Harley-Davidson's First Electric Motorcycle Arrives in August for $30K

After years of talk, Harley-Davidson is finally ready to put its LiveWire electric motorcycle up for sale -- and not surprisingly, it'll cost you. The green two-wheeler is now available for pre-order ahead of its August debut for a hefty $29,799. That's a lot to shell out, but Harley is betting that performance and connectivity will seal the deal.

Harley-Davidson via engadget

The motor tucked between your legs can take the LiveWire to 60MPH in a brisk 3.5 seconds (complete with a "futuristic" sound), while an H-D Connect service uses LTE to help you remotely check on the status of your bike, get service reminders and find out whether someone is trying to mess with your ride. If someone manages to steal the motorcycle, you can track its whereabouts through GPS.

There's one main catch if the LiveWire is within your budget: the range. Harley estimates that you'll get 110 miles of urban riding on a charge. That's certainly enough for many commutes, but a veteran like Zero Motorcycles has bikes that can handle up to 163 miles in the city in their standard form. You're paying for the LiveWire's power, technology and its all-business looks.