Sneak Peek at Harley-Davidson’s Ebike Line

Harley-Davidson soft-launched the moto brand’s highly anticipated line of pedal-assist ebikes at its dealer event this week, and the prototypes boast some truly distinctive features and design cues.

The line displayed consisted of a step-through model and two step-overs, all outfitted with a rigid fork, a mid-drive motor of unknown provenance, and what appears to be a belt drive mated with an internally geared hub. Although the bikes are clearly aimed at city riding, the frames’ elevated chainstays may set aflutter the hearts of mountain bikers of a certain age.

The bikes also appear to have only one brake lever, certainly a nod to the ebikes’ moto heritage under Harley. It was unclear whether the single lever controlled both the front and rear disc brakes, but that scenario seems likely. A Harley spokesperson had no comment on the spec beyond saying that the bikes are still prototypes and that design details are still being finalized. Additionally, the company states on its website: “Prototype model shown. Production model features will vary. Not yet available for sale. All future models shown may not be available in all markets.”

The ebikes will be introduced at retail primarily through Harley dealers in the U.S. and Europe, and they are poised to hit the market sometime in 2020, according to the Harley spokesperson. “Other launch dates and details are still being finalized, but demos are a priority and we will be sharing more details about our launch plans with dealers in September/October,” the spokesperson wrote in an email to Cycle Volta.