Harley-Davidson LiveWire

source: Harley Davidson

One of the two motorcycle manufacturers in the USA to survive the Great Depression, the other one being Indian. Found in 1903 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, it was a hit among all age and class of people. We’re talking about none other than the legendary Harley Davidson.

Fast forward to 2019, the HD has launched its new model named LiveWire. Do you know what a livewire means? It means an energetic and unpredictable person. Yeah, HD didn’t launch a human but a two-wheeler whose performance indeed match with the name.
The first prototype was showcased in June 2014 and was available for test rides in the USA, later it was seen in Europe and Canada in 2015.

The production of LiveWire hit after 18 months and the preorders have started in January 2019. Wow, what do we have is not just a two-wheeler, it is an electric two-wheeler from Harley Davidson.
Now that’s something to talk about. Are you interested? Then hop in for the review of HD LiveWire 2019.

Source: Harley Davidson

Looks and Design
Harley Davidson, one of the world known bike manufacturing company which is known for its cruiser bikes which are powerful and good-looking beast.

Now they have decided to kick both things out by going at Sporty Electric Bike, yes they are serious, and I think you might like if you give it a shot. In terms of looks, I really loved the styling they have given to it, especially the headlight. If you look at it carefully you can have a stare-down with the demonic-eyes looking directly at you.

They have given a sporty design, you can see a bit Harley touch like headlamp cover and colour. They have also given it a 10.9 cm touch screen display, to show every important detail about the bike, but the way this display has been designed and positioned on the bike is something not much appealing. It's like they just stuck a big screen phone on the handle using a holder. Harley Davidson is going to provide customization option, so you might be able to cover things up.

Before we talk about the performance and range, let's see what all tech has Harley Davidson has installed in this bike to assist the riders while riding.

Source: Harley Davidson


The latest LiveWire design is embedded with Electronic Chassis Control (ECC) system. It will make sure that the rider is confident enough go hard and fast on road(we don’t promote reckless riding).
The ECC gives you the following benefits
Enhanced cornering
Anti-lock Braking System (ABS)
Traction Control System (TCS)
Drag-Torque Slip Control System (DSCS)

You can see a combined effort of electronic controls and hydraulic power control where it's required. It uses the new six-axis Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and ABS sensor tech.




This is just the tech that has been installed, now let's see how it feels when combined with its hardware. As it is an electric bike let’s start with its accelerations.

Source: Harley Davidson

Performance
Get an instant power when you twist the throttle, as you know, no clutch, no gears and nothing to hinder the momentum in which you wanna fly away because its an electric vehicle (EV) and Harley Davidson is using permanent magnets so that you get full torque from low rpm.



As said by Harley Davidson, a high-voltage battery or just say a (RESS); Rechargeable Energy Storage System containing lithium-ion cells packed in a finned cast aluminium housing. The big battery provides a 225 lm of city ride or  142 km combined stop-and-go at highway range.



This is decent enough for a sports electric bike, its no good if it takes too long to charge but it not. An onboard level 1 charger & a power cord which to any standard outlet in your house will do. It gets fully charged overnight. If you want a fast charger, get a level 3 DC Fast Charge station for 80% charge in just 40 minutes or 100% in an hour.

They are using cast aluminium to keep the weight as low as possible, and the frame is extremely rigid. With the Michelin tires, 180 mm rear and 120 mm front give proper grip, and Brembo brakes both in front and rear to give it the stopping power it needs. Combining all this and you get a really capable sports bike, with a low centre of gravity. The ride is comfortable which is expected from Harley, and the body control is exceptional which was not expected. Still, the range is something needs to be verified one the live wire comes to the street to live it up.

Specifications of this two-wheeler couldn’t be found anywhere but we promise to update it the moment we find it.

Source: Harley Davidson


Final verdict:

There are still a few things that are unknown like price and specs, but on the day of launch it comes in the price range it should be worth going for. Best suited for people who are planning for EV, wants a hard acceleration bike with a bit of retro look in a sports bike.


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Evading Luxury Car Tax can Cost you Big Time

Source: Flickr

You guys pay your taxes, right?
Don’t you? Oh yes, you should be a tax paying good citizen irrespective of what government does with that money in future. Well, that’s the rule and you got to follow it religiously. And there are no confusions regarding this, you pay normal tax, land tax, house tax, tax for income from other businesses, tax on hotel food, tax on movie tickets and goes the list.
You got to pay the tax or things don’t go well in future. Expect the tax department barging into your tax to raid out the hidden black money in your house.

Not a scene you expect to happen often and of course with you.

Today’s article in on tax, and as you guessed, it related to your vehicles. What, you didn’t guess that? I thought you were smart :D, how many have used Orkut? Just asking.

We are going to discuss the road tax we have to pay when we buy a vehicle and how that tax different in different states and what happened recently that caught my attention. Well not recently but a couple of years ago.

What happened?
In December 2017, a case was filed against a renowned actor of Southern movie industry under IPC sections 464 (forgery) and 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating).
What he did was, buying a luxury car (Audi Q7) from  Pondicherry/Puducherry, posing as a resident there while he actually lived in Kerala.

Now, why he did that? Well, if you don’t know the tax rates of these states, let me show you.
In Puducherry, the road tax he had to pay(as per news reports) is just 1.5 lakhs. But if would he have registered it in Kerala, the road tax could go up to 14-20 lakhs. Smart move huh, but wrong move too.

Transport commissioner Anil Kant asked the crime branch to register the case. Gopi had allegedly evaded tax by registering his luxury vehicle in Puducherry after he became an MP on May 24, 2016, reports Deccan Chronicle.
The Thiruvananthapuram RTO had issued a notice to him last month, seeking explanation on using a vehicle registered in Puducherry in the state.

In an earlier investigation done by Kerala Motor Vehicle Department, it was revealed that as many as 700 vehicles are registered at Puducherry, resulting in a revenue loss of a whopping 60 Cr to the state government.
Since many actors and people were found to be indulging in this kind of tactics to evade taxes have on stirred up controversy in the state, MVD is on a mission to explore every loophole in the system.


Well, 700 is a lot of people evading tax.

Source: 1zoom.me

Evading of road tax is not new but, this kind of big revelation has never happened in my knowledge. Well now that people have read this news last year, they will be getting ideas to find new loopholes in this law. You got to pay tax according to the State Govt’s rule to drive in that state, don’t you? Even if you are changing your home and shifting to another state, you got to pay sales tax on your car when you register the car in that state.
Why all this? Well because the state government made the roads dude! They want to maintain too, which I doubt.

Now let’s see different tax rates

New Car Registration Slabs - Road Taxes Applicable



City / State
Road Tax Fees for New Car Registration in 2019
Delhi - Individual Registration


Price Upto Rs. 6 Lac - Petrol Cars - 4%, Diesel Cars - 5%
Price between 6 Lac - 10 Lac - Petrol Cars - 7%, Diesel Cars - 8.75%
Price > Rs. 10 Lac as Exshowroom Cost - Petrol Cars - 10%, Diesel Cars - 12.5%


Delhi - Company Registration (Where Car Registered in name of Firm - Proprietorship / Partnership / Pvt Ltd / Ltd etc)



Price Upto Rs 6 Lac - Petrol Cars - 5%, Diesel Cars - 6.25%
Price between 6 Lac - 10 Lac - Petrol Cars - 8.75%, Diesel Cars - 10.94%
Price > Rs. 10 Lac as Exshowroom Cost - Petrol Cars - 12.5%, Diesel Cars - 15.63%
+ MCD Parking Charges of Rs. 2000 for cars priced under 4 Lakh and Rs. 4000 for rest of the vehicles. Visit My car helpline for best deals

.
Kerala
Less than 1500 cc 6% of purchase value
1500 cc and above 8% of purchase value
U.P (Uttar Pradesh)
Ghaziabad, Noida, Kanpur, Meerut, Agra etc

8% If Price < 10 Lakh, else 10% Road Tax. No separate classification of Petrol, Diesel
Additional Temporary Charges of Rs. 1500
For used cars >15 years, new Green Tax Introduced in UP, Chargeable at time of renewal of registration. Green Tax Slabs yet to be known, it will be in addition to charges for Re-Registration + Smart Card


Haryana - last revised on 1st June 2015
Faridabad, Gurgaon etc

Price Upto Rs. 6 Lac - 5%
Price between Rs. 6 Lac - 20 Lac - 8%
Price above 20 Lac - 10%


Maharastra
Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Navi Mumbai etc
 updated on 4th July 2017



Price < 10 Lakh - CNG @ 7%, Petrol @ 11%, Diesel @ 13%
Price between 10 Lakh - 20 Lakh - Petrol @ 12%, Diesel @ 14%
Price Above 20 Lakh - Petrol @ 13%, Diesel @ 15%
Additional: If car bought in Company Name or bought by any Ltd or Pvt Ltd company, RTO Slabs would be double the slabs above. Starting GST - No Octroi and No LBT will be applicable


Andhra Pradesh, Telangana
Hyderabad, Vijayawada ect

Price < 10 Lakh - 12%
Price > 10 Lakh - 14%
Additional : 2% RTO Tax, if buying 2nd Vehicle in same name and getting it Registered in A.P


Kerala
Calicut, Cochin, Trivandrum, Thrissur etc.



Price < 5 Lakh - 6%
Price between 5 - 10 Lakh - 8%
Price > 10 Lakh, but Less than 15 Lakh - 10%
Price > 15 Lakh but less than 20 Lakh - 15%
Price > 20 Lakh - 20%


Karnataka
Price < 5 Lakh - 13%
Bangalore, Mysore


Price between 5 - 10 Lakh - 14%
Price between 10 - 20 Lakh - 17%
Price > 20 Lakh - 18%


Odisha
Price < 5 Lakh - 6%
Bhubhaneshwar

Price between 5 - 10 Lakh - 8%
Price above 10 Lakh - 10%


Tamil Nadu
Price < 10 Lakh - 10%
Chennai, Combatore, Madurai
Price > 10 Lakh - 15%


West Bengal - Kolkata (One Time Tax for 5 Years) - whichever higher



5.5% or Rs 17500 in 800 cc Cars
5.5% or Rs 25000 in between 800cc to 1490cc Cars
5.5% or Rs 35000 in between 1490 to 1999cc Cars
5.5% or Rs 45000 in above > 2000cc Cars


West Bengal - Kolkata (LifeTime Tax for 15 Years) - whichever higher



10% or Rs 40000 in 800 cc Cars
10% or Rs 55000 in between 800cc to 1490cc Cars
10% or Rs 80000 in between 1490 to 1999cc Cars
10% or Rs 1 Lakh in above > 2000cc Cars


Chandigarh


All Cars Priced uptil 20 Lakh - 6%
Above 20 Lakh - 8%
Zero Road Tax in Chandigarh for People Buying Car with Disability or NGO and Social Welfare Group registered with Social Welfare Department and work for people with disabilities.


Punjab
Flat 8% of Ex-showroom price of car, irrespective of Value or Fuel Type. Also now additional 1% Surcharge Tax levied on Ex-showroom price as Social Security Contribution


Gujarat
Road Tax will be approx 6% (Individuals Cases) and 12% (For Company). For CKD Imported Cars - Road Tax will be Double the rates of CBU Cars.
Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara etc

Additional: Municipality Tax
Even - an additional VAT Duty will be applicable at rate of 5% on buying SUV and Luxury Cars in Company Name and thus will be Ex-showroom price different on Buying Cars in Individual Name and Company Name


Rajasthan
7% - 9% (for Petrol Cars)
Jaipur, Alwar, Bikaner, Ajmer etc
10% - 11% (for Diesel Cars)


Bihar
7% (For Cars Priced under 8 Lakh)
Patna, Gaya etc
13% (For Cars Priced above 8 Lakh)


Jharkhand


6% (For Cars Priced under 15 Lakh)
9% (For Cars Priced above 15 Lakh)
Additional Tax: Further additional 3% Tax on Buying 2nd Car in name of Same Owner


Uttarakhand (revised effective January 2019)
Price Upto 5 Lakh - 8%
Dehradun, Rishikesh

Price in between 5 Lakh to 10 Lakh - 9%
Price above 10 Lakh - 10%


Himachal Pradesh
Cars less than 1000cc - 2.5%
Shimla, Solan
Cars greater than 1000cc - 3%


Pondicherry (Puducherry)





Minimum Rs 8000 Tax for Cars under Rs 5 Lakh
Rs 11K for Cars in 5 Lakh - 8 Lakh
Rs 15K for Cars in 8 Lakh - 15 Lakh
Rs 60K Flat Road Tax for Cars above Rs 15 Lakh - 20 Lakh
Rs 1.1 Lakh Flat Road Tax for Cars in Rs 20 Lakh - 30 Lakh
Rs 1.25 Lakh for Cars above Rs 30 Lakh


Madhya Pradesh - MP
Indore, Gwalior & other cities in MP



7% Flat at Exshowroom Price of Vehicle (if ex-showroom under 10 Lakh)
8% (Petrol) / 9% (Diesel) (if ex-showroom above 10 Lakh).

Goa



9% for Cars less than 6 Lakh
11% for Car at Exshowroom Price from 6 Lakh till 9.99 Lakh
12% for Car costing 10 Lakh and more
Infrastructure Cess: Additional applicable on Cars Priced above 10 Lakh. Rs. 12,000 < 10 to 20 Lakh. 40,000 < 20 - 40 Lakh. 75,000 < 40 - 60 Lakh. 1,00,000 > 60 Lakh





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