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[Apollo]

  I got the new motorcycle itch and after owning a lot of motorcycles I decided to head to my favorite Ducati dealer for a new bike.  My initial plans were to pickup a Baliss V2.  After sitting on the bike and finding out how high the seat was and little the steering lock was, I decided to try the Panigale V4. It’s supposed to have more torque and rider-friendly.  The seat was way too high and the bars too low with a minimum steering lock.  This is not the same as the Duc’s I had back in the early 90’s, these were race bikes.  Off to the side, they also had an Energica EVO+ RS Corsa.  I thought it looked like something I would ride, so I decided to come home, do some Internet research, and see YouTube reviews. Everything looked pretty good, except the range and weight.  I noted that Ducati had a new MotoE bike named V21L.  I read up on it and found out it was a race bike only and would be extremely expensive to convert for street use if you could get your hands on one. They are DC 800V charging only.
  In reading all the forums I found a small business here in California named Lightning Motorcycles.  According to their specs, they were lighter than the Duc and had more power. Lots of YouTube videos later and I had some pretty big questions about the California machine.

   I called Lightning Motorcycles to ask a million questions about their bikes. Specifically, I noted lots of negative rumors and backlash on the online forums and YouTube about their motorcycles and wanted to perform independent research to make my own conclusions. They recommended I drive up to meet in person to review their motorcycles and address my concerns.

   After reviewing lots of videos and forum posts, I built up a pretty big list of hard questions I would ask when I visited. I called Lightning and they said to come up any time, so I scheduled a visit about two days later.

   Richard H. met me at the door and gave me a quick intro to Lightning Motorcycles and a rundown on the bikes.  I sat and asked lots of questions about batteries, types of electric motors, ECU’s, VCU’s, dash display, power output, range, gearing, etc, trying to be fair but concerned about what I heard and read.   After about two hours Richard offered to take me out on a test ride.  Richard recommended a Strike R for me after taking into consideration of my proposed riding style and my glorified riding/racing experience.  I really was interested in the LS-218, but Richard recommended that I try the Strike R whereas he would take the LS-218 and we could switch after a while.

  It was my first time to ride an Electric Motorcycle and it was extremely enjoyable   I constantly wanted to pull in the clutch lever (there is none), and would roll off the throttle and try to up-shift (no shifting).  I was pretty overwhelmed with the power, smoothness of the motor, and the great suspension/brakes.  I've many miles under my belt driving an EV, so I adapted to the “one pedal” or “throttle control/regen” style of driving very quickly.  After a very short time, I felt that the Strike R was already a big step up in power from what I’d ridden before, and decided to skip the LS-218 test ride.  The torque/pull reminded me of the old Ducati twins, only multiplied by four.  Nice smooth pull on the throttle and it would pull the front tire in the air easily starting at about 45mph hitting double that in short order.  I decided the Strike R had plenty of power and I lost interest in riding the LS-218.

  After the test ride, I was pretty giddy and needed to sit, eat, and absorb what had happened.  They had a nice diner on the premises and it gave me time to sit, eat, review, and ponder.  Meeting up with Richard again, I had a fresh 100 questions.  They had Strike Carbon, Strike R, and LS-218 bikes available for review.  The LS-218 seating seemed a bit more aggressive so I decided that it may be a bit much for the freeway rides I may do to get to all the places I wanted to go.  The two Strike models seemed to have more sport bike seating that I could ride for freeway distances without wearing myself out.

  I tried to perform due diligence by inquiring nicely about some of the negative comments and rumors about the bikes.  Richard appeared to be honest and answered all my questions.  He left to attend a scheduled meeting and I had a chance to speak with some of the tech team.  They all seemed to be nice guys who answered all my questions about what they were building at the time and potential future options.  It was pretty interesting to see one of the bikes getting twin 255hp electric motors installed.

  I took a number of pictures and found that the bikes appeared to be very well made with the CNC machines running constantly making billet parts.

  I left a deposit for a Strike R and hope to be able to answer questions and show pictures about riding a Lighting in the wild.

[Richard230]

So what is the Strike R MSRP and when will you be able to purchase the bike? It is being built to order, or do they have them in stock? Does Lightning have any retail dealers other than a buyer needing to purchasing one directly from the manufacturer?

I am reminded of buying my first electric motorcycle in the spring of 2009 from the Electric Motorsport company in Oakland, CA. When I went to pick up the bike at their factory, after filling out all of the DMV paperwork, I was finally told at the last minute that they could not sell it to me directly as they did not have a DMV retail license. Later that year Best Buy ran into the same problem when they tried to sell Brammo Enertias out of their stores and also discovered that they could not do so because they did not have the proper vehicle retail license from the DMV. Photo attached.

[Specter]

Let us know when you actually get one.
Everyone is nice when they are taking your money.

aaron

[MVetter]

Let us know when you actually get one.
Everyone is nice when they are taking your money.

aaron

Look at you with this whole 'brevity is the soul of wit' going on. I like it.

[Curt]

Everyone is blown away when they ride an EV for the first time.
Have you tried other EV bikes, like Energica or Zero?
Compare price, charging methods, service options, reliability, delivery time, etc.

[Apollo]

>> So what is the Strike R MSRP and when will you be able to purchase the bike?
  As prices change over time and this post won't, I would recommend checking out their website to get current prices,  That's what I did.
I left a $5K deposit and was told I should be able to pick up the bike in about 90 days.  I was told they needed to finish up some bikes ahead of mine but would contact me with emailed pictures of the build.

>> It is being built to order, or do they have them in stock? Does Lightning have any retail dealers other than a buyer needing to purchasing one directly from the manufacturer?
  From what I understand, they are built to order and they do not have any retail dealers. They appear to be a small manufacturer and have been really hurt by the Pandemic.

>>I am reminded of buying my first electric motorcycle in the spring of 2009 from the Electric Motorsport company in Oakland, CA. When I went to pick up the bike at their factory, after filling out all of the DMV paperwork, I was finally told at the last minute that they could not sell it to me directly as they did not have a DMV retail license.
  This was one of the questions I had for Richard H. upon initial bike discussions.  He told me Lightning Motorcycles is registered with the US DOT and the State of California. He said that when I come to pick up the bike he will drive with me down to the local DMV to ensure it gets registered properly or ship the bike to me and I register it at my local DMV. The local DMV near Lighting is about two miles away and I drove past to ensure it's operational.  It's super small and had zero customers.  I couldn't believe it.

[Apollo]

Let us know when you actually get one.
Everyone is nice when they are taking your money.

aaron

    That's my plan.  I also asked that I get pictures once every two weeks of how the build process is going.  I have already received a couple of pictures and some questions about build options.  Like all good customers, I change my mind every two weeks to make them crazy.
     I will be updating this thread with pictures of how it's going.

[Apollo]

Everyone is blown away when they ride an EV for the first time.
Have you tried other EV bikes, like Energica or Zero?
Compare price, charging methods, service options, reliability, delivery time, etc.

  No, I didn't try other EV bikes.  I was only considering the Energica RS+ Tricolore, but I liked the look and internal design of the Lightning.  There is an Energica dealer not too far from me and Morgan Vetter called and emailed me to ensure I had all the information about the bikes that I needed and dealer info. Nice.
I did review all other criteria listed and I felt each manufacturer excelled at some things and was soft on others.
Of course, these are my observations and opinions.  All the EV Bikes are expensive so I think it's a good idea to review all the points you mentioned to come to an informed decision.
   One of the reasons for me making this forum entry is due to the thin amount of factual data on purchasing, getting the bike, and riding it.  There seems to be a lot on Energica from NewZeroland and it's been very helpful.
I plan to try and emulate how he reviewed living with his EV bikes.

[Curt]

There seems to be a lot on Energica from NewZeroland and it's been very helpful.
I plan to try and emulate how he reviewed living with his EV bikes.

I also enjoyed all of Sam's videos. Crossing fingers -- I hope very much that everything goes smoothly for you, because we may finally hear details about the bike from an enthusiastic and forthright owner, and because it would be evidence of Lightening succeeding. You've already done much homework and given us a decent picture of the state of the company.

[MVetter]

I'm curious, in your mind, why you think Sam at New Zeroland did an abrupt about-face from praising Lightning to buying multiple Energicas and shipping them to New Zealand. And why there's never been any pro-Lightning content from him since.

I'm also curious as to what Youtube reviews convinced you to go with this bike.

[Apollo]

I'm curious, in your mind, why you think Sam at New Zeroland did an abrupt about-face from praising Lightning to buying multiple Energicas and shipping them to New Zealand. And why there's never been any pro-Lightning content from him since.

I'm also curious as to what Youtube reviews convinced you to go with this bike.

   From what I gathered from Sam's videos and such, there are laws in his home of New Zealand that require imported vehicles to have anti-lock brakes installed from the factory.  This ruled out Lightning bikes and they refunded his deposit.  As I recall, he was impressed with the Lightning's ride, power, and brakes.  It looked like Lighting was his initial choice, but the Government said no, hence he went with his backup plan of Energica.
From his videos, he appeared very happy with the Lightnings as well as the Energicas.

  This is what I gathered from interpreting his videos and such, not to be taken as fact!

  From my research, "From 1 November 2021 all current model new motorcycles and imported used motorcycles over 125cc must have ABS fitted for them to join the national road fleet".
 
https://www.onthrottle.co.nz/post/nz-s-mandatory-motorcycle-abs-what-is-exempt-and-what-isn-t#:~:text=From%201%20November%202021%20all,or%20a%20Combined%20Braking%20System.

[mistasam]

I should make a proper follow-up video to explain why I didn't follow through with my Lightning order, but you're right that the ABS laws.  The build quality wasn't that great when I did my test ride, and nothing on the bike was waterproof, which was also a huge red flag as it rains 90% of the year in New Zealand.  Then covid hit and I wasn't able to fly back to the US to ride the Strike R.  Long story short, Energica had everything I wanted and more, but I still really enjoyed riding the Strike and I'm looking forward to your videos on it 

[SwampNut]

nothing on the bike was waterproof,

What does that mean?  "Nothing?"  So they purposely used handlebar switches that are unusual and not waterproof like all normal switches?  The lights fill up with water...?

[Apollo]

nothing on the bike was waterproof,

What does that mean?  "Nothing?"  So they purposely used handlebar switches that are unusual and not waterproof like all normal switches?  The lights fill up with water...?

  When I visited Lightning, this was one of my primary questions for Richard H.  As I drive an EV, I know there are electronic devices hanging out in the environment.  Rain, puddles, etc.  All EV's in the US are tested and seem to work fine.
   Richard told me that rain, washing the motorcycle, etc. would be no problem, but he did recommend against using a power washer on it.  He was cautioning against getting water in the wheel bearings and chain more than anything else.
   I did check out some parts of the bike and it looks pretty watertight.  The onboard 12 battery is sealed with LEDs to review its status.  The CCS charging "modem" is also a sealed unit. It looked to be a swap-out type unit. The VCS is also sealed. The BCS and ECS appeared to be built at their shop and are water-cooled. They appear to be in a sealed aluminum box with a heat transfer plate built in.
   As they are all hand-built bikes, it looks to me as if they are constantly looking for updates and upgrades. Ford and GM make updates every 2-3 years, Tesla makes updates every three months, and I suspect Lightning is also on the fast track as far as making updates.
   They appear to have a number of test mules that all the employees commute and ride with, as well as local Bay Area riders that they stay close to. I don't know all the parts used, but I don't think they would think twice about updating software or hardware on the bike multiple times a year in an effort to build a better motorcycle.
    While I was there I asked about custom work being done and they said they could do it if they had time and it didn't interfere with the bike design.  I also asked for some options that were not listed, but they helped the best they could.  I asked for a silver upper triple clamp, whereas all the bikes came with black clamps.  They searched around and had a non-painted one and they put it on with no issues.  I asked for Black Wheels when Silver is stock. Again, they dug around in the back room and came up with a set of black wheels.  I asked for dual motors. They said no!

[SwampNut]

So everything is exactly just as waterproof as a normal motorcycle?  Which all warn against power washers.