At the upcoming EICMA in Milan next week, one of the most important unveils would be the Livewire H4 Honcho range of mini bikes. Way back in July, Livewire had nonchalantly unveiled two concepts at a Harley-Davidson homecoming event.
The Trail was a minibike with off-road tires and no headlamp, making it non-street-legal, just-for-fun. The other minibike was the Street, which came with a retro-circular headlamp, and we interpreted it as a variant that would eventually become street-legal.
Both products looked ready to roll, and they are. At EICMA, Livewire is unveiling the production versions of the S4 Honcho range. The model names remain Street and Trail. The company says that production will start in spring 2026.
Livewire S4 Honcho Street & Trail
Livewire’s cheapest electric model is just shy of USD 10,000, and the brand desperately needs to fill the space between USD 2,000-10,000. Rival brand Zero just did that with the X-Line motorcycles that are supplied by Zongshen in China.
For Livewire, the S4 Honcho range does that. These are minibikes with capable hardware. While specs have not been disclosed, we see a mid-drive motor driving the rear wheel through a chain drive. Considering that the Street is likely to be street-legal, we expect Livewire to target the A1 license with an 11 kW motor output. It remains to be seen how much fun Livewire packs on top of that in the form of peak power.
The Trail is the same hardware with fat balloon off-road tires. No headlamps mean that this version is not planned to be street legal for now.
Both motorcycles use the same tubular frame that seemingly uses the battery box as a semi-structural member. The batteries are portable and are accessed from under the seat. The packs tilt backward even though the battery space visually tilts forward.
Minibikes are crazy popular in North America, and Livewire wants a share of the pie. We reported on the American minibike craze a few weeks back.
InsightEV – Global Electric Mobility
The most important aspect of the Honcho range is the two removable batteries that energize these runabouts. Again, no specs are available, though the visuals indicate 1.6-2.0 kWh of energy in each pack.
