Lightning LS-218

The Lightning LS-218 is an electric motorcycle engineered, designed and produced in America by Lightning Motorcycle, that has been in production since 2014.^[2] It has held the title of the world's fastest street-legal production electric motorcycle since 2014.^[1]

Lightning LS-218

Manufacturer	Lightning Motorcycle
Production	2014–
Class	Electric sportbike
Engine	Liquid-cooled 150 kW electric motor
Top speed	218 mph (351 km/h)[1]
Power	200 hp (150 kW)[1]
Torque	168 lb⋅ft (228 N⋅m)[1]
Transmission	Direct drive
Weight	496 lb (225 kg)[citation needed] (wet)

With a top speed of 218 mph (351 km/h), the production LS-218 is faster than any other street-legal electric motorcycle, and tops the list of fastest production motorcycles.^[3][4] While the 218 mph top speed of the LS-218 was arrived at through calculations of power and wind resistance, the speed was proven at Bonneville Speedway using an LS-218 modified from street-legal form, using "high speed gearing and fairing".^[5]

A race-modified LS-218 won the 2013 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in open competition against both gasoline and electric motorcycles, ridden by professional racer Carlin Dunne.^[6] The Pikes Peak victory was historic as the first time an electric motorcycle beat internal-combustion rivals in a professional road race. The Lightning team's Pikes Peak race was conducted entirely off-grid, and relied on solar panels to charge the LS-218 racer, making it the first vehicle of any type to win a professional road race using solar power.^[7]

The LS-218's standard battery pack's capacity is 12 kWh (43 MJ).^[3] Adding a 20 kWh battery pack gives a range of 160–180 mi (260–290 km).^[1]