The Motorcycle's Fibrous Fenders
LiveWire's S2 Mulholland electric motorcycle features fenders made with American-grown hemp.
Catching my eye at the recent Celebration of Modern Agriculture on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was a sleek electric motorcycle on display with white fenders.
Why did this bike grab my attention? After all, there were impressive, state-of-the-art farming machines and agricultural innovations all around at this major event.
The motorcycle was the new S2 Mulholland model from LiveWire. This bike is significant because it represents a historic breakthrough for the fledgling domestic hemp industry. That's because its front and rear fenders are made with a composite material that contains fiber from the stalks of American-grown hemp plants.
The Lunar White version of LiveWire's S2 Mulholland electric motorcycle with its hempen fenders on display in the National Hemp Association's exhibit area during the Celebration of Modern Agriculture on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., May 7, 2024. The bike is resting on sections of HempWood organic hardwood flooring. Photo by Michael Sirak
LiveWire's move marks the first time that a U.S. vehicle manufacturer of its stature--the company is closely associated with iconic American motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson--has incorporated industrial hemp in a design since Congress, at the end of 2018, made it legal again to grow hemp in the United States. Hemp's inclusion on the S2 Mulholland is part of LiveWire's broader use, for the first time, of earth-friendly, sustainable materials on one of its bikes. The hemp compound supplanted more-traditional plastic.
In addition to hempen fenders, LiveWire's S2 Mulholland bike, shown here on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on May 7, 2024, features a seat made with a recyclable silicone and its radiator shrouds and wiring caddies are based on a compound derived from discarded nylon ocean fishing nets. Photo by Michael Sirak
Another facet of this fender story I find worthy of discussing was learning who in the hemp industry made the fenders possible. The industry is still small-enough to know the pioneers shaping it, and it has been inspiring to observe their tireless efforts in building it. Now in the sixth year of the new hemp era, we are seeing their tenacity and resilience pay off.
Sons of Anarchy, Electric
LiveWire is a distinct brand of electric motorcycles that Harley-Davidson in 2022 spun off from a division within the company into its own business. Today, LiveWire is a publicly traded company (NYSE: LVWR), but remains tied to Harley-Davidson, as the latter is its majority shareholder and has representation on LiveWire's board of directors. Plus, LiveWire continues to leverage Harley-Davidson's engineering expertise, manufacturing footprint, supply chain infrastructure, and logistics capabilities. For example, the S2 Mulholland is assembled at Harley-Davidson's plant in York, Pa.
“The bike’s white fenders purposely are unpainted, which ‘elevates’ the hemp material.”
The broader significance here is that LiveWire's ambitious adoption of industrial hemp may pave the way for other major American manufacturers to embrace it, similarly, in mainstream products. Consider, for example, the huge amount of domestically grown hemp that the largest American automobile manufacturers (e.g., General Motors, Ford Motor Company) would require if they included hemp fiber in the door panels, floor mats, seats, and other parts of their vehicles.
That would be a big-time boost for American farmers. It could also lead to a resurgence of U.S. manufacturing jobs and revitalize rural communities. It could also contribute in a substantial way to returning industrial hemp to a place of major economic importance to the United States, a position hemp enjoyed before its era of prohibition began in the late 1930s.
A Star of the Show
I came across the S2 Mulholland at the National Hemp Association's exhibit area on the National Mall, in view of the U.S. Capitol Building and Washington Monument. The association represented the hemp industry at the Celebration of Modern Agriculture, which ran there May 6-8, 2024. The Association of Equipment Manufacturers hosted the outdoor event, which drew more than 12,000 visitors, this same organization announced in its show recap. Some two dozen companies, including John Deere, Kubota, and New Holland, exhibited farming equipment of all sizes--from tiny to huge--and state-of-the-art technology. A similar number of grower groups and advocacy organizations were on hand.
LiveWire's S2 Mulholland electric motorcycle sits in front of the Hemp House on Wheels during the Celebration of Modern Agriculture on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., May 7, 2024. Photo by Michael Sirak
The S2 Mulholland I saw was in the model's Lunar White color scheme: white fenders & gray seat. (There also is a version of the bike with non-hempen black fenders; more on that later.) Geoff Whaling, National Hemp Association president, told me during my visit with him on the show's second day that he had acquired the bike on display. LiveWire released the S2 Mulholland in late March 2024. Whaling said his bike was the third S2 Mulholland to come off of the motorcycle's assembly line. The first two S2 Mulhollands off the line also were Lunar White models, I later learned.
Whaling said the S2 Mulholland was drawing much interest from show visitors, many of whom were intrigued to hear that hemp was a notable component. He called the bike one of the "stars of the show" as he highlighted the many items the association had brought with it. For example, the S2 Mulholland sat in front of the "Hemp House on Wheels," a tiny, mobile model home built in 2019 by Americhanvre Cast-Hemp of Allentown, Pa., and Coexist Build of Blandon, Pa., to highlight the use of a hemp-fiber-based building material called "hempcrete" (a.k.a. hemp-lime). Plus, the bike rested on sections of HempWood organic hardwood flooring, also containing hemp fiber, which a company of the same name manufactures in Murray, Ky. Beyond that, the association had tables set up with hemp-fiber-based items such as jeans, shirts, socks, straws, animal bedding, even tampons.
“The broader significance here is that LiveWire’s ambitious adoption of industrial hemp may pave the way for other major American manufacturers to embrace it, similarly, in mainstream products. ”
Pushing the Envelope
The S2 Mulholland is the latest in LiveWire's series of bikes, which also includes the LiveWire ONE and S2 Del Mar models. Upon unveiling the S2 Mulholland, LiveWire announced that the motorcycle "continues to push the envelope of design further" with the brand's "first use of sustainable and eco-friendly materials across key touch points on the bike." In addition to the hempen fenders, the S2 Mulholland's seat is made with a petroleum-free, recyclable silicone rather than leather or vinyl, according to LiveWire. Further, the bike's radiator shrouds and wiring caddies use a compound called "hylon ocean," which comes from discarded nylon ocean fishing nets.
LiveWire launched the S2 Mulholland performance cruiser in late March 2024. The bike's Lunar White version, shown here, features fenders made with an eco-friendly composite material containing fiber from American-grown hemp plants. Photo by Michael Sirak
The bike's white fenders purposely are unpainted, which "elevates" the hemp material, stated LiveWire’s press release. The flecks visible in the fenders when viewing them up close, as I did, are tiny bits of hemp fiber, Whaling told me. Hemp stalks contain two types of fiber: bast and hurd. Bast fiber is the outer sinewy strands of the stalk, while the hurd is the stalk's woody interior. The hemp fiber in the fenders is hurd.
The hempen front fender on LiveWire's S2 Mulholland electric motorcycle. Photo by Michael Sirak
The fenders' hemp compound is based on a resin processed at a low temperature to preserve the resin's natural colors and strength, according to LiveWire. The resin also contains material from softwood trees harvested from sustainably managed forests, among its other constituents, stated an information sheet the National Hemp Association had out near the bike. No two fenders look exactly the same since "the hemp that is encapsulated in the resin appears differently at the surface of each part," according to LiveWire. The resin is injection-molded into the fenders.
The hempen rear fender on LiveWire's S2 Mulholland electric motorcycle. Photo by Michael Sirak
Mulholland's Lane
The S2 Mulholland weighs 432 pounds and has a 19-inch front wheel and 17-inch rear wheel. The 84-horsepower bike is capable of going from zero miles per hour to 60 miles per hour in 3.3 seconds, according to LiveWire. I saw first-hand during my visit to Cleveland's Rock-N-Roll City Harley-Davidson dealership in June 2024 just how powerful and spry the bike is. The motorcycle has a city range of 121 miles between battery charges and a highway range of 73 miles (when traveling at 55 miles per hour sustained), states LiveWire's website.
Top view of the S2 Mulholland's hempen rear fender. Photo by Michael Sirak
The motorcycle also comes in a Liquid Black color scheme with an option for black or red accents. Unlike the fenders on the Lunar White version, the Liquid Black model's fenders comprise a traditional plastic polymer, and they have a glossy, painted finish.
The S2 Mulholland lists for $15,999. Here is the webpage to find a dealer in your area for an up-close look and test ride.
Montanan Provenance
Playing a key role in the bike's fenders was IND Hemp of Fort Benton in north-central Montana; it supplied the hurd. IND Hemp has been a major force in advancing the industrial hemp industry since the company's inception in 2019. It operates the first campus in the United States that has both a facility for processing the fiber from harvested hemp stalks (a.k.a. hemp straw) and a separate facility for creating food items from hemp seeds, such as hemp hearts, oil, and protein powder.
IND Hemp has done much to support the farmers in Montana and neighboring states who grow hemp for it, including creating a stable and predictable demand for their hemp. It was family farms in Montana that cultivated the hemp that went into the fenders. After obtaining the hurd from the hemp straw, IND Hemp then passed the hurd on to the resin maker, a company called c2renew in Fargo, N.D. The resin then made its way to M4 Factory in Woodstock, Ill., northwest of Chicago, for injection molding into the fenders.
The National Hemp Association showcased hemp-fiber-based animal bedding and additional products in the line of IND Hemp's Hemptana brand, shown here on May 7, 2024, during the Celebration of Modern Agriculture on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Photo by Michael Sirak
IND Hemp also created the brand Hemptana which sells products geared for animals, such as hemp-fiber-based bedding for horses; nesting mats for hens; and equine supplements (e.g., hempseed oil, hempseed hulls). The National Hemp Association displayed Hemptana products at the show. For some of the aforementioned items that the association showed from other brands (e.g., socks, tampons), IND Hemp also supplied the hemp fiber.
A Cut Above the Rest
Not far from the S2 Mulholland on the National Mall was a large piece of hemp-harvesting equipment called the FiberCut. Bish Enterprises of Giltner, Neb., southwest of Omaha, developed FiberCut to help farmers to harvest hemp for its fiber without having to make a huge capital investment in all-new equipment. Like IND Hemp, Bish Enterprises has been at the forefront of building the hemp industry and has been one of its most stalwart advocates.
Bish Enterprises' FiberCut hemp harvester on display at the Celebration of Modern Agriculture on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., May 7, 2024. Photo by Michael Sirak
The company describes the FiberCut as a pull-behind, multi-height sickle mower. "We started development of this approximately five years ago," Andrew Bish, Bish Enterprises' chief operating officer, told me at the show as we stood in front of the FiberCut. "What we were looking to do was produce a harvester that allowed the farmer--your typical hay farmer who already has raking and baling equipment--to use the same equipment they already have in the field, but be able to harvest their hemp efficiently," he said.
The FiberCut's modular design allows the operator to add, remove, and adjust the machine's cutting arms. Depending on the farmer's need, the FiberCut can have two, three, or four arms, said Bish.
IND Hemp owns a FiberCut machine that its farmers use in their harvests. The company also has several additional harvesters from a different equipment manufacturer. All these machines are multi-tiered and adjustable; they cut hemp stalks to the same segment length, such that the straw that IND Hemp receives for processing looks the same. Therefore, while a FiberCut may well have harvested hemp that went into the fenders, there is no way to know for certain, I learned. Nonetheless, I consider Bish Enterprises to be one of the players in this story, at the very least due to its sustained activities in supporting the hemp industry to reach the point in its maturity that it could deliver on a demand, such as in this case, for hemp fiber.
Author's Note: The banner photo is courtesy of LiveWire. I wish to thank Eric Walter and his team at the Rock-N-Roll City Harley-Davidson dealership in Cleveland for allowing me to come by and snap photos of the S2 Mulholland. Thanks, too, to IND Hemp officials for verifying company facts, and to Geoff Whaling and Andrew Bish for speaking with me at the Celebration of Modern Agriculture. Also, I reached out to c2renew and M4 Factory; neither company provided any support.
