An excellent electric motorcycle, the LiveWire S2 Mulholland still wrestles with common electric bike issues. Is It time to change how we think about EVs?
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Check out the story at https://www.cycleworld.com/motorcycle-reviews/livewire-s2-mulholland-review/
Subscribe to Cycle World Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/c/cycleworld?sub_confirmation=1
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6CLI74xvMBFLDOC1tQaCOQ
Read more from Cycle World: https://www.cycleworld.com/
Buy Cycle World Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/cycleworld
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SportsTranscript
00:00This is the Livewire S2 of Mulholland.
00:03It's the second bike we've seen Livewire release on the S2 platform following the Del Mar.
00:07And compared to the Livewire 1, it's lighter weight and more affordable at $15,999.
00:12Compared to a normal gas motorcycle, electrics take a long time to charge.
00:16You can't just fill it up and keep going.
00:18So it takes a bit more planning for your day.
00:21You have to find a convenient charging station and then wait while it takes a charge.
00:26So today we're going to just show you how we use it in daily life
00:31and how much you have to adapt or change the way you use it to ride an electric motorcycle daily.
00:37So we're going to hit some errands, make a couple of stops, grab some lunch,
00:42plug this in, charge it, see how much juice I can get in the hour that we're eating,
00:46and then ideally head up to the twisties off Angeles Crest and have some fun riding this thing quick.
00:54All right. So the Livewire S2 Mulholland.
00:59It is a little bit lighter weight than the Livewire 1 at 432 pounds.
01:05There's no such thing as wet weight because it doesn't hold fuel.
01:10We see 194 foot-pounds of torque claim, 84 horsepower.
01:16Acceleration is exhilarating. It is rapid.
01:20It is wildly fun to leave a stop sign or a red light.
01:25Ride modes. Right now I've got it in sport.
01:28You have sport, rain, road, or economy, as well as two programmable rider modes.
01:41All right. That front wheel was floating up a little bit right there.
01:45So Livewire claims 121 miles of city riding on this bike,
01:51and that is tested at or under 55 miles per hour, according to Livewire.
01:59In my test, I haven't been able to get that much range out of it.
02:03It's really difficult to spend a day riding through Los Angeles without really getting on a highway.
02:08And when you take this thing up to highway speeds and, you know, sustained high speeds,
02:13you really see that battery level drop.
02:15This bike does have a top speed of 99 miles per hour,
02:18and that's not because that's all that the motor's capable of.
02:21It's because that's where Livewire decided that they were going to stop it.
02:25You'll also see later in our day, as we get more deeper into battery usage,
02:31that it does start to limit output once you get into the lower battery range.
02:37So you see a little turtle icon pop up on the dash,
02:42and that means that you are no longer getting full power.
02:46Cool. So the first spot's just Ace Hardware.
02:48Johnny's Art of Sharp. Johnny's an amazing knife sharpener.
02:51So I brought my carving knives. Going to get them sharpened up.
02:55It's only about a mile from my house, you know, so we never really got up to very high speeds coming here.
03:00Still at 100%.
03:13But when you look at the S2 Mulholland, the lines at the front are very similar to the S2 Del Mar.
03:29They've moved away from the gas tank-looking design for something that really embraces the electric design.
03:38It leans into what this bike really is.
03:41And, you know, you have some exposed wiring and cables here.
03:45Looks different than a gas bike. Looks electric.
03:49The seat goes all the way up top, so you can really get up on it,
03:52which is really nice when you're getting a little bit more aggressive with your riding.
03:56Mid controls, for me, are just tighter than 90-degree angle with my knees here.
04:02With the 6-inch risers, pretty even grip.
04:08The ergonomics are really comfortable for me.
04:10Looking at the bike with its tall front and the dropped seat,
04:15I was not expecting it to be as comfortable handling.
04:18It's really, it's a nice bike.
04:21It's easy to move around on when you're out hitting the twisties or just moving through town.
04:27Alright, we've ridden about five miles since we left the house.
04:30We're now at our second stop, Altadena Beverage.
04:33I normally come here, get some bread, some flowers, some beer, you know, water, whatever for the house.
04:39Great little locally owned spot.
04:41After five miles, the bike is still reading 100%.
04:44So, after this, we're going to go a little bit further to the butcher shop that I go to in La Crescenta.
04:49It's about eight miles away, and that requires a little bit of highway use.
04:52So, we'll see how that affects battery.
04:54So, LiveWire doesn't really give a claimed range for highway miles.
04:57They only offer the 121 city mile range.
05:00And all of that is at a top speed of 55 miles per hour in testing.
05:05So, that's not really the most accurate for how we're going to use this bike,
05:10especially in LA County where, you know, freeways average speed seems like it's around 75 miles an hour.
05:18So, once you get onto the freeway and you pick up speed and you're holding those sustained higher speeds,
05:23you really do see that percentage start to drop.
05:30All right.
05:40We just wrapped up at our third spot, Harmony Farms here.
05:43And now we're getting hungry.
05:45It's time for lunch.
05:46It's time to juice up the bike a little bit.
05:48So, first thing is to find an available level 2 fast charger.
05:52From there, we'll try to find a decent spot for lunch.
05:55But it's harder to find an available level 2 fast charger than it is to find a restaurant.
05:59So, wish us luck.
06:01We'll see what we can find.
06:02So, it's a parking garage.
06:04Looks like charging is free.
06:06No app required.
06:07But you do have to pay for parking.
06:09So, we'll see how it goes.
06:11Hopefully, it's smooth and it's close to downtown with a bunch of restaurants around.
06:16So, hopefully, we can make something happen.
06:28All right.
06:29So, now we're done with lunch.
06:30We parked the bike at 71% at 257.
06:33It is now 403.
06:35And I get updates through the Livewire S2 app showing me synced two seconds ago.
06:40The bike is now at 94% charge with 113 miles of range.
06:45So, we're ready to rip.
06:47That's a great charge, good range.
06:49I think we can head up into the hills, hit some twisties, and have some fun.
06:52Let's throw it in sport mode and use up some of this juice.
07:02All right.
07:03We left downtown with 100% battery and 114 miles of claimed range.
07:08We rode a little over 20 miles to now the height of Angelus Crest.
07:11Given we were riding a little bit faster and having some fun on the twisties,
07:15now we are at 39% with the claimed 22-mile range, which is about how far I have to go to get home.
07:21So, let's head on back.
07:23Hope we make it because we don't have a charger under the seat here.
07:26Wish me luck and we'll see you down there.
07:28All right.
07:29So, we are conserving energy going home.
07:32I'll switch to eco mode.
07:36You see the leaf right there.
07:37And then as we descend here, let's talk a little bit about the bike's handling.
07:43Tip-in is really nice and easy.
07:45You have the low seat height on the bike and a really low center of gravity.
07:49So, it carries its weight really well.
07:51When you're down in the turns, the bike holds a line with minimal effort.
07:54It's, you know, just a little bit of inside effort through the turn.
07:58But when you get down in it, it is actually just very nice, neutral handling, easy to ride.
08:07As you can hear in my voice, there are a little bit of bumps, you know, that are transferred into the seat.
08:12But that's all to be expected.
08:16And as you can see, when we go into economy mode, it doesn't totally, you know, sap power.
08:22It just ups regen braking, slows power output a little bit, but it doesn't totally kill the vibe.
08:28It doesn't stop it from being a fun bike with quick acceleration.
08:365%, 3 miles.
08:38Made it home with battery to spare.
08:41So, all in today, we did just over 68 miles.
08:44That was 28 miles before lunch, which brought us down to 71% when we hit the level 2 fast charger at lunch.
08:50Level 2 charger for about an hour and 20 minutes, which brought us back up to 100%.
08:55We left downtown Pasadena, headed up Angeles Crest, got to the top of the hill with 39%.
09:01So, we used 61% to get up to the top of the hill,
09:04given we were riding a bit more aggressively and enjoying the twisty roads up there.
09:08Descending the mountain, we got back down the hill with 15% left,
09:13where we then swapped to economy mode and took the side streets back home.
09:17We pulled in the driveway with 5% battery and a claimed 3 miles of range.
09:22So, just by the skin of our teeth.
09:24So, what have we learned?
09:26The Livewire S2 Mulholland is a very fun bike to ride.
09:30Handles really well. It's a blast.
09:32The acceleration, torque output, all amazing.
09:35But, there's a few things that you should know.
09:37First off is, if all your buddies ride gas bikes, they'll probably leave you behind.
09:42Your range is limited. You're going to have to stop and charge.
09:45They'll fill up with gas and keep going.
09:47Unless you're at some spot, a charger that's conveniently close to some place that everybody wants to hang out,
09:53you're probably going to get left.
09:55Second is, lithium-ion batteries.
09:57Electric bikes are expensive.
09:59They're going to cost more for what you get than a gas-powered bike.
10:02You can find used gas-powered bikes on Craigslist, offer up all day.
10:06Electric bikes are fewer, farther between, they're newer, and they just cost more money.
10:11Third is, being out and charging in the world sucks.
10:16You don't have a car with air conditioning and a charger for your phone where you can sit comfortably.
10:20You're in a parking lot with your bike, exposed to the elements.
10:23So, you're just going to be sitting on a curb, hanging out,
10:25or looking for the closest restaurant to try to find some comfort while you charge your bike.
10:29Alright, well that's it for the Livewire S2 Mulholland.
10:32Thanks for riding along with us today.
10:33Like, follow, subscribe, and we'll see you on the next video.