LiveWire, the EV subsidiary of , is looking to target young riders with a pair of cool looking mini motos. The two electric bikes introduced are the S4 Honcho Trail and S4 Honcho Street. While the former is strictly for trail use, the latter is a proper street-legal mini bike. Launch in the UK is planned in the summer.
LiveWire Honcho mini motos – Key features
Targeted at practical applications, the LiveWire Honcho mini bikes have a simple and robust design. From the images, it appears that the S4 Honcho uses a tubular steel frame. The battery box seems to be a stressed member of the chassis. Interestingly, the colourways for these bikes are defined by the colour used on the tubular steel frame and rear swingarm.
Both bikes have the same colour options of Mossy Oat and Liquid Black. Front fender and rear underseat section have a glossy white shade. The battery box is likely made from aluminium and has a metallic finish. Rest of the surfaces are mostly black. S4 Honcho Trail may seem slightly different, but it is essentially a stripped down version of the S4 Honcho Street.
It does not get the circular rear view mirrors, instrument console, headlamp, turn indicators, rear fender and rear lighting elements. S4 Honcho Trail gets off-road knobby tyres, whereas the Street variant has road-biased tyres. Most other features are largely the same for both bikes.
Performance, specs
Both mini bikes share the same powertrain and have largely the same specifications. These are equipped with dual 1.74 kWh removable battery packs. In normal riding conditions, range is around 53 miles (approx. 85 km). If a constant 20 mph speed is maintained, the bike can achieve a higher range of 73 miles (approx. 117.5 km). Top speed of these bikes is 59 mph (95 km/h).
0 to 30 mph (0 to 48 km/h) can be achieved in around 3 seconds. The battery charging time from 20% to 80% is 2 hours. Since the S4 Honcho Trail is the stripped down version, it has a lower weight of 253 lb (114.7 kg). The Street version weighs 266 lb (120.60 kg). Seat height is 736.6 mm for the Trail and 762 mm for the Street variant. This makes both bikes quite suitable for shorter riders.
Market positioning
LiveWire has developed these bikes in partnership with . The latter is a leading scooter manufacturer and known for its advanced Ionex swappable battery ecosystem. In the UK, the LiveWire S4 Honcho Trail and S4 Honcho Street will be targeted at A1 license holders and new applicants in this category. That means riders aged 17 and above with Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) certification and L-plates (learner plates) can use these bikes.
LiveWire is entering the entry-level electric bike segment for the first time. And there’s good demand, as this segment recorded 62% market share in the UK last month. However, the LiveWire mini motos are not cheap. These are priced at £4,599 (Trail – Rs 5.88 lakh) and £4,999 (Street – Rs 6.39 lakh). That’s around £1000 (Rs 1.28 lakh) costlier than the petrol powered Honda Dax 125.