- Bikes are really hot right now.

Everyone's looking for a safe

and socially distance way to get around,

and in particular e-bikes are really high.

So a lot of non-bike companies

are trying to get in on the trend,

and along comes Harley Davidson

with some of the most interesting,

impressive and sleek looking electric bikes,

that I think I've seen in a long time.

The company is obviously more known for its motorcycles,

but it has been trying to stake out a name for itself

in electric vehicles as well.

The latest example of that

is the Serial 1 lineup of e-bikes.

The name Serial 1 is a reference to serial number one

which was the nickname that Harley had

for its first ever prototype built in 1903.

The company teased us with a prototype e-bike

that was meant to harken back to that very first bike

built 120 years ago.

But that was just a design exercise.

The bikes the company actually intends to sell

are much more modern looking.

The first four models will go on sale

in U.S and Germany starting in the spring of 2021.

And they are pedal-assist city bikes

with mid-drive motors, integrated batteries,

and a design that is unmistakably Harley Davidson.

There'll be four bikes to start out.

The brand names are Mosh City, Rush City,

with the latter coming in three variants,

Step-Thru, Speed and Regular,

ranging in price from $3,400 to $5,000.

Not exactly cheap, but you actually get a lot

for that price.

Each comes with a motor capable of generating

at least 250 Watts of continuous power.

And I say at least because it will definitely

get more than that at times,

and hitting top speeds of 20 miles per hour.

Now, one of the models, the Rush City Speed

is a class three e-bike

meaning it can get up to 28 miles per hour.

The Mosh City is the cheapest model.

It's a single speed city bike

that lacks a lot of the amenities of the other bikes.

The mid-drive motors are by Brose,

110 year old German company.

And when engaged, they put out 90 Newton meters

and 60 foot pounds of torque

which is more than enough to power you up most hills

or fly along any straightaway.

Much like Bosch and other major e-bikes suppliers,

the Brose motors enabled four power levels;

eco, tour, sport and boost.

The Onviolo automatic gear-shifting transmission

is sure to make for an extra smooth ride.

That's an auto shifting CBT

that stands for a Continuous Variable Transmission hub.

Now, what that means is there's no gears to shift.

Ultimately, this is a bike that feels

like it's always in the perfect gear.

So right now I'm going about 25 miles per hour

which is a pretty decent speed,

especially going up hill is actually pretty impressive.

The automatic shifter has kicked in and it's lowered it up

moving the gears for me, make it a little bit of an easier

and more natural cadence, that's it.

I just feel like I'm definitely still put it in

a little bit of work too.

So it's not completely without the need to

do your own pedaling , which I appreciate.

So here's some of my initial impressions

about the Harley bikes.

They're beautiful.

The fact that all of the wiring is internal

makes for one of the cleanest-looking e-bikes

I've seen out there in a long time.

All of that wiring is internal in the frame,

you don't get any of that rat's nest look.

Second impression, the Onviolo automatic shifter

takes a little getting used to.

It's not something that I think you could hop

from a normal bike with a normal gear shifter

onto this bike, and just be able to ride

without any problem.

Riding the bike, how does that feel?

Great, it really felt smooth, natural.

The automatic gear shifter,

although it took a little getting used to,

when it kicks in,

you really feel that power turning in that mid-drive motor.

It feels perfectly balanced, which is not something

that I would say about most e-bikes.

The mid-drive motor just is perfectly situated

in that low center of the bike.

So giving you that really low center of gravity

and it really just felt perfect riding it.

It's a cool looking bike, it made me feel cool to ride it.

There could be a lot of e-bikes out there

that kind of make me feel like a dork

when I'm riding it to be honest.

I didn't feel that with this bike.

I felt like this is an expensive bike that I'm riding.

That said, that's not necessarily something

that a lot of people are gonna be interested in.

but I do feel like there's gonna be an obvious marketplace

for this bike,

people are gonna be snatching these things up.

Another really cool thing about these bikes

is that Harley Davidson is a motorcycle company.

So they have dealerships all over the country

and across the world.

If you would need to get one of these bikes serviced,

or you want to actually go in and test ride one of them

before you actually make the purchase, you can do that.

Which is not something that a lot of these

direct-to-consumer e-bike companies have the option to do.

Now, I know what you're thinking,

$5,000 is a lot to spend on a bike, is this the right price?

Well, that's a question you have to answer for yourself.

But if you look at the spec sheet

and the parts that Harley has used,

it's clear that these are very well-crafted machines.

Now these are obviously more expensive

than other e-bike companies like VanMoof and Rad Power.

I see these as being more competitive

with some of the top line bike companies in the world,

and you know what?

It's got a Harley badge on it

and that is a definite premium with some people.

The bikes go on sale, spring 2021 in U.S and Germany.

These are the first bikes from Serial 1,

but Harley has said that they expect to

more of them in the future.

So there should be other lineups as well.