Lightning Motorcycle

Last updated
Lightning Motorcycles
IndustryVehicle Manufacturing
Founded San Carlos, California (2006 (2006))
FounderRichard Hatfield
Headquarters
San Jose, California
,
United States
Area served
North America
Products
Website lightningmotorcycle.com
Lightning LS-218 Lightning LS-218 (19191482473).jpg
Lightning LS-218

Lightning Motorcycle Corp. is an American manufacturer of electric motorcycles. CEO and Founder Richard Hatfield started the company in 2006 in San Carlos, California.

Founder Hatfield looked to convert a motorbike to electric with lithium batteries after participating in an electric Porsche race team. Lightning Motorcycle then converted a former Yamaha R1 race bike to electric in 2006. The bike featured over 60 horsepower, about 70 pounds-feet of torque and a top speed of 100 mph. [1]

In 2008, Lightning developed a lithium battery induction motor ATV to be used for military, border control, law enforcement, and search and rescue.

The Lightning Bike electric motorcycle set a new land speed record with an average of 173.388 mph at the BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials on the Bonneville Salt Flats. [2] It later set a new record in 2012 with a 2 way average of 215.96 mph and a top speed of 218.96 mph in Bonneville. In 2012, the solar-powered Barracuda Lightning Bike won the joint eGrandPrix TTXGP and FIM ePower electric motorcycle racing series at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca with rider Michael Barnes. [3]

Rider Carlin Dunne and Lightning's LS-218 Superbike won the motorcycle field at Pikes Peak in 2013, making it the first electric bike to beat out all its gas-powered counterparts. [4] Richard Hatfield said about the Pikes Peak win, "It was great. The Lightning team and its sponsors did an incredible job bringing is all to its culmination of a goal we set ourselves fours years ago, to compete head to toe against the best gasoline powered vehicles in the world." [5] With a top speed of 218 mph, the LS-218 has been named one of the fastest motorcycles in production. [6] [7] [8]

In 2018 Lightning Motorcycles moved into its new corporate headquarters in San Jose, California. The new San Jose based facility is five times the square footage when compared to Lightning's previous San Carlos location. The new larger building has provided Lightning with the ability to dramatically expand production of the LS-218 Superbike, as well as an in-house design studio for designing future Lightning products, increased research and development capabilities and additional office space to accommodate the expanding Lightning team. [9]

On January 17, 2019, Lightning Motorcycle teased their next bike, the Lightning Strike, claiming a top speed of 150 MPH, a top range of 150 miles, a 35-minute DC charge time, and a starting price of $12,998. It is scheduled to be released in March 2019.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yamaha YZF-R1</span> Sport motorcycle

The Yamaha YZF-R1, or simply R1, is a 998 cc (60.9 cu in) sports motorcycle made by Yamaha. It was first released in 1998, undergoing significant updates in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2015, 2018 and 2020.

Brammo, Inc. was an American producer of electric traction motors and traction batteries based in Talent, Oregon, United States. Brammo also developed and sold a range of electric motorcycles via the company's website and motorcycle dealers throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motorcycle land-speed record</span>

The motorcycle land-speed record is the fastest speed achieved by a motorcycle on land. It is standardized as the speed over a course of fixed length, averaged over two runs in opposite directions. AMA National Land Speed Records requires two passes the same calendar day in opposite directions over a timed mile/kilometre while FIM Land Speed World Records require two passes in opposite directions to be over a timed mile/kilometre completed within two hours. These are special or modified motorcycles, distinct from the fastest production motorcycles. The first official FIM record was set in 1920, when Gene Walker rode an Indian on Daytona Beach at 104.12 mph (167.56 km/h). Since late 2010, the Ack Attack team has held the motorcycle land speed record at 376.36 mph (605.69 km/h).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric motorcycles and scooters</span> Plug-in electric vehicles with two or three wheels

Electric motorcycles and scooters are plug-in electric vehicles with two or three wheels. Power is supplied by a rechargeable battery that drives one or more electric motors. Electric scooters are distinguished from motorcycles by having a step-through frame, instead of being straddled. Electric bicycles are similar vehicles, distinguished by retaining the ability to be propelled by the rider pedaling in addition to battery propulsion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sébastien Gimbert</span> French motorcycle racer

Sébastien Gimbert is a professional motorcycle road racer. He currently competes in the Endurance FIM World Championship aboard a Honda CBR1000RR. His greatest success has come in the Endurance World Championship, and the bulk of his career has been spent on Yamaha YZF-R1 with more recent seasons spent on BMW S1000RR and Honda CBR1000RR motorcycles.

Eric Bostrom is an American professional motorcycle racer and brother of Ben Bostrom, who also races motorcycles professionally.

Superbike World Championship is a silhouette road racing series based on heavily modified production sports motorcycles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zero Motorcycles</span> American manufacturer of electric motorcycles

Zero Motorcycles Inc. is an American manufacturer of electric motorcycles. Formerly called Electricross, it was founded in 2006 by Neal Saiki, a former NASA engineer, in Santa Cruz, California. The company is now located nearby in Scotts Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Isle of Man TT</span> Annual motorcycle racing event

The 2009 Isle of Man TT Festival was held between Saturday 30 May and Friday 12 June on the 37.733-mile (60.725 km) Mountain Course. The 2009 TT races again include a second 600 cc Supersport Junior TT race and the Lightweight TT and Ultra-Lightweight TT races held on the 4.25-mile (6.84 km) Billown Circuit in the Isle of Man. A new event for the 2009 Isle of Man TT races was the one-lap TTXGP for racing motorcycles "to be powered without the use of carbon based fuels and have zero toxic/noxious emissions."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triumph Bonneville T120</span> British motorcycle

The Triumph Bonneville T120 is a motorcycle originally made by Triumph Engineering from 1959 to 1975. It was the first model of the Bonneville series, which was continued by Triumph Motorcycles Ltd. The T120 was discontinued in favour of the larger 750 cc T140 in the early 1970s.

Mission Motors was an American company founded in 2007 in San Francisco, California. The company was founded with the aim of creating high-performance, electric motorcycles, but later became a supplier of electric vehicle components.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MotoCzysz E1pc</span> Type of motorcycle

The MotoCzysz E1pc is the American motorcycle manufacturer MotoCzysz's electric motorcycle that won the 2010 TT Zero electric motorcycle race at the Isle of Man TT competition breaking the previous speed record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brandon Nozaki Miller</span> American motorcycle racer

Brandon Nozaki Miller, also known by the user name RIAEvangelist, is an American software developer and motorcyclist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chip Yates</span> American inventor

Chip Yates is an American inventor and electrical vehicle pioneer best known for risky record-setting feats in electric vehicles of his own design. He designed and built the record-breaking SWIGZ electric motorcycle, which in 2011 he rode over 200 mph (322 km/h) to 8 official world land speed records, 4 AMA National Championship Records, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb record, and the Guinness Book of World Records title of “World’s Fastest Electric Motorcycle”. Dubbed "the world’s most powerful electric superbike", the motorcycle is now on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum's exhibit 'Electric Revolution', curated by Paul d'Orleans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lightning LS-218</span> Electric motorcycle

The Lightning LS-218 is an electric motorcycle engineered, designed and produced in America by Lightning Motorcycle, that has been in production since 2014. It has held the title of the world's fastest street-legal production electric motorcycle since 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric motorsport</span> Category of motor sport

Electric motorsport is a category of motor sport that consists of the racing of electric powered vehicles for competition, either in all-electric series, or in open-series against vehicles with different powertrains. Very early in the history of automobiles, electric cars held several performance records over internal combustion engine cars, such as land speed records, but fell behind in performance during the first decade of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Energica Ego</span> Type of all-electric sport motorcycle

The Energica Ego is an electrically propelled sport road motorcycle designed and marketed by Energica Motor Company. It is claimed by Energica to be the world's first street-legal electric Italian sport motorcycle. The prototype was finished in 2013 and the vehicle came into the market in 2015. The prototype made use of new technologies such as CNC and 3D-printing, including the dashboard and headlights which were 3D-printed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials</span> Motor race

Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials (BMST) (AMA Land Speed Grand Championship / FIM Land Speed World Records) is a motorcycle land speed racing event, held annually at Bonneville Speedway, US. The event is sanctioned by American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) as the Land Speed Grand Championship and Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) as the FIM Land Speed World Records. AMA-certified US National Land Speed records, and FIM-certified Land Speed World Records are set at this event. The event features motorcycles ranging from 50-cc to 3000-cc, as well as electric classes.

References

  1. ↑ Crowe, Paul. "Electric Yamaha R1 – Lightning Lithium". The Kneeslider. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  2. ↑ "Lightning Motors Sets Land Speed Record". Motorcycle.com. Sep 8, 2010. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  3. ↑ Yoney, Domenick. "Michael Barnes wins joint TTXGP/FIM ePower round on solar power". Autoblog. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  4. ↑ Lavrinc, Damon. "Lightning's Electric Motorcycle Dominates Pikes Peak". Wired. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  5. ↑ "Interview with Richard Hatfield, Lightning Motorcycle and Winner at Pikes Peak 2013". CarNewsCafe.com.
  6. ↑ Blain, Loz. "Too fast, too strong, too scary: Electric Lightning LS-218 will be the fastest production bike on the planet". Gizmag. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  7. ↑ Avant, Jason. "World's Fastest Production Electric Motorcycle". Ride Apart. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  8. ↑ Keeshin, Ben. "WHO CARES THAT LIGHTNING'S LS-218 IS ELECTRIC? IT'S THE FASTEST MOTORCYCLE MONEY CAN BUY". Maxim Tech. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  9. ↑ "LIGHTNING EXPANDS INTO NEW CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS TO SUPPORT INCREASED LS-218 SUPERBIKE PRODUCTION". lightningmotorcycle.com. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.