ISSUE 174
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Although Angelle Sampey holds the official World LiveWire Records, Andie Rawlings has run bests of 10.994and 110.47mph.
If you have been paying attention lately, Harley-Davidson’s most notable racing achievements have been with the LiveWire and its FXDR Pro Stock drag racers.
Harley just announced the “LiveWire motorcycle set all-new records for elapsed time and top speed by an electric-powered production motorcycle on a drag racing course.”
Harley continued saying the “Screamin’ Eagle/Vance & Hines rider and three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle champion, Angelle Sampey stepped off her Harley-Davidson FXDR Pro Stock competition motorcycle to pilot the LiveWire bike to capture world record-breaking runs on the quarter and eighth-mile, covering the eighth-mile distance in 7.017 seconds and the full quarter-mile course in just 11.156 seconds at 110.35mph.”
Its 0 to 60mph (0 to 99kmh) is in 3.0 seconds and 60 to 80mph (99 to 129kmh) in 1.9 seconds. With its top speed limited to 110mph, it makes you wonder how much faster it would be in the quarter mile if it were unlimited.
While being a stock LiveWire and ridden by the fastest Harley drag racer on a sticky track, her time is the fastest I’ve seen for a stock Harley.
For a comparison the LiveWire does 0-60mph in three seconds while the old V-Rod did it in 3.5 seconds, and the current 114 Softails do it in about 4.5 seconds.
https://www.harleyheaven.com.au/blog/the-worlds-fastest-harley-davidson/
All that said, I think the LiveWire is a drag racer’s bargain at AU$50,000 ride away compared to AU$66,000 for a Tesla 3 AWD at 4.5 seconds to 60, and the Taycan Turbo at $190,000. But with its limited range, it is not a full-day rider in this country. Its range is actually better in the city because of its regenerative-braking recharging.
https://electrek.co/2020/11/13/porsche-taycan-vs-harley-davidson-livewire-electric-drag-race-winner/
So being practical and boring, almost any litre class Euro or Japanese sport bike will stay with the electric world-class bikes up to 100mph. And at 110mph the the LiveWire goes into cruise control and flatlines… like your licence on public roads.
So let’s now talk about what bikes are the fastest and or the quickest through the years on the drag strip and Salt Flats. I took some time to dig around to see what speeds/times have been done before and even right now in both petrol and electric bikes.
What first comes to mind are the the three most widely available eBikes on the market: the LiveWire, the Italian Energica EGO+ RS, and the American Zero SR/S Premium. The Energica goes from 0 to 62mph in 2.6 seconds and with a top speed limited to 150mph or 240kmh. The Zero does the quarter mile (or 400 metres) in 11.7 seconds with a top speed of 123mph or 208.3 kmh. Both these two bikes are far cheaper than the LiveWire!
Getting into the truly superbike price of about US$40,000 plus is the Lighting LS-218 with a top speed of 218mph or 351kmh. The LS2-18 can go 0 to 60mph in 2.2 seconds and 0 to 100mph in 5.5 seconds.
If I had that kind of money and wanted to keep my road licence so I could cruise around on my ole man’s Street Glide Special, I’d just buy a track bike like the Energica EGO Corsa which is raced in the European FIM Enel Moto World Cup series and a top speed of 175mph (281kmh).
https://www.energicamotor.com/motoe/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energica_Ego
https://pdf.energica.link/brochure_web-energica-ego_en.pdf
The 10 Fastest Electric Motorcycles 0 to 60mph may surprise you. The slowest in this list is the Brammo Empulse R at 4.8 seconds. Previously mentioned at number seven is the Zero SR at 3.3 seconds. At number three is the Lightning LS-218 as just mentioned. And fastest bike did it in under one second back in 1999.
https://motoridersuniverse.com/news/1253746-10-fastest-electric-motorcycles-0-60.html
http://www.killacycle.com/about/
Now in the electric-assisted pushbike category with pedals is the newest Harley range from Serial 1 Cycle Company that are limited to 20 or 28 mph. The fastest pushbike is the Swind EB01 (which Simon Cowell almost killed himself on in his own backyard) with a top speed of 72mph.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v_2LuhRQgQ/
https://moneyinc.com/top-harley-davidson-motorcycles/
If delivered as promised in 2022, the Damon Motors’ HyperSport SX and XE “transformer” electric motorcycles will kill the competition. The “Shift” system changes the position of the bars and pegs from touring to race positions with servo motors. Its CoPilot warning system will scan 360-degrees and warn the “pilot” of any potential hazards. And its HyperDrive motor with 200hp will launch it to 155mph all while costing under US$20,000.
Petrol Bikes
Now the bad (and good) news. For all you drag race fans and racers like our esteemed Editor Mick, The Motor Company has ended its 20-year partnership with Vance & Hines in the NHRA Pro Stock and American Flat Track racing series.
That said V&H will be the exclusive licensed manufacturer and seller of the Harley-Davidson XG750R motorcycles for the American Flat Track Production Twins and SuperTwins. In the NHRA Pro Stock drag racing, V&H will be building an all-new Suzuki based billet engine. The Motor Company as usual is quiet about its own detailed racing plans except for its focus on dealer-based teams.
https://vanceandhines.com/collections/racing
Bagger Kings
To me the biggest surprise in this year’s moto racing was the success of the one off MotoAmerica King of the Baggers race at Laguna Seca, California. What fun seeing baggers do wheelies on the corkscrew where in 2008, Rossi passed the then World Champion Casey Stoner and in 2013, when Marc Marquez returned the favour by passing Rossi. Watch the YouTube video for some entertaining and actually fast action. Maybe the King of the Baggers race will become a support series in the USA and Australia as a return to the good ole days of real road-based Indian versus Harley-Davidson Race on Sunday – Sell on Monday agenda.
https://motoamerica.com/tag/king-of-the-baggers/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-FD76BwB08 rossi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY9mrKR5SkA marc
Happy Holidays
I’m now signing off for 2020 and wishing you all a very merry and safe Christmas and an even safer Happy 2021. Below I leave you with a list of the fastest street and race bikes…
Mick’s Christmas present and challenge in 2021 from me is the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 setting a new world record of 157mph while ridden by an 18-year-old Cayla Rivas at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
https://borntoride.com/2018/10/royal-enfield-sets-bonneville-salt-flats-speed-record/
The 25 fastest production motorcycles in the quarter mile includes Kawasaki with the fastest overall time and also with the most bikes on the list, Ducati with four bikes followed by BMW with three, Yamaha with two, and Suzuki with one.
https://www.hotbikeweb.com/worlds-fastest-motorcycles-1-4-mile-under-12-seconds
The Italian design house ‘Engines Engineering’ has taken the Harley 338 Street Tracker idea one step further than the factory in China and come out with a really nice looking prototype of the XR338R based upon the Chinese Benelli 302S.
https://www.zigwheels.my/motorcycle-news/harley-davidson-xr338-street-tracker-prototype-revealed
https://www.enginesengineering.com/en/project-development/
Perhaps the fastest street Harley of all time that one could actually buy was the VR-1000 with about 150hp in 1994. It was even cheaper than a LiveWire today. You have to read its complete story on the web.
https://www.odd-bike.com/2016/03/harley-davidson-vr1000-gods-own-voice.html
Had enough? How about the 25 fastest cruisers from 0 to 60mph. The slowest is the Sportster 48 at five seconds and the fastest was the soon to be discontinued Yamaha Star VMAX at only 2.5 seconds… eat your heart out LiveWire and all the rest.
https://www.motorbiscuit.com/fastest-cruiser-motorcycles-from-0-60/
How about the top five underrated Harleys? To me it simply has to be the 1983 FXRT Sport Glide with its fairing from the Nova V4 Project bike which eventually led to the popularity of the Tour and Road Glides along with the 2019 winner of the Harley-Davidson dealers’ Battle of the Kings.
https://www.motorcycle.com/top10/top-five-underrated-harley-davidsons.html
Another top 10 is the best Harleys of all-time starting with the 1915 11F with its new three speed transmission, automatic oiler, a huge 11hp engine, headlight, and all the modern comforts.
And finally let me take you out of your misery with the 2020’s show-stopper… Max Biaggi on an electric Voxan Wattman at 254mph (408 kmh) and 11 new world records. Change the fairing and you are in another class. Its street legal 2013 Wattman is still available and “Made in Monaco” with 203hp and 200Nm of torque. It flies form 0 to 100kmh in just 3.4 seconds on its way to 100mph in only nine seconds.
