When anyone says ‘American Motorcycle’, it brings to mind large cruisers or tourers with infinite torque that you can ride all day, and into the sunset. It brings to mind a certain brand from Milwaukee (yes, Harley-Davidson). What we don’t think of is a fully-faired sports bike that can let you get your knee down around your favorite corner at Willow Springs or COTA. However, as the American biking scene enters a modern chapter, the country has seen some very impressive sports bikes in recent times.

Buell has been doing it for decades when it hasn’t been out of money. The Hammerhead 1190 is a great motorcycle, but its decade-old engine means that it isn’t at the top of the heap today. MTT is another motorcycle manufacturer that comes to mind, but the 420RR doesn’t qualify for this article because you need to wait for a helicopter to donate its engine. You can’t simply get one off the shelf. And despite the full fairing and rearset footpegs, we’d pay good money to see someone get their knee down on any MTT turbine-powered motorcycle. That leaves us with a surprising new age alternative: an American-made electric motorcycle!

Most Powerful American Sports Bike Today: Lightning LS-218

Peak Power: 244 Horsepower

Lightning Motorcycle Corp. has been around since 2006, with founder and CEO Richard Hatfield at the helm. Lightning’s first foray into electric motorcycles was a Yamaha YZF-R1 that was converted to an EV and it had 60 horsepower. Later, Lightning began developing its first product, a halo supersport machine whose target was to not just match but outrun equivalent halo supersport motorcycles powered by gasoline engines (read: liter-class bikes). It chose to develop its product and refine it the way things were done back in the day: through motorsport.

In 2012, Lightning took the then-unnamed electric motorcycle to the Bonneville Salt Flats during Bonneville Speed Week and hit a top speed of 218 MPH, giving it its name. Two years later, a race-prepped LS-218 won the Pikes Peak Hillclimb outright (not a bad way to launch a new product, right?). The LS-218 went on sale that same year (2014) with a delivery time of a few months announced. There was no gentlemen’s agreement here, just the future announcing itself with the whine of an electric motor.

The Tech In The LS-218

A Salt And Battery

Let’s get the motor out of the way first. It is an Interior Permanent Magnet (IPM) motor with liquid cooling. The electric motor is equipped with programmable regenerative braking. This helps extend the range of the vehicle depending on the LS-218’s usage. It has a Lithium-ion, air-cooled battery pack with various capacities as its partner-in-crime. The standard battery pack is a 15 kWh one, but a bigger 20 kWh pack is available for interested parties. Another bigger and infinitely quicker-charging battery pack is on the horizon, as Lightning has partnered with battery company Enevate. This paves the way for a new charging system that offers over 130 miles of range with a charge time of just 10 minutes.

This tech is yet to be released to the public, but Lightning says it has done a 700+ mile riding day with one of its models using this tech already. It calls it the Lightning-Fast Charging System, and uses Level 3 chargers to achieve this feat. Alnyway, the battery and motor are attached to an aluminum chassis and an aluminum swingarm. An all-carbon fiber chassis and swingarm are on the options list, meanwhile. Also on the options list are titanium fasteners, a fully programmable Android display, custom graphics, custom seating, and different battery packs.

Accolades And Records

The LS-218 Has Many Records To Its Name

In 2012, Lightning smashed all production motorcycle records by averaging 215 MPH, with a top speed of 218 MPH. We aren’t sure how it got the production motorcycle record without actually being in production at the time, though. Plus, in the decade that it has been on sale no independent entity has confirmed the top speed of an LS-218 that has been on sale. Or even run it on a dyno, which is strange for a product that’s been on sale for so long. Still, one cannot deny that it is a product that has made history.

In 2014, it won the Pikes Peak Hillclimb race. We don’t mean in the EV category; it was faster than everything, including gas-powered motorcycles, which is really something since the competition at this race is up there with the best in the world. That gave it the record of the first electric motorcycle to beat fossil fuel power in a race. The team ran the Pikes Peak LS-218 completely on solar power, netting itself another record of being the first race winner to run on solar energy. Too bad it won’t get another opportunity to better its record time, though.

It also won the first North American Zero Emissions Championship in 2010 and won the FIM e-Power International Championship/TTXGP race at Le Mans with Miguel Duhamel riding the LS-218. Since those achievements, Lightning has been more focused on selling the LS-218 rather than breaking any more records. However, Lightning does intend to break its own speed record. It has been partnering with firms to develop new tech that will help it achieve the new record. Oh, and it just plans to do it with something other than an LS-218…

Where Will Lightning Strike Next?

The Future Of The LS-218

The LS-218 has been the future for a decade now. It has been ten years since it went on sale, and in that decade, the only real update it has got is… an updated battery pack. Not that the LS-218 needed anything other than more range and quicker charge times, which is exactly what the new Enevate battery pack allows. However, it feels strange to see something as new and advanced as the LS-218 stagnate as far as its tech and engineering go. Of course, there is the adage ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, but in this age of iPhone-style annual updates for automobiles, the LS-218’s lack of updates sticks out like a sore thumb.

We have seen Lightning launch a second model in that time, the Strike. But as with the LS-218, the company seems to be having a slightly difficult time getting production up to the projected full capacity numbers. We’d also love to know if old LS-218s can be upgraded to the new Enevate battery pack, or if not, if there is an exchange offer the company will be willing to make. It is highly unlikely that an offer like this come about until LS-218 delivery times come down. But it would certainly help make loyal customers feel better about their investment in a new product, even if it remains the production motorcycle speed record holder a full ten years after its launch!

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Lightning still has the lead as far as performance is concerned. But Damon is hot on its heels, and it offers far more safety and other USPs like the movable riding position that would make it stand out even if it was powered by a gasoline engine. Companies like Kawasaki are testing the hybrid motorcycle waters with the likes of the Ninja 7 Hybrid and its Hydrogen-fueled concept motorcycles with a supercharger. Every other manufacturer from BMW to Honda also has an electric product roadmap in place, and Lightning will have to stay a few steps ahead of them to stay ahead in the food chain. Nevertheless, we don’t think anyone’s going to take the “most powerful American sports bike” crown from it anytime soon.

Lightning LS-218 Specifications