2024 Livewire Del Mar S2 – Video Review
Our most negative positive review
The Del Mar is the first electric bike from Livewire since it formally branched off from its parent company, Harley-Davidson (and now, like most of today’s youth, has since moved back home). Inspired by Harley's history with flat track, it's hard to lock the Del Mar into a particular category. If you’re curious what Ryan and I think about the bike, be sure to watch our video below.
Because the Del Mar S2 doesn’t fit neatly into any predetermined boxes, Ryan and I just rode the bike and judged what it was like as a motorcycle – not an electric one, not a gas one. Just… a motorcycle. Not that electric bikes are destined to be tourers anyway, but with its 10.5 kWh battery, the S2 was already destined for short trips and cross-town blasts. Which is fine, because the questionable ergonomics (a hard edge on the seat, mainly) had us ready for a break every 40 minutes anyway. We also weren’t big fans of the 19-inch front wheel and wide dirt track-inspired tire. It made for slow handling – but we can’t deny how cool it looks.
And therein lies the theme of our video review. We found some little gripes to complain about, mainly because that’s our job, but we were willing to forgive most of them because the Del Mar S2 looks cool, has great fit and finish, and delivers all the torque you expect from an electric bike when you twist the throttle. Our particular test bike was included in the recall notice, which was made public within days of our testing and filming. Starting at $15,499, this electric is no longer in the realm of ridiculous pricing that e-bikes used to be in not too long ago.
We realize this may not be everyone’s cup of tea – it wasn’t ours, either – but don’t let that detract from what Harley/Livewire has done.
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Troy's been riding motorcycles and writing about them since 2006, getting his start at Rider Magazine. From there, he moved to Sport Rider Magazine before finally landing at Motorcycle.com in 2011. A lifelong gearhead who didn't fully immerse himself in motorcycles until his teenage years, Troy's interests have always been in technology, performance, and going fast. Naturally, racing was the perfect avenue to combine all three. Troy has been racing nearly as long as he's been riding and has competed at the AMA national level. He's also won multiple club races throughout the country, culminating in a Utah Sport Bike Association championship in 2011. He has been invited as a guest instructor for the Yamaha Champions Riding School, and when he's not out riding, he's either wrenching on bikes or watching MotoGP.
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I never heard of a saddle man tax and I have been riding Harley’s since 1979.
i actually prefer the “79 superglide seat
the issue is HD designs seats to try and appeal to a wide spectrum of butts.
with a pleathora of aftermath seat makers it’s no wonder many riders try and fine tune their seating .
HD even developed its own seat fitment program .
saddleman , FYI , have many seats for many Japanese and other brands of motorcycles.
maybe there is a saddleman tax for Yamaha
Stars ?
Or maybe not. Who decides whom is a biker worthy of the name? Biker is a west coast name pushed by easy rider magazine to define the counter culture segment of motorcycling circa 1980. Today everybody with a credit card is a biker. Except those that aren’t upholstery pros. Lol.