|
What Is the LiveWire S2 Mulholland?
The LiveWire S2 Mulholland is an electric performance cruiser from LiveWire, Harley-Davidson's electric motorcycle brand, and it's the first motorcycle from the company to incorporate industrial hemp materials. The front and rear fenders are manufactured using a Montana Gold hemp bio-composite, reducing the bike's reliance on traditional petroleum-based plastics. It's a case study in how a major vehicle manufacturer can use Montana Gold's sustainability story. |
How Does the Montana Gold Story Benefit LiveWire's Product?
For LiveWire, sustainability is the most important aspect of the Montana Gold story as the consumer shopping for an electric motorcycle is conscientious of their carbon footprint. By using hemp fiber, Harley-Davidson decreases their reliance of petroleum-based plastics while using a powerful carbon sequestering material.
It demonstrates the exact kind of environmental commitment that customer is looking for.
A finish that shows off the material. The bike is available in an optional unpainted finish which minimizes the use of traditional plastics and paints, while letting the natural tone of the hemp material show. By putting the hemp composite front and center, the sustainability story becomes something a customer can see and touch.
How Does Hemp Make the Product Better?
Hemp isn't just a sustainable substitute; it brings performance advantages as well. Hemp fiber is lightweight yet strong, giving manufacturers an opportunity to enhance vehicle performance while reducing environmental impact.
When hemp fiber and hurd are integrated into plastics as functional additives, they help create biocomposite products that are:
- Lighter — reducing the density of the plastic components they replace
- Stronger — increasing tensile strength compared to some conventional plastics
- Stiffer — improving rigidity for structural components like fenders
- More sustainable — reducing reliance on petroleum-based inputs
Working with partners across the plastics industry, hemp fiber can enhance product attributes without sacrificing performance.
What Is Montana Gold Hemp Bioplastic?
Montana Gold hemp can be processed for bio-plastic use. Grown by American families with the support of IND HEMP's in-house agronomy team, Montana Gold fiber comes off the field as the highest-quality hemp fiber possible. From there, it's processed at an IND HEMP facility engineered specifically for hemp, where processed industrial hemp stalks are transformed into hurd and fiber.
That hurd and fiber is then further refined into functional additives for integration into plastics.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the LiveWire S2 Mulholland?
The LiveWire S2 Mulholland is an electric performance cruiser motorcycle from LiveWire, Harley-Davidson's electric motorcycle brand, notable for being the first LiveWire model to use sustainable materials — including hemp-based fenders — across key components.
What are the LiveWire S2 Mulholland's fenders made of?
The front and rear fenders are manufactured using a hemp bio-composite, which contains hemp hurd supplied by IND HEMP of Fort Benton, Montana.
Why did LiveWire choose hemp for the Mulholland's fenders?
Hemp fiber is lightweight and strong, offering performance benefits over conventional plastic while also reducing the bike's reliance on petroleum-based materials — aligning with the sustainability priorities of electric-motorcycle buyers.
What is hemp bioplastic used for?
Hemp bioplastic uses processed hemp fiber and hurd as functional additives in plastics, creating biocomposite materials that can be lighter, stronger, stiffer, and more sustainable than conventional plastics. Applications include automotive components like the LiveWire S2 Mulholland's fenders.
Which LiveWire S2 Mulholland color option shows the hemp material?
The unpainted Lunar White finish shows the natural tone of the hemp bio-composite. The Liquid Black finish uses traditional painted fenders instead.
Where does the hemp fiber for LiveWire's fenders come from?
The hemp hurd used in the S2 Mulholland's fenders is supplied by IND HEMP, a hemp processing company based in Fort Benton, Montana.
