Harley-Davidson’s Serial 1 E-Bike RUSH/CTY full video review!
For the longest time I was against the idea of getting an electric bike simply because one of the best things about riding a manual bike is the workout, and I thought an e-bike would defeat that purpose, but when Serial 1 reached out and asked if I wanted to review their brand new e-bike that is powered by Harley Davidson – yes THE Harley Davidson – I researched it and instantly felt like this e-bike has the best chance of converting me into a believer. I’ve been a Tesla owner for over 3 years now and after riding the Serial 1 e-bike around my city for the last week I can honestly say a lot of the things that made me fall in love with my Tesla also apply to this bike.
If you would’ve told me 5 years ago I would own a Harley bike I would have laughed because I hate loud gas motorcycles. But the Serial 1 e-bike is the complete opposite of that. It’s sleek, forward thinking, quiet, and energy efficient. Most of the time when you hear about big legacy automotive companies making e-bikes it’s usually just them licensing their brand, but Serial 1 is its own dedicated bicycle company that falls under Harley Davidson. And their expertise and decades of experience really shine through on these e-bikes.
As for the cost, these are not cheap by any means but they’re priced very competitively in the premium e-bike category, and you definitely get what you pay for. The Serial 1 e-bike comes in 2 different styles: the Mosh and the Rush, with the Rush being the more feature-rich model that comes in 3 variants itself. The single-speed Mosh is $3399, while the top of the line Rush Speed is $4999. The model I’ll be reviewing in this video is the Rush City Step-Over which costs $4499.
All Serial 1 eBikes are pedal-assist only, meaning the electric motor kicks in when you start pedaling. There’s no throttle to make it go without pedaling. All but one of these e-bikes are class 1 with a max assisted speed of 20 mph. The most expensive model, the Rush Speed, is the only class 3 model with a max assisted speed of 28 mph.
One of the unique perks about getting a Harley Davidson e-bike is that you can test ride them at certain qualifying dealerships if they have them in stock which is not something you can do with other popular e-bikes. Or you can just order straight from their website and the bike will arrive at your door. I’ll put my referral link in the description below if you want to order one yourself. The box comes with everything you need to put it together, and it took me and my wife about one hour to fully assemble the bike which wasn’t bad at all. Serial 1 has a helpful assembly guide on their YouTube channel which was nice to follow along to.
What stands out first and foremost is the contemporary design of the bike which features an aluminum frame designed by Harley-Davidson. The Large version of this bike weighs 59 lbs, and the main parts of the bike are glossy black and matte black but it also comes in another color variations including silver and orange. But even better yet all the wiring is integrated inside the frame which not only improves the longevity of the bike and leads to less maintenance, but it also gives it a very polished and minimalist style to it which I really love. My Tesla Model 3 has a minimalist design to the interior which has quickly become one of my favorite features of the car and it’s nice to have the same feeling with this bike.
To add to the coolness factor, when the bike is powered on it illuminates the front facing Serial 1 logo which sort of acts like a daylight running light, and it also has rear LED lights that stay illuminated when the bike is powered on then also get brighter and turn into braking lights when coming to a stop thanks to the built in accelerometer. It also has an additional bright LED headlight mounted on the stem for added safety when riding in the dark.
It has a lightweight Brose motor that’s mounted in a central location which provides a good center of gravity that really allows the bike to handle turns and curves pretty effortlessly. The motor has a brushless internal rotor and produces 90 newton-meters of torque. And you know that my Tesla has made me fall in love with the feeling of instant torque, and this is actually one of the biggest benefits of this e-bike when compared to a non-electric manual bike. It allows you to launch quickly from a standstill which comes in handy when you find yourself in a sea of cars at traffic lights.
The bike also features a super quiet and smooth carbon-fiber belt drive which is basically maintenance-free since it doesn’t require any of the frequent lubrication or adjustments that a traditional chain-drive system would. This is another advantage I’ve grown to love about driving an all-electric car which typically requires less maintenance compared to older gasoline powered vehicles. And this bike follows suit.
Another maintenance-free component is the fully enclosed Enviolo intelligent automatic transmission which is a Constantly Variable Transmission (or CVT) that automatically adjusts the gear ratio to maintain an optimal pedaling cadence even if the terrain or speed changes. This means there are no traditional gears. It will “auto-magically” keep the pedal resistance to your liking which is a really cool experience especially when going uphill and going from fast to slow or vice versa.
The Serial 1 Rush City bike has front and rear hydraulic disc brakes with four-piston calipers and heavy-duty brake rotors which are essential for these faster-moving eBikes. The wheels have alloy rims with stainless-steel spokes and come with 2.4” Schwalbe Super Moto-X tires. The front and rear fenders are a nice addition that provide protection from getting sprayed when riding in wet or dirty conditions. And this bike is not just about fast fun riding – no, it provides utility as well with the front and rear cargo racks for a convenient way to carry small loads. Another useful feature is the lockable glovebox compartment to store small items. Unfortunately the area is too small to fit my iPhone 11 Pro, but it was specially developed to hold an ABUS folding lock. And the benefit from that is that the bike, glovebox, and an optional ABUS security lock can all use the same key so you don’t have to worry about carrying multiple keys.
If you’ve seen any of my Tesla videos you know I prioritize battery and range over everything. This Rush City Step-Over model is equipped with a removable 706Wh lithium-ion battery. There are two ways to charge the battery – you can either connect the charging cable directly to the bike’s charging port while the battery is still connected or you can use the key to remove the battery and charge the battery by itself. The battery easily snaps in and out of the frame and you can press the button on the battery to see the amount of remaining charge. Make sure to give yourself enough time to charge to 100% if you need to though because it could take up to 7 hours. Charging from 0-75% takes about three and a half hours, and the remaining 25% takes about three more hours. It’s kind of like Tesla Supercharging in that sense.
As for range, it can vary greatly depending on many different factors with the main ones being the terrain, how much pedal input the rider provides, and the ride mode selection. That’s where the technology comes into play. This bike features a Brose All-round 1.5” color display with control buttons that are ergonomically placed to allow quick access to the features of the drive system, although the screen itself is a bit hard to see in bright daylight. You can turn the bike on or off with the front facing power switch, then you can use the rear buttons to turn the headlight on or off, toggle between the different displays including current trip length and time, estimated range remaining, average speed, max speed, and odometer. It also shows the battery remaining at all times on the left side of the screen which is nice. The up and down switch toggles between the four different ride modes including Eco mode for a small amount of support in flat and less demanding conditions, Tour mode for the optimal mix of support and battery economy in changing driving conditions, Sport mode for strong support from tight corners or over gentle hills, and Boost mode for tackling a steep incline, strong headwind, or other conditions that require extended assistance. So with all the variables considered the battery can provide a real world range of anywhere between 25-115 miles depending on the scenario. You can also ride the bike manually without turning the power on or if you find yourself without any battery charge remaining.
I found myself using Eco for most of my city riding because I wanted to maximize my battery range, and I also liked the feeling of getting a nice workout in which is something that surprised me. That’s a myth that I busted after riding this around for a while. I used to think e-bikes were cheating, but you still get a great workout on an e-bike. You’re not using less effort, you’re just traveling further distances for the same amount of effort compared to a manual bike. That alone makes it such a fun experience because you’re still getting exercise, but it allows you to ride faster and further so you’re seeing more sights or different areas that you normally wouldn’t see on a normal bike. And you can definitely use this as a commuter bike for traveling to and from work. In fact, traveling by bike is the most energy efficient method of transportation so if you’re able to replace your car with an e-bike like this you could ride to work and wouldn’t show up drenched in sweat because of the motor helping you especially when using the more assistive ride modes like Sport and Boost.
Needless to say, this Serial 1 e-bike checked many of the boxes that make my Tesla so useful and enjoyable to me. It has a minimalist seamless design, it feels like a premium ride with responsive handling and fast speeds, it takes advantage of the latest technology, it’s energy efficient and very low maintenance, it has great range compared to old antiquated bikes, and it’s absolutely a blast to ride. It’s so much fun but also very useful and practical especially if you live in a bike friendly city like I do. It also was able to handle some of my off road riding on dirt trails and grass which was nice. And if you don’t own an electric vehicle yet this could be a good first step to moving toward electrification and traveling in a more environmentally friendly way. It’s also still a great way to get some exercise in, and way better than any indoor workout bike because one of the best things about riding a bike is being outdoors, feeling the wind and the sun, and covering actual distance.
This a fantastic e-bike that I’m sure will make any rider happy so if you want to get it for yourself check out the link in the description below. Let me know what you think of this new Harley Davidson e-bike in the comments below. Please give this video a thumbs up if you enjoyed it and subscribe to see more reviews like this in the future. My name is Andy, thank you for watching, and I’ll talk to you in the next one.
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