Lightning Motorcycles drops shadowy electric superbike teaser, we turn up the lights
 

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, On Two Wheels, USA

http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/mida...218+teaser.jpg

This weekend, the sun will shed light on a long-promised electric superbike at the Quail Motorcycle Gathering in Carmel, CA. In advance of this auspicious occasion, Lightning Motorcycles has sent out a teaser photo of the machine in question, which gives us a shadowy idea of what to expect. Being the kind of kids that would search our parent's room ahead of Christmas, we decided to peer into the darkness with a little photo-manipulation magic and were rewarded with a sneak peek, which we will share with you below.

The LS-218 - named in honor of the land-speed version hitting 218 miles per hour - appears to be pretty close to a revised version of the original concept sketch by Glynn Kerr, though the designer intimates on his Facebook page that there may yet be further changes. Aside from the esthetics, the electro-mechanicals are said to be the same as those in the bike that Carlin Dunne set a new record with at last years' Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, beating its closest gas-powered competitor by 20 seconds.

To review, that involves a liquid-cooled, high-rpm electric motor spinning out over 200 horsepower with 168 foot-pounds of torque, whilst being powered by a battery pack stuffed with either 12, 15, or 20 kWhs worth of lithium cells from Enerdel. Apparently, the price tag will sport the same $38,888 starting price tag as had been mentioned when the consumer version was originally announced. It will also come equipped with goodies like an Öhlins FGRT inverted fork, Brembo brakes and Marchesini forged magnesium wheels. You can see the most recent concept sketch here. Scroll down for a look at our enhanced teaser photo along with the official press release.Continue reading Lightning Motorcycles drops shadowy electric superbike teaser, we turn up the lights

Lightning Motorcycles drops shadowy electric superbike teaser, we turn up the lights originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 14 May 2014 10:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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