Harley-Davidson Acquires Portion of Electric Motorcycle Company
Investing in a cutting-edge, established company is just what H-D needs to build a bike tech-savvy youngsters will covet.
We already knew that Harley-Davidson was serious about building at least one all-electric motorcycle. They announced their plans to do just that recently, and even trademarked what will likely be the name of that futuristic electric powerplant. But with an aggressive plan to have an EV bike for sale by next year, it never seemed realistic for the brand to start completely from scratch. And now we know that they won’t.
Because Harley-Davidson has now acquired a portion of electric motorcycle company Alta Motors. The northern California-based manufacturer has already been building EV dirt bikes for eight years, so they’re well established in the still-young market. Alta builds cutting-edge, lightweight enduros and supermotos that are already just as feasible as their gas-powered competition.
Alta’s latest creation, the Redshift MXR, weighs a scant 259 pounds, yet produces 50 hp and 147 lb-ft of torque. A 90-minute charge nets you a range of 60 miles on or 40 miles off-road, depending on how hard you push it. And the most impressive number of all? It costs all of $11,995. It’s easy to see why Harley-Davidson would want such a powerful ally as they look to the future.
“Alta has demonstrated innovation and expertise in EV and their objectives align closely with ours. We each have strengths and capabilities that will be mutually beneficial as we work together to develop cutting-edge electric motorcycles,” said Harley CEO Matt Levatich.
Harley-Davidson clearly sees simpler, lighter, electric-powered motorcycles as the key to today’s youth market. By building an essentially maintenance-free, affordable, cutting-edge e-bike, they hope to attract tech-savvy customers to the world of motorcycles. And we have very reason to believe that a reasonably priced, city-blasting electric bike will do just that.
