Has Harley-Davidson just tipped its hand regarding its upcoming electric motorcycle? It would seem so, according to the latest trademark application to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Registering the name “Revelation” with the USPTO, Harley-Davidson has set aside the trademark for two uses: 1) batteries for vehicles, and 2) drivetrains for electric motorcycles and vehicles.
Other publications are running this story as the “Revelation” name being the moniker for Harley-Davidson’s production version of the Livewire electric motorcycle concept, but the actual trademark makes a very clear alternative to that narrative.
As the exact wording of the trademark suggests, this isn’t the name of the new motorcycle (there is a specific trademark category for such a thing, which this word mark does not include).
Instead, this is the name that Harley-Davidson will use to call its electric drive technology, which will be used in the production version of the Harley-Davidson Livewire.
This is not quite the smoking gun that it is being made out to be, but the news is still exciting, as the Bar & Shield brand continues to work towards its goal of making a production electric motorcycle within the next 18 months.
Knowing the development time involved with such a venture, there is likely a silent Harley-Davidson prototype working its way around a proving ground as we speak, as the project is surely in its final stages of design.
As we said in our previous story about this news, climate change must surely be real, because it seems that hell has frozen over. We are all adjusting to the idea of Harley-Davidson being one of the first major motorcycle brands to bring an electric model into production.
On a sidenote, manufacturers usually take great pains when it comes to naming a new vehicle or product. There is an entire service industry devoted to this process, actually, with the big focus being on researching that a name in one language doesn’t mean something offensive in another.
With this in mind, I find the name “Revelation” an interesting choice for Harley-Davidson, given its connotations and common usage.
I’m sure the “Revelation” name was picked to note some sort of revelation about the use of electric drivetrains as the future of transportation, but it seems to go against the obvious weight that the word carries in the English language, Harley-Davidson’s native tongue.
A simple Google search of “revelation” should illustrate that point I’m trying to make. Double-entendre or simple mistake,? Hmm…
Source: USPTO via Cyril Huse Blog
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