拋棄皮革大鬍子 哈雷摩托推出第一款綠色電動概念車

When you think Harley-Davidson, you probably think about leather, beards, and loud engines. Now, though, you can picture a fully electric bike with a digital display.

一提到哈雷戴維森摩托車( Harley-Davidson)，大家可能就會想到皮革、鬍鬚，以及轟隆的引擎聲。但現在，大家可以把它想象成是一輛配備數字顯示屏的全電動單車。

The iconic American motorcycle manufacturer held an event in New York City Monday afternoon showing off Project LiveWire, a prototype of the company’s first electric motorcycle.

上週一下午，這家標誌性的美國摩托車製造商在紐約市舉辦了一場活動，隆重推出了它的第一款電動摩托概念車：LiveWire。

The new bikes look mostly like a traditional motorcycle, with a few notable exceptions. There is a digital display in between the handlebars where speed and efficiency are displayed. Also, there is no clutch on the left handlebar, since there are no gears. The bike can go from zero to 60 in about 4 seconds, and can reach up to 92 m.p.h. It does not have the traditional loud Harley rev-up sound, though there is a slight hum from the electric engine starting.

這款新單車看起來跟傳統的摩托車相差無幾，但也存在幾個顯著的不同之處。它的車把之間有一個能夠顯示速度和效率的顯示屏。此外，左車把沒有離合器，因爲它沒有齒輪。這款單車從零加速到60英里（約合96公里）大約只需4秒，最高時速爲92英里。它沒有傳統哈雷摩托那種響亮的轉速聲，但它的電動引擎會發出輕微的嗡嗡聲。

Harley President Matt Levatich said it would be a few years before the bikes were ready to be manufactured and put on sale. In the meantime, it is still tweaking the design and listening to its customers.

哈雷公司總裁馬特o雷瓦迪克表示，這款單車準備在幾年後量產銷售。與此同時，這家公司將繼續調整設計，同時聆聽消費者的意見。

“We don’t have specific date,” he said. “We need time to incorporate that feedback.

“我們還沒有確定具體的日期，”他說。“我們需要時間來吸收顧客的反饋信息。”

It was a uniquely diverse crowd gathered at the Harley-Davidson HOG 0.00% dealership in Lower Manhattan — a near equal mix of buttoned-up journalists lumbering onto the LiveWire simulator (think a motorcycle stuck in place that can be “revved up” without actually going anywhere) and Harley-Davidson Riders Club Members, many of whom sported well-worn patched vests and beards that would give Rasputin a run for his money.

各色人等聚集在位於曼哈頓下城哈雷戴維森旗艦店。一羣沉默寡言的記者緩慢地爬上LiveWire模擬裝置（想象一下，你騎在一輛被卡住的摩托車上，可以“加速”，但摩托車根本不會動），試駕者當然少不了哈雷騎士俱樂部成員(Harley-Davidson Riders Club Members)，其中許多人穿着打滿補丁的舊背心，蓄着可以跟一代巫師拉斯普廷相媲美的大鬍子。

One of those riders, Juan Marmol, said that the new bike ran great, though he was concerned about the relative short range of the bike on a single charge of its battery. The bike can only travel around 55 miles after a three hour charge.

一位叫胡安o馬莫爾的車手說，這款新單車的駕駛感覺非常棒，但他擔心，一次充電能夠支撐的里程相對較短。經過三小時充電之後，這款單車只能行駛大約55英里。

“It was awesome,” he said. “The biggest downfall to it right now based on what their telling us is the charge time.”

“感覺很棒，”他說。“根據他們目前的說法，最大的缺點是充電時間。”

For hardcore Harley riders who sometimes go up to 400 miles a day, the current battery just wouldn’t work, Marmol said. But he did think that the new bike could change Harley-Davidson’s image and maybe bring some new people into the hog-riding family.

馬莫爾說，鐵桿哈雷車手有時候一天要騎行400英里，對他們來說，目前的電池根本不夠用。但他的確認爲，這款單車可以改變哈雷戴維森的形象，或許能夠吸引一些新人加入重型摩托手的行列。

“I believe this will change kind of the mindset that Harley’s are for old guys,” he said.

他說：“我相信它多少會改變那種認爲哈雷粉絲都是老傢伙的觀點。”

Levatich agreed, also noting that Harley would not be forgetting its core customers who want old-fashioned motorcycles. “We’re absolutely not abandoning any of that,” he said. “We’re going to continue to invest in great traditional Harley-Davidson motorcycles. LiveWire has nothing to do with that. It’s all of that, plus opening the doors to some people that are maybe on the outside of the sport, on the outside of the brand.”

雷瓦迪克同意這種看法，但他還指出，哈雷永遠也不會忘記那些鍾情於老式摩托車的核心客戶。“我們絕對不會放棄任何一款老車型，”他說。“我們將繼續投資於擁有偉大傳統的哈雷戴維森摩托車。LiveWire與老車型無關。推出這款車是想給一些或許還沒有喜歡上這項運動、沒有嘗試過這一品牌的人們打開一扇門。”

Of course, Harley-Davidson isn’t the only motor cycle maker exploring electric bikes. In fact, Other companies such as Mission Motors have already put their models on sale.

當然，哈雷戴維森並不是唯一一家正在開發電動單車的摩托車製造商。事實上，包括使命摩托(Mission Motors)在內的其他公司已經開始銷售電動車型。

Harley-Davidson’s roadshow will travel across the United States this year and next in addition to going to Canada and Europe. The LiveWire Experience Tourcontinues next week in Milwaukee, Wis.

哈雷戴維森今年將在美國各地舉行路演活動，明年還打算遠赴加拿大和歐洲。LiveWire體驗之旅下週將移師威斯康星州密爾沃基市。