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[NEW2elec]

As I've posted before I'm torn between the companie's success in competition and record setting and some questionable production performance.  But maybe that's just me. 
The stats listed sound really good, though some of the facts don't add up, that could be an early misquote or mixed up numbers from the writers end.

So who has heard enough to put down a deposit?
How much more would someone need to see to convince them to get onboard if they are on the fence?

[togo]

I know people who have reserved $500 but I don't know of any who've put down the $10,000 necessary for initial delivery carbon 20kwh with fast DC.

[ultrarnr]

Not me. I live in North Carolina and no dealer network means the potential of shipping the bike back to California if there are problems is a deal killer. When Energica dropped their prices I asked whether or not they would consider selling and servicing one out of their Morrisville, NC office and they said yes. That is in spite of Morrisville being their US distributor location and not technically a dealer. When I had a problem with the bike they flew out and drove to my home to work on it. I would really like a Brutus V9 with a 33.7 kWh battery and the reason I never got one was they are out of Vegas and I would have to deal with the same no dealer scenario.

I really thought the Strike was going to be a street fighter style instead of a sport bike. I think the market is a lot larger for something with a more upright riding position. Lightning used a lot of teaser shots just like Zero and others have done. But when the day came for the big reveal Zero had far more information on the web site and it was front and center there. I am not impressed  at all with Lightning's approach to the Strike. Details are still buried on the website where most will never find them. Why?

[Richard230]

When Electric Motorsport, located in Oakland, CA, first started selling their production GPR-S bikes via the internet and shipping them to customers homes in boxes in 2008, they would fly a technician (likely their only one) out to a buyers home to fix a problem. I recall at least one person on the east coast (I think it was NY) who had an issue and the fellow flew out to his home and stayed there overnight while he made repairs to get the GPR-S working again.  Apparently that got old really fast, even though they had sold very few bikes by then.  So EMS transitioned very quickly to a mom and pop retail dealer network, changed their name to "Native", and let their new dealers deal with warranty and mechanical problems. Once they did that it didn't take long for the mom and pop e-bike shops to be crushed under the weight of the responsibilities of a franchised vehicle dealer, leading to most of the shops closing (like mine - The Electric Green Store).

One shop that hung in there was Hollywood Electric, but when Zero arrived on their showroom floor, it didn't take long for Zero to displace their Native sales. 

Eventually EMS transitioned again to U-build-it-yourself kits and now I believe they just sell electrical power train parts. 

[NEW2elec]

Ok so the lack of a dealer network is a sticking point.  That would be hard to fix in a short period of time but maybe a four corners approach to tech centers sort of like Energica does.  Not a vast network but not cross country.

Speaking of Hollywood Electrics and Energica I remember them being one of, if not the first, Energica dealer in the U.S. but dropped them.
I wonder if they would carry Lightning?  Of course Zero may have a no competition clause for their dealers so it might not be an option.

I know I want to see a video interview/ride of the Strike with an outside reviewer or even an in house mock interview just to get a better picture of what it is and does.

[protomech]

Speaking of Hollywood Electrics and Energica I remember them being one of, if not the first, Energica dealer in the U.S. but dropped them.
I wonder if they would carry Lightning?  Of course Zero may have a no competition clause for their dealers so it might not be an option.

I think HE would stock them if they can get stock.

If Zero has a no-compete clause, it's loosely enforced.

https://www.af1racingaustin.com/ stocks both Energica and Zero bikes.

[ultrarnr]

Team Powersports in Raleigh, NC carries both Zero and Energica.

[NEW2elec]

You both are correct.  I knew about AF1 but forgot when I was guessing at why HE dropped Energica. 

So that drops that barrier to a dealership picking them up.  At least from Zero's side.

Richard Hatfield told Jay Leno that the LS218 used Li ion batteries back in the old review video, so I assume the Strike uses them as well.
Some of the weight numbers for the Strike could be the lighter Lipo cells like Energica uses if their weight stats are correct from their webpage.
I'm also still wondering why the LS218 with the 20kWh battery is almost $47k while the Carbon Strike with 20kWh battery is only $20k.
The only real difference seems to be the motor and maybe controller.
From the stats the LS218 has 20 more lb-ft of torque and a bit higher HP but the 218 top speed was achieved with higher gears and an aerodynamic race pod so the stock bike is most likely closer to 185 MPH top speed which isn't much more than the Strike's 150 MPH claim.
Both get Brembo brakes and Ohlins suspension so where does the big price difference come from?

[alko]

Quote
I'm also still wondering why the LS218 with the 20kWh battery is almost $47k while the Carbon Strike with 20kWh battery is only $20k
Quote

The LS218 was built to order in california, not mass produced in China. They only sold a total of 40 units since 2014. I would imagine  that's why they were so expensive.

[togo]

> The LS218 was built to order in california, not mass produced in China. They only sold a total of 40 units since 2014. ...

That many?  Where did you get that information?

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Yes, assembly line manufacturing and a well configured production logistics pipeline makes a huge difference in price.

Lightning presumably made some highly clever deals to get this all arranged. I think there’s some legerdemain regarding what cells go into different Strike models that accounts for the spec confusion.

I guess we’ll see what these bikes are like once delivered and logging miles for customers. And the plant might perform double duty to minimize investment risk before sales build up.

[NEW2elec]

Quote from Lightning's webpage :
"Lightning product development, design, engineering and final assembly takes place at Lightning’s new global headquarters and production facility in San Jose, California."

I know you can build things for a fraction of the cost in China.  With CA being one of the most expensive places to do most anything.
The Lightning webpage is still mostly about the LS218.  The price difference I pointed out speaks more to why don't they pass that cost savings on to the LS218 and sell them for $30k and sell a few hundred instead of 40 in five years.  They haven't changed the LS218 price at all.

There were Lightning posts under a few categories but I seem to remember them saying the cheap bikes would be made in China and the Carbon bikes in CA.
There is something just not right here.

[Richard230]

Quote from Lightning's webpage :
"Lightning product development, design, engineering and final assembly takes place at Lightning’s new global headquarters and production facility in San Jose, California."

I know you can build things for a fraction of the cost in China.  With CA being one of the most expensive places to do most anything.
The Lightning webpage is still mostly about the LS218.  The price difference I pointed out speaks more to why don't they pass that cost savings on to the LS218 and sell them for $30k and sell a few hundred instead of 40 in five years.  They haven't changed the LS218 price at all.

There were Lightning posts under a few categories but I seem to remember them saying the cheap bikes would be made in China and the Carbon bikes in CA.
There is something just not right here.

I really don't get the only $5K difference between the mid-grade and the Premium Strike, considering the cost of hand-laid carbon fiber parts, the cost of Ohlins suspension components, Brembo brake components, DC charging components and another 5kWh worth of batteries. The extra cost of those premium components is surely going to add up to much more than $5K.  But then (of course) there is that $10K upfront deposit for that model. Something really strange is going on here. 

[alko]

> The LS218 was built to order in california, not mass produced in China. They only sold a total of 40 units since 2014. ...

That many?  Where did you get that information?

Can't remember where I saw that, but if I do d it, I'll post a link.

[Alan Stewart]

There were Lightning posts under a few categories but I seem to remember them saying the cheap bikes would be made in China and the Carbon bikes in CA.
There is something just not right here.

They said the carbon fiber bodywork for the Carbon would be made in-house in Californis, not the entire bike.