Sales rep Jeff Martinez journeys to Milwaukee to take his Sales Master training on the new Livewire electric Harley-Davidson!

June is the busiest month for motorcycle sales. Getting a way for a couple days is a nice break. I drove down to Seattle after a busy Saturday at the dealership trying not to think about potential missed sales while I was gone. I also wondered how good the Live Wire was going to be. I arrived in Milwaukee the next day. It was a hot humid day. I had the evening to rest before class the next day. I enjoyed a couple Milwaukee beers, appropriately branded Harley Davidson and fell asleep. I was up for the breakfast before the 7am shuttle. Monday was also hot and humid but thunderstorms were threatening. We were told that we would test ride at a moment’s notice because we didn’t want to get rained out. We started to get more info on the bike but none of that was really going to matter until we actually rode the bike. Mid morning a Harley Davidson trainer rushed into our classroom. It was time, the mid-western thunderstorm was looming.  

 We were brought upstairs to gear up. A certain nervousness replaced the excitement. How fast was this thing going to be? Was it going to be easy to ride? I definitely didn’t want to be the guy to crash the Live Wire. As we rushed down to the parking lot, I grabbed my Go-pro. I had no idea how I was going to mount it as I didn’t bring my helmet. I did bring some two-way Velcro which I was able to improvise a mounting solution. With the Go-pro sticking out of the top pocket of the riding Jacket they provided, I jumped on the Live Wire. After a very brief run through we were off. Within the first minute I was hooked. The bike was fast and powerful, yet easy to ride. Once on the highway we were able to get a small taste of what this motorcycle could do. The pickup was instant and with lightness of the bike very flickable. Just as quick as the bike was to accelerate the ride was over. We had managed to pull in before the clouds let go. Everyone got back to class with a renewed excitement for the motorcycle. The rest of training went by quickly and we finally got more of the technical questions answered.

Just before I left Milwaukee, I went over to the Harley Davidson Museum. As I walked through and checked out the exhibits, it was hard not to marvel at the pioneers of motorcycling. Men and women riding motorcycles that today we would consider too slow and too big in places that they really didn’t seem to belong. If you ride then you can understand the sheer feeling of freedom you get on two wheels. This is what obviously drove those first riders.

It’s not often in our modern culture that we have opportunities to be pioneers again. Electric vehicles are the new frontier. It may be easy to dismiss the price or novelty of electric motorcycles. But if you get a chance, ride one. I guarantee that you’ll be sold. The future is electric. And just like back in 1903, when people thought it was crazy to put a motor on a bicycle. There are the doubters of this new electric motorcycle. But as we know, history will tell a different story.