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[nevetsyad]

I forgot to add that the photo of that red bike above was taken five years ago. Lightning seems to be good at designing motorcycles, but not so good when it comes to actually manufacturing and selling them.  Maybe it will be different this time?   

In a 2017 interview, they said they bought a factory in 2017. Hopefully they're done designing and tooling it, and it's ready to pump out Strikes...

[NEW2elec]

Well I dug into Lightning's web page and it let the air out of my sail.
Like some had guessed, or saw, the 12k is a base strike with unknown specs.  You can reserve one for $500 and they say it's 100% refundable up until an in writing confirm agreement is signed.
But...
The first and only option to begin with, not sure when the beginning ends, is a $10,000 deposit for the fully optioned carbon edition with full price unknown.  I guess the full specs will be out in March but I'm now expecting an updated LS218 for top money or sadly maybe just Mission vapor.

Here's to hope.  Cheers.

[Haag13]

I know they say they are refundable, but it's tough to imagine wanting to put a deposit down on the Lightning bikes before seeing what the Zero SR/F will be all about in February.  Hopefully the details in the upcoming February 5th announcement will provide some clarity.

[ultrarnr]

I think its tough to imagine people putting a down payment on a bike they have no idea if its a sport bike, standard or whatever. Seems people are  doing it though.

[Richard230]

I think its tough to imagine people putting a down payment on a bike they have no idea if its a sport bike, standard or whatever. Seems people are  doing it though.

Hope springs eternal. 

[GaryArt1]

For the life of me I can't see how someone can put $10K deposit on a bike they have no idea what kind of bike it is, what it will look like, what are its specifications and what is the final price going to be.  Refundable or not.  I guess some people just want the newest things and have a lot of disposable income.  Not me.

[JaimeC]

I think its tough to imagine people putting a down payment on a bike they have no idea if its a sport bike, standard or whatever. Seems people are  doing it though.

For DECADES that was Harley Davidson's business model and it worked... up until the recession at the end of the Bush administration anyway.  People would line up at Harley dealerships and leave deposits on models not knowing anything about what they'd end up with.  Those days are long gone, though (as Harley's stock performance lately has shown).

[DonTom]

For the life of me I can't see how someone can put $10K deposit on a bike they have no idea what kind of bike it is, what it will look like, what are its specifications and what is the final price going to be.  Refundable or not.  I guess some people just want the newest things and have a lot of disposable income.  Not me.

Some people like to gamble.

-Don-  Auburn, CA

[JaimeC]

Also, that strategy worked out pretty well for the Tesla Model 3, too.

[Richard230]

Also, that strategy worked out pretty well for the Tesla Model 3, too.

But at least in that case you were dealing with a company that you knew something about.  Who know much about Lightning, other than they just bought a new building, have made a few really fast motorcycles years ago, have no dealer and supply infrastructure and have posted a single self-promoting news article on the internet. 

This brings to mind my second Electric Motorsport GPR-S that I tried to buy from that Oakland manufacturing company in the fall of 2009.  When I went to their factory, with cash in hand to buy my second motorcycle from them, after having me sit in their office for hours cooling my heals and being told that the CEO was making a few minor adjustment to my bike before it could be sold, I was then told that they could not sell me the bike because they had lost their CA DMV retail license and that I would have to buy the bike from The Electric Green Store in Redwood City, located about 60 miles away.  And when I did that, they discovered that the bike had a goofy VIN and would have to be re-registered all over again with the DMV. 

Anyway, my point is that there is more to buying a new vehicle in California than just sending someone a $500 or $10,000 deposit and waiting for it to be delivered to your door.     That someone needs to be licensed as a retail motor vehicle dealership by the state.  That was why Best Buy could not sell Brammo Enertias at their stores when they were first introduced late in 2009.   

[GaryArt1]

What really concerns me is the lack of a dealership network.  Hey its fine ordering a smartphone from a company and have it shipped directly to you.  if it breaks, you ship it back for warranty work.  What are you going to do with a 400+ lb bike?  I hope Lightning has a plan to set up a network otherwise I can't see it really working.  You can't bring an electric bike into any ICE motorcycle mechanic unless it is for tires or brakes.  I have the same concern with Zero who does have a dealer network though it is somewhat sparse right now.  My hope is that the Zero sales team is actively searching out more dealers but I am not sure how successful they will be until their bikes become more mainstream.  That is the main draw with Harley.  Man it seems like you can break down in almost anywhere and find a local Harley dealer close by.  That is of course if they don't keep making bad decisions and eventually go out of business (which some are predicting already). 

[wavelet]

What really concerns me is the lack of a dealership network.  Hey its fine ordering a smartphone from a company and have it shipped directly to you.  if it breaks, you ship it back for warranty work.  What are you going to do with a 400+ lb bike?  I hope Lightning has a plan to set up a network otherwise I can't see it really working.  You can't bring an electric bike into any ICE motorcycle mechanic unless it is for tires or brakes.  I have the same concern with Zero who does have a dealer network though it is somewhat sparse right now.  My hope is that the Zero sales team is actively searching out more dealers but I am not sure how successful they will be until their bikes become more mainstream.  That is the main draw with Harley.  Man it seems like you can break down in almost anywhere and find a local Harley dealer close by.  That is of course if they don't keep making bad decisions and eventually go out of business (which some are predicting already).

There's basically no bike, period (none that has been demonstrated beyond a prototype a few years ago), no indication of any actual production facility. That's before even mentioning dealer/service networks, parts depots, training mechanics etc. This is 100% vaporware until proven otherwise. Over here in order to set up shop as a maker or importer of vehicles, you have to deposit a huge bond with the MoT. If your vehicles don't get homologated, you can't provide the legally-required 7 years of parts support etc., you lose the bond.

[Richard230]

What really concerns me is the lack of a dealership network.  Hey its fine ordering a smartphone from a company and have it shipped directly to you.  if it breaks, you ship it back for warranty work.  What are you going to do with a 400+ lb bike?  I hope Lightning has a plan to set up a network otherwise I can't see it really working.  You can't bring an electric bike into any ICE motorcycle mechanic unless it is for tires or brakes.  I have the same concern with Zero who does have a dealer network though it is somewhat sparse right now.  My hope is that the Zero sales team is actively searching out more dealers but I am not sure how successful they will be until their bikes become more mainstream.  That is the main draw with Harley.  Man it seems like you can break down in almost anywhere and find a local Harley dealer close by.  That is of course if they don't keep making bad decisions and eventually go out of business (which some are predicting already).

There's basically no bike, period (none that has been demonstrated beyond a prototype a few years ago), no indication of any actual production facility. That's before even mentioning dealer/service networks, parts depots, training mechanics etc. This is 100% vaporware until proven otherwise. Over here in order to set up shop as a maker or importer of vehicles, you have to deposit a huge bond with the MoT. If your vehicles don't get homologated, you can't provide the legally-required 7 years of parts support etc., you lose the bond.

Well, Lightning did buy (or is leasing) a nice new HQ/factory building in San Jose, CA. 

[wavelet]

^^  I stand corrected on the production facility -- thanks Richard (-:
As for the rest of it, I'll believe they're actually making and/or selling bikes when there are independent reports of test rides, on more than one or three bikes.

Part of the problem is that they've done nothing that's externally visible apart from PR since 3.5 years ago. That's a long time in EV tech, and selling the LS-218 of back then isn't going to cut it... esp. not at US$40K.

[Richard230]

And as I always say, there is a lot more to selling a mass-produced vehicle to the general public than just designing it and making it move under its own power.