You can finally get your motorcycle license on an electric, and everyone’s loving it
Getting a motorcycle license just got a little easier – and more electrifying. In a move that could help usher more riders into the electric future, new riders now have a chance to learn on LiveWire electric motorcycles as part of a licensing course.
It’s all starting at Bartels’ Harley-Davidson Riding Academy in Marina del Rey, where new riders preparing for the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) riding course can now opt for a LiveWire electric motorcycle instead of the standard internal combustion engine (ICE) motorcycle learner bikes.
The Riding Academy is now integrating the LiveWire S2 Mulholland and the S2 Alpinista into its official training fleet for its MSF-based rider course, making it one of the first in the country to use electric motorcycles for license training. Aspiring motorcyclists can now learn to ride on a smooth, quiet, clutch-free electric machine instead of the gasoline-powered bikes typically used in beginner courses.
Without the need to learn and master concepts such as clutch friction zones and shifting, riders can dedicate more focus to the riding principles that form the foundation of safe motorcycling.
New riders learn those skills associated with safe motorcycle riding alongside instructors certified by the California Motorcyclist Safety Program (CMSP) and the Harley-Davidson Riding Academy. Graduates of the course earn their DL389 and Riding Academy Certificate of Completion. That leaves riders just one written exam passing score away from receiving their motorcycle endorsement.
Greg Andrews is the Riding Academy Site Manager at Bartels’ Harley-Davidson, and he explained that adding the LiveWire electric motorcycle into the rider course fundamentally shifted how students were able to learn.
“What the LiveWire does, as a basic trainer, is to allow the student to focus strictly on core riding skills,” said Andrews. He added that the XG500 and RA350 ICE motorcycles normally used in the course are good bikes in their own right, but they aren’t ideal for training new riders on important handling skills because of the added distraction in having to first learn and become proficient in operating a clutch and shifting while mastering throttle control.
“Students who have no idea of the science of leaning, corner traction percentages, gained and lost to lean angle, etc., are distracted by the ICE powertrain, versus the LiveWire students, whose sole focus is riding essentials,” said Andrews. “As a pilot, my father had me learn initially in gliders. There I learned pitch, roll, and yaw, coordinated turning, etc., and all the things necessary to fly larger aircraft. I’ve flown 60 different aircraft since. The LiveWire is essentially the glider.”
Members from Alpinestars’ graphics team were among the first to participate in the inaugural electric option for the rider training course.
“The repetition of stop-and-go made me appreciate eliminating clutch and shifting. It was also much easier to navigate tight turns and cone swerving,” said course graduate Tyler Emond, who completed the rider training on a LiveWire S2 electric motorcycle. “I think from a beginner standpoint, electric is 100% the way to start out.”
It was a sentiment shared by many, even those who already had experience with manual transmission vehicles. “I already know the basics of shifting because I’ve ridden dirt bikes and I drive a manual transmission car,” said fellow course graduate Dillon Kinkead. “And I think that being able to work on operating a motorcycle without having to focus on shifting is a benefit because I was able to concentrate on accelerating, braking, and turning.”
Bartels’ Harley-Davidson Rider Academy is now taking enrollment for more classes featuring the LiveWire S2 learner bikes, and interested riders can sign up online. LiveWire plans to expand electric rider training across the country, making riding more accessible and less intimidating for new generations.
Electrek’s Take
I have been calling for this for years and I’m super excited to finally see it become a possibility.
To be honest, I often saw it merely as cutting out an unnecessary step of learning something that would likely never be used (i.e., shifting gears on a motorcycle). Electric learner bikes didn’t used to be an issue because most electric motorcycle riders were converts from ICE bikes, having made the switch after seeing the light. But with more people than ever getting into electric motorcycles without ever having ridden a gasoline-powered motorcycle, it made sense to me that learning to work a clutch on a gas bike was wasted effort in such a case.
But I never really thought about how much more quickly it would allow someone to actually leapfrog the skills-based learning. And that makes perfect sense. Why spend several hours crawling across a parking lot while discussing the “friction zone” when you could already be learning about countersteering, lean angles, and evasive maneuvers?
And if I can speak from personal experience for a moment, this hits home for me as someone who actually went through a Harley-Davidson Rider Academy course to get my motorcycle license. In fact, I’ve gone through licensing courses in two countries, once on a Harley-Davidson Street 500 and once on a Kawasaki Ninja 400. I drove a 40-year-old manual transmission car every day in high school, and so learning to shift on a motorcycle came quickly, but few people come from that background anymore. I saw plenty of people struggle to learn to shift when they should have been learning to ride. And since plenty of folks like me see themselves in an electric motorcycle future, that extra time and frustration spent learning muscle memory only relevant to a gasoline-powered bike is wasted.
For those that do plan to go back to ICE, I can definitely see the value here too. You master the riding skills first, then you can spend all the time you need to learn to shift smoothly. But trying to learn to ride when you only learned how to get into first gear an hour ago is a recipe for frustration.
So, short story short, I’m all about this. With a whole generation of young riders now getting into motorcycles thanks to years of riding electric bikes, I imagine there will be many more takers for these types of all-electric training programs in the coming years.
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Nexamp just pulled off something that could speed up clean energy deployment across the US – and potentially lower costs for everyone. The Boston-based solar developer just finished building three new solar farms in Maine and Massachusetts. But instead of waiting on the utility to handle all the grid hookup work, Nexamp did it themselves.
That might not sound groundbreaking at first, but in the world of renewable energy, it’s a pretty big deal. Normally, utilities are in charge of any grid upgrades and interconnection work needed before a new solar project can start sending power to homes and businesses. That process can be very slow and expensive.
Nexamp’s new approach, called “self-performance,” flips the script. It lets developers take on some of that work, like ordering and installing equipment, so they don’t have to sit around waiting for the utility to schedule it. That means solar farms can get online faster, which gets clean power to the grid sooner and keeps project costs in check.
The three projects that kicked off this self-performance effort are:
- Hartland Solar – 1.2 MW DC in Hartland, ME
- Barre Road Solar – 1.3 MW DC in New Braintree, MA
- Summit Farm Solar – 2.6 MW DC, also in New Braintree
Nexamp didn’t go rogue – they worked closely with Central Maine Power and National Grid on the interconnection designs, safety standards, and technical specs. But by handling the actual procurement and construction, Nexamp had way more control over cost, timing, and supply chain headaches.
“Self-performance lets us take much greater control over interconnection procurement and construction,” said Daniel Passarello, Nexamp’s lead consulting engineer for grid integration. “We can move much of the interconnection work forward at the same time as the solar farm build instead of treating them as separate. That helps us bring projects online faster and stay closer to budget.”
It also helps that Nexamp already has solid relationships with suppliers. Instead of going through multiple layers of utility procurement, they can go straight to the source, fast.
That kind of streamlining is exactly what the solar industry needs right now. Community solar is booming – as of the end of 2024, nearly 8 gigawatts of it have been installed across the US, according to the the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), and that number is expected to almost double by 2030. But bottlenecks in the interconnection process slow things down.
Sara Birmingham, VP of state affairs at SEIA, called Nexamp’s move a step in the right direction. “We must modernize and streamline the interconnection process to keep pace with fast-growing demand,” she said. “Self-performance is one of several innovative approaches that can accelerate project timelines and lower costs, which benefits all ratepayers.”
Read more: Walmart and Nexamp are rolling out 31 solar farms in 5 states
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When Genesis first previewed its full-size electric SUV, the coach doors were one of the biggest highlights. It looks like it will actually make its way into the production vehicle. A Genesis GV90 model was spotted in the US for the first time with coach doors, offering a glimpse of the upcoming ultra-luxury SUV.
Genesis GV90 spotted with coach doors in California
We got our first look at the full-size luxury SUV after Genesis unveiled the Neolun concept at the NY Auto Show last March.
Genesis said the concept was its “ultra-luxe vision of luxury SUVs,” and it wasn’t kidding. When it arrives, it will be sold as the GV90 as the brand’s new flagship vehicle.
The GV90 is not just a pretty-looking luxury SUV. It’s also loaded with Hyundai’s most advanced software and tech. According to Luc Donckerwolke, Genesis’ head of creative design, “it’s the epitome of timeless design and sophisticated craftsmanship.
Last month, we got a sneak peek of the interior after a production-ready GV90 was caught in California. Although somewhat toned down from the original concept, the cabin still featured many of the same elements.
Another Genesis GV90 was recently spotted in California, with actual coach doors. The new images from KindelAuto (via TheKoreanCarBlog) show a camouflaged vehicle with a hinge at the rear, where the coach doors will open.
Genesis said that B-pillarless coach doors are now feasible in production vehicles, like the GV90. However, don’t expect it to come standard on all models.
The feature will likely be reserved for higher-priced trims. We’ve seen other variants, featuring traditional doors, that are being tested in the US and Korea.
Genesis is expected to launch the GV90 in mid-2026. We will learn prices and final specs closer to launch, but the flagship electric SUV is set to debut on Hyundai’s new eM platform.
Hyundai said the platform is designed for EVs across all segments and will “provide a 50 percent improvement in driving range” compared to current EVs. It will also support Level 3 or higher autonomous driving capabilities and OTA software updates.
Source: KindelAuto, TheKoreanCarBlog
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Elon Musk has finally confirmed that Tesla’s new ‘affordable’ electric car is just going to be the Model Y in a cheaper format.
Musk has ended months of speculations and misinformation, which he partly created, about Tesla’s upcoming cheaper electric vehicle model.
Since last year, Tesla has guided “launching new affordable models” in the first half of 2025.
We are past the first half of 2025, but Tesla confirmed yesterday that the “first build” of the new model was produced in June, and it will launch later this year.
During the shareholders’ call following the earnings results yesterday, Tesla was asked about what the new affordable model would look like. Tesla’s CFO, Vaibhav Taneja, initially stated that they wouldn’t disclose details about the design, but then Musk interrupted him and said, “It’s a Model Y.”
It’s hard to hear exactly on the call because he talked over Taneja, but he said, “the cat is out of the bag” and confirmed that the new vehicle is simply a Model Y.
Electrek has been reporting on this fact all year. We have known for months that Tesla’s upcoming “new affordable models” are Model 3 and Model Y with a stripped-down interior with fewer features, like no rear screen, and cheaper materials:
However, this fact was not accepted in the Tesla community because CEO Elon Musk falsely denied a report last year about Tesla’s “$25,000” EV model being canceled.
The facts are that Musk canceled two cheaper vehicles that Tesla was working on, commonly referred as “the $25,000 Tesla” in early 2024. Those vehicles were codenamed NV91 and NV92, and they were based on the new vehicle platform that Tesla is now reserving for the Cybercab.
Instead, Musk noticed that Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y production lines were starting to be underutilized as the Company faced demand issues. Therefore, Tesla canceled the vehicle programs based on the new platform and decided to build new vehicles on Model 3/Y platform using the same production lines.
Now, only the new Cybercab is going to be based on the new unboxed platform.
During the conference call last night, Musk stated that the primary goal of the more affordable Model Y is to expand the market by making the vehicle more accessible to a broader audience. He suggested that it will go on sale in Q4.
Electrek’s Take
Finally, we can put this to rest. I think we can expect something similar to what Tesla did with the Model 3 in Mexico.
I think we can expect changes, such as using cloth materials instead of vegan leather, no rear display, no ambient lighting, and a lesser audio system.
In the case of the Model Y, Tesla may consider dropping some exterior lighting features, such as the light bars.
I wouldn’t be surprised also to see some powertrain changes. Maybe a less powerful RWD motor.
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