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Despite the hype surrounding the pre-production Harley-Davidson LiveWire that stole the screen in “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” Captain America doesn’t ride it. Tragically, the star-spangled man with a plan drew the short straw between the film’s two MoCo motorcycles: a Harley-Davidson Street 750. 

Captain America rode a Harley-Davidson Street 750 in ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’, not a LiveWire

Avengers: Age of Ultron” begins with the team battling the forces of evil in a fictitious Eastern European country. Additionally, Captain America (Chris Evans) races into battle on a Harley-Davidson Street 750. Business as usual for Marvel’s alliance of superheroes, right? Well, not quite.

Unfortunately, Captain America, also known as Steve Rogers, is riding on a paltry 47.5 horsepower and 47.9 lb-ft of torque. That’s hardly the sort of power you would expect a superhero to use to fight their battles. On the other hand, the same film debuted a pre-production Harley-Davidson LiveWire with much more impressive performance credentials. 

A Harley-Davidson LiveWire EV motorcycle in a corner.
Harley-Davidson LiveWire | Harley-Davidson

However, Captain America didn’t ride the LiveWire in its first big-screen appearance. No, that bragging right belongs to Sarah Lezito, the French stunt rider behind the Black Widow’s all-electric romp through the streets of Seoul. The EV motorcycle wasn’t yet in production at the time of the 2015 movie’s release. Still, that didn’t stop Lezito from dazzling audiences with stunt riding.

Moreover, Captain America missed out; the LiveWire is a much livelier ride than the comparably anemic Street 750, even without a V-Twin. Still, even with its smooth, deliberate torque delivery, the LiveWire is hardly the right bike for Steve Rogers. No, the World War II veteran looks much more at home on his modified WLA or the retro-styled Softail Slim he departed on at the end of the first Avengers film. 

That said, I’ve taken the Street 750 and LiveWire for a ride, and I assure you, there’s a winner. It’s the effortlessly torquey electric motorcycle. After all, the current Harley-Davidson sub-brand models quote a 0 to 60 time of 3.0 seconds. I expect the Street 750 wouldn’t come within a second of that time under the best circumstances. Either way, both bikes are happier with corner work than the low-slung, fat-tire Softail Breakout Steve Rogers rode in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”