Page 31 - Riding On Spring
P. 31

PETER “THE BEAR” THOEMING TAKES ON SOME FURPHIES








             There are still people out there who live under the delusion   I have to admit I thought it was odd when the bloke who
             that “loud pipes save lives”. I am sorry to have to tell you   handed the bike over to me suggested that I should not
             WKDW WKLV LV LQGHHG D IXUSK\  :KDW WKHUH LV RI WKH VFLHQWL¿F   leave  it  alone  while  it  was  charging.  I  presume  –  and
             HYLGHQFH LV VROLGO\ DJDLQVW WKDW  /RXG SLSHV PHUHO\ FRQ¿UP   hope – that this was some kind of H-D in-joke. With an
             the citizens’ conviction that motorcyclists are drooling idiots   11-hour charge time that’s plain impossible, although i9f
             with overwhelming feelings of inadequacy.           you don’t run it down completely it will of course take
                                                                 less time.
             Lack of exhaust noise does not disqualify the LiveWire or
             any other electric bike from being a ‘proper’ motorcycle.   Have I been bribed by Harley-Davidson to write this blog
             Take away the exhaust sound and your ride becomes richer,   debunking  a  couple  of  preconceptions?  Well,  they  did
             and more pure. You have an opportunity to devote yourself   give me a leather jacket some dozen or so years ago.
             to the performance and handling of the motorcycle, to the   I suspect they thought that any of my devoted readers
             visceral communication between you and the machine,   who saw me wearing it would also buy one. The success
             without being distracted by mere noise.             of that ploy can be judged by the fact that it has never
                                                                 been repeated.
             Fortunately, both the performance and the handling of the
             LiveWire are worth experiencing. Even something as simple   So would I buy a LiveWire? No. But that is because of
             DV ¿OWHULQJ WKURXJK WKH WUD໥F  WKH ELNH LV VOLP HQRXJK WR EH   the price, which puts it out of my reach. Fifty big ones (in
             DGPLUDEO\ FDSDEOH RI WKDW  DQG WKHQ XVLQJ WKH WRUTXH RI WKH   $XVWUDOLD " 'R \RX KDYH DQ\ LGHD KRZ PXFK PRWRUF\FOH
             electric motor to blast away from the citizens in their cars at   VFULEEOHUV JHW SDLG  RU UDWKHU  GR  QRW "
             WKH OLJKWV LV VLPSO\ GHOLJKWIXO  'XFNLQJ LQ DQG RXW RI WUD໥F
             on the tollway, which I know I should not do, becomes   Peter  “The  Bear”  Thoeming  #675  and  Editor  Emeritus
             enjoyable because of the chuckability of the bike.  of  Australian  MOTORCYCLIST  Magazine.  Bear  was  also
                                                                 responsible for our ‘old man’ logo, drawn with a biro on a
             Play with the comprehensive suspension settings and the   pub drink coaster!
             YDULRXV PRGHV  RU VHW \RXU RZQ  DQG \RX ZLOO ¿QG WKDW WKH
             LiveWire can become just the motorcycle you want it to
             be. Few if any other bikes I have ever ridden allowed the   Peter “The Bear”
             amount of personalisation that lurks in this one. Well, none
             actually.                                           Thoeming #675

             Now to so-called range anxiety. I am especially dubious
             about the relevance of this because there are many thou-
             sands of riders out there whose bikes have less range than
             a LiveWire, and I have yet to hear anyone seriously point
             this out as a disadvantage of choppers.

             $Q\RQH ZLWK D FRPPXWH RI OHVV WKDQ    NP ZLOO ¿QG WKH
             LiveWire more than adequate for their requirements. Plug
             it in at work and plug it in at home. You just need to think
             GL໤HUHQWO\ DERXW ³¿OOLQJ XS´  5HPHPEHU WKDW LW FRVWV DOO RI
                FHQWV IRU D FRPSOHWH ³¿OO´  2U VR ,¶P WROG



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