Harley-Davidson?s new LiveWire electric motorcycle is seriously sporty, shockingly fast and whisper-quiet–everything a typical Harley isn?t. And that?s just the way Milwaukee wants it. (Photos courtesy Harley-Davidson)

Imagine
telling the average Harley-Davidson or American V-twin enthusiast a few years
ago that not only would the Motor Company produce and sell a naked sportbike in
2020?certainly not an outrageous concept?but that it would be an all-electric
one.

That last bit
would have not only raised an eyebrow or two among the faithful, it would have
likely burned a few clean off their respective foreheads simply from the heated
blowback of the responses. Just about any Motor Company fan will tell you: Harley-Davidsons
and electric-power EVs just weren?t meant to be talked about in the same sentence.

With 17-inch wheels, Brembo brakes, fully adjustable Showa suspension and 45 degrees of cornering clearance, the LiveWire is by far Harley-Davidson’s sportiest motorcycle.

But as we all
know, that?s exactly what?s happened. Harley-Davidson has not only built a
naked sportbike that?s sleek, futuristic and sexy, with wide wheels, sticky
tires, sporty suspension and a lean-forward riding position, but one that?s electrically
powered, with not a molecule of internal combustion waste emanating from its
non-existent exhaust system.

It?s a simple
truth: Harley-Davidson can?t continue to exist solely by selling Big Twins to
aging baby boomers who, in a de...