The world’s fastest electric motorcycle, the 351km/h Lightning LS-218, will soon have a mass-market brother called the Strike that beats Harley-Davidson’s LiveWire electric.
A teaser photograph of the Strike above) shows a Ducati-esque set of headlights.
It will start at $US12,998 (about $A18,000) when it is released in March, compared with the LS-218 at $US38,888 (about $A51,150).
That’s even cheaper than the Zero SR at $US16,495 (about $A23,000). When the Californian company pulled the plug on importing to Australia in 2017 their prices ranged from $18,000 to $25,000 on the road.
2017 Zero motorcyclesLightning Strike
The Strike is also a lot more affordable than the Harley-Davidson LiveWire at $US29,799 ($A41,699) plus on-road costs. It arrives in North America and Europe in September, but will not come to Australia and New Zealand until 2020.
Harley LiveWireWhen it comes to tech specs, the Strike is also a lot more electric bike than the LiveWire.
Harley promises just 177km of range, a top seed of 190km/h and 0-100km/h in “under 3.5 seconds”.
In its photographic teaser of the Strike’s headlights, Lightning Motorcycles claim the bike will have 150 miles of range (about 240km) and a top speed of 150mph (240km/h).
Lightning Motorcycles say the Strike will charge in just 35 minutes on a DC fast charger.
There are no details yet on the LiveWire’s battery size or charging times, power.
Lightning Motorcycles does not yet import to Australia and is a small-scale company.
However, its price and tech specs should cause concern to both electric newcomer Harley-Davidson and the world’s biggest electric bike company, Zero Motorcycles.
Meanwhile, Zero also promises a new “effortlessly powerful” naked bike this year.
Their SR/F will be unveiled on February 25.
Zero SR-F teaser photoIt’s looking like a big year for electric motorcycles – at least overseas.
Curtiss electric motorcycles is now taking orders for their Zeus electric bikes which will not be released until 2020.
Their Zeus Bobber and Cafe will each cost $US60,000 (about $A83,000, £46,845, €53,000) with a holding deposit of $US6000.
The aluminium and carbon bikes have 140kW of power, 196Nm of torque and maximum range of 450km although they don’t indicate how that was achieved.