotors, a Brooks leather saddle, and beautifully wrapped leather handgrips,” Electrek reported.
The Serial 1 Cycle Company did not release official hardware, specs, or price.
Harley-Davidson is getting into the e-bike business at the right time. Electric bike sales were up 84% in March, 92% in April, and 137% in May, according to global information company The NPD Group.
There are not too many American companies making electric bicycles, a large number are being imported. There is expected to be between 500,000 and 600,000 e-bikes imported into the United States, according to Bloomberg.
You’ll have to wait a little longer for the Harley-Davidson e-bike, the Serial 1 is expected to be available in March 2021.
