Superbikes are easily the fastest street legal vehicles, with the higher end bikes beating out pretty much ever supercar in terms of acceleration. People purchase these bikes to go fast and for their unbeatable performance. Well there is a new kid on the block that is shaking up the superbike world, and it is the fastest production motorcycle ever: enter the Lightning LS-218.
The Lightning LS-218 is about ready to finally be released to the public after many phases of testing, but are we ready? The bike is a pretty standard looking superbike, but it packs some serious punch. The engine provides the 458 pound motorcycle with 200 horse power and 168 pounds-feet of torque. While the company has not recorded any official 0-60 miles per hour times, unofficial tests put it somewhere between 1 to 2 seconds. Just think about that for a second. This bike accelerates as fast as some Formula 1 cars. Oh it also has an official recorded top speed of 218 miles per hour which beats out all of the competition. So how does it do that? Electricity.
That’s right, as the name implies the Lightning LS-218 is a fully electric motorcycle. As we know electric motors lay waste to traditional combustion engines in terms of acceleration as all the power is instantly available. The bike is also extremely quiet given its power source. A few configurations exist for this bike. The basic configuration has a 380V 12 kwh battery pack that can give you a range of about 100-120 miles, while the top of the line configuration has a 380v 20 kwh battery pack that extends the range to 160-180 miles. Lightning is currently accepting reservations for this superbike and they are built to order. If you want to get this bike then you are going to have to shell out a considerable amount of money. The bike starts at $38,888 dollars making it not only one of the fastest bikes in the world, but one of the most expensive as well (you can get gas powered superbikes for around $15,000). Either way this intimidating bike is sure to please any speed chasers, and you better be carful riding this monster.
Photo from lightningmotorcycle.com
