Harley-Davidson wants to do away with mechanical brakes on e-motorbikes

Mechanical brakes can be replaced by its "virtual brakes"

According to media reports, Harley-Davidson's EV brand, LiveWire, has applied for a patent called 'Virtual Brakes". As per this, the company is looking at ways in which LiveWire can entirely remove the mechanical, frictional brakes from at least one wheel of the motorcycle. This, according to the brand, will help reduce both the cost and weight of the motorcycle.

The patent states, "Mechanical, frictional brakes, such as hydraulic brakes, add cost and weight, which can impact the performance of a vehicle, especially electric vehicles, such as electric motorcycles. Furthermore, mechanical, frictional brakes dissipate kinetic energy, which otherwise could be used to charge an electric power store included in the vehicle, which may otherwise limit the range and operation of an electric vehicle."

The patent further mentions how these mechanical brakes can be replaced by its "virtual brakes", which use regenerative braking as the sole mechanism to brake at least one wheel. It also mentions how replacing the hydraulic brakes with regenerative braking could reduce a vehicle's weight, cost and complexity.

The official statement reads, "Accordingly, embodiments described herein provide methods and systems for regeneratively braking at least one wheel of a vehicle, such as, for example, an electric motorcycle. In some embodiments, regenerative braking is used as the sole mechanism to brake a wheel of the vehicle, such as the rear wheel of a motorcycle. Replacing a rear hydraulic brake with regenerative braking reduces the cost, weight, and complexity of the vehicle, which, as noted above, impacts the performance of the vehicle."

Source: RideApart