My husband got me in to motorcycles. The early days of our relationship involved me clinging onto the back of his leather jacket over the Swiss Alps, down to the French Riviera, across the vast plains of the USA. It was those wonderful heady days of a new relationship. And then one day, being the adventure nut that I am, I realized that it might be more fun to be holding the handlebars. So, I joined a bunch of 16-18-year-old boys, took some lessons, and got my license.
Where most of my friends headed off to the Maldives for their honeymoon, I spent mine motorbiking around Europe.
Fast forward 12 years, a houseful of children, and a busy job at WorldTempus, and my Honda is sadly at the back of the garage covered in cobwebs. So, when my husband got the opportunity to test the all-new electric Harley-Davidson Livewire for a weekend in Andermatt, it didn’t take much to persuade me to join him.
Getting my old black leather jacket out of the attic, I realized that I was going to need an appropriate watch for the adventure; something that would match the rebel look I was going for. After some internal office deliberations, a little research, and a couple of phone calls later, I was in possession of not one, but two fierce looking timepieces – the Corum Bubble Baron Samedi and the Admiral 45 Tourbillon OpenWorked.
Harley-Davidson Livewire
Looking the part, we set off on the Livewire, Harley’s all-new electric motorbike. Accustomed to the roar of the engine, it took me a while to get used to the silence of an electric motor. For the first few kilometers, it seemed all wrong, but then you start to notice the sounds of mountain life and it changes the experience completely. People in the villages smiled instead of scowled at us for disturbing the peace!
Harley-Davidson is the first mainstream motorcycle company to think about the environment and commercialize an electric bike, which sort of goes against their bad-boy image of biking, but it is certainly the road to the future!
The Livewire comes with four modes – road, sport, eco, and rain – and has a horsepower of 104. It goes from 0-100 mph in 3 seconds, has fully adjustable forks and shocks, ABS, traction control. and all the bells and whistles. The range is 235 km around town and 145 km in sport mode and the battery can be charged to 80% in 40 minutes and 100% in an hour using a DC fast charger.
It is an absolute rocket and with no gears to change, it leaves you with more brain power to keep your eyes and ears on the road to enjoy the experience of flying over mountain passes. It was an absolute thrill.
In terms of the design, it doesn’t look like your traditional Harley Davidson cruiser or touring bike, so the Corum Bubble Baron Samedi and the Admiral 45 Tourbillon OpenWorked were the perfect additions to reinforce the biker look.
Corum Bubble Baron Samedi
The Corum Bubble Baron Samedi is the sixth edition of Corum’s Collector’s Series and it comes in a 45 mm steel case with the iconic crystal bubble that measures 11 mm at its thickest point. The lacquered dial depicts Baron Samedi, a Haitian Vodou figure who is the father of the spirits of the dead. Surrounded by flames, the Baron Samedi is sculpted, making him even more scary. The timepiece is powered by an automatic movement, is paired with a genuine leather strap stitched to rubber, and is limited to 777 pieces.
Corum Admiral 45 Tourbillon OpenWorked
The Corum Admiral 45 Tourbillon OpenWorked is a different, but equally radical timepiece that combines the collection’s nautical design with a modern mechanical aesthetic. Limited to 48 pieces, this edition is housed in a 45 mm carbon case with gold inclusions and is powered by an automatic flying tourbillon movement. The skeletonized dial comes with black and brass finishing and has hands featuring black Super-LumiNova, for the perfect biker look.
Even though Harley Davidson and Corum are not connected in any way, they both have that rebellious spirit to dare where others fear to go. Maybe I should get my bike back on the road after all…
