After crossing the bridge, we made our way to the Palisades Parkway, a series of wooded bends that run along the Hudson River that is a favorite among test-drivers. Here I can switch between other riding modes — Sport, which boosts power and dials the traction and slip control; Eco, maximizes smoothness and efficiency; and Sugar, a balance somewhere in between. Switching modes while riding is simple—just press a button within easy reach of the right thumbstick—and seamless. The Del Mar will also be the first bike to offer over-the-air software updates, which could include new ride modes or ways to customize them.
Wheel control works in Road mode, but since it’s not set up here, I just crank up the throttle as much as I dare. This proves to be not very much. At 50 or 60 mph, the bike assumes that if you’re giving it a little “gas,” you mean it. A quarter turn is enough to make me feel pretty nervous, despite not achieving the full 184 foot-pound torque available. Interestingly, at this speed, the difference in acceleration between different driving modes is not too great; even in Rain, the Del Mar will respond very well if you need to give it a sudden push to overtake an erratic driver. I don’t get close to its top speed (until it’s steered), but I can leave any car crashing down the Palisades when it comes to a stop. For the brave, or reckless, LiveWire claims a 0 to 60 sprint time of 3.1 seconds.
After we returned to the George Washington Bridge, I turned to LiveWire One for comparison. It’s 100 pounds heavier than the Del Mar’s 431 pounds, and it feels a little more solid when traversing FDR Drive’s horribly tiled road. Its electric whine is also noticeably louder. The company designed the LiveWire One’s engine sound to be noticeable, possibly a safety feature, but I can imagine it would be annoying on a longer ride; not so with the Del Mar, its sound practically disappears after the wind noise when you are at a moderate speed.
Returning to city traffic, Del Mar has a notable advantage over the One. It’s easier to get in and out of lanes and around obstacles, and a more upright sitting position feels more comfortable, more comfortable, and safer — I feel more aware of my surroundings. around me more. And again, handling traffic at a stop start on potholes is a lot calmer than on an ICE bike.
But no fast charging
All of this is by design. Del Mar is aimed squarely at urban cyclists. It offers a maximum range of 110 miles in town, and while LiveWire hasn’t said what its highway range will be, a bold comparison to the One (146 urban miles, 95 highways) suggests it could be about 70 miles away. Furthermore, unlike the One, which can charge from zero to full in about an hour, the Del Mar surprisingly doesn’t offer DC fast charging but only Level 1 and Level 2, which means it can take few hours. The company claims Del Mar can manage 20 to 80 percent Level 2 charges in 75 minutes, but this isn’t good enough to extend your date range in most settings. The No SR / WILLMeanwhile, it has a city range of 187 miles and can quickly charge from 0 to 95% in 60 minutes. Yes, it’s a similar price point to the fast-charging LiveWire One, but it also beats that bike’s range.
So whether this is the bike for you or not depends on where you live and where you want to ride. I split my time between New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area. In Manhattan, public transportation or bicycles are almost always faster and more convenient than cars or motorbikes. For out-of-town trips, 70 miles gets me just a fraction of the way to the Hudson Valley and not far to the Catskills or the Hamptons — places that people who shell out less than $17,000 for an electric scooter can afford. want to spend their weekends. For a couple of hours without charging for a day trip, I’m limited to 35 miles each way, which doesn’t get me too far from the city.
Meanwhile, in the Bay Area, Del Mar would be fine for getting around San Francisco and the East Bay, but if you live in one of those places and need to spend the day in Silicon Valley, or vice versa, you’ll be fine. run out of range – unless, again, you can leave it parked somewhere for a few hours to charge. Almost any day trip north of the city or down the peninsula would be out of the question.
So Del Mar is not for me. Which is a pity, because it is a lovely bike. It manages to be strong and agile, exciting and forgiving at the same time, and it has a distinctive identity and great style. If you live in a city where motorcycling makes sense and don’t mind longer trips, it could be one of the cities. The rest of us will have to wait battery technology to get up to speed.
