Tesla has been dominating the electric vehicle industry successfully for the past years, breaking record after record with its technologies and Easter eggs. It is only natural that the company's accomplishments would inspire other industries to do the same.
Tesla's success is exactly what drives Richard Hatfield, head of Lightning Motorcycles, to do the same in the two-wheeled vehicle industry.
While BMW and Honda were focused on improving their technologies for a self-balancing motorcycle, Lightning Motors has been breaking speed records with its all-electric motorcycle. Now Hatfield wants to ensure that two-wheeled vehicle enthusiasts would also be able to go farther without worrying about charging their motorcycles.
Specifically, he wants his company's EVs to go a full 500 miles on a single charge, which would be quite a feat when achieved since conventional gas-powered motorcycles can only go 300 miles on a single full tank.
Lightning Motorcycles is currently working with the Battery Innovation Center in Indiana in order to achieve the company's goal. Both Hatfield and BIC President David Roberts are confident that the current technologies would enable them to achieve their goal of riding along the San Francisco-Los Angeles stretch on a single charge.
"We work with companies like Lightning to pair them with cutting-edge energy storage makers to make things like the 500-mile ride possible [...] We think that with the technology as it stands, right now, the ride is entirely achievable," Roberts said.
Lightning Motors' flagship model, the LS-218, currently has three battery pack options but all three can only run up to 180 miles on a single charge. Raising the bar would really make the company a benchmark in the two-wheeled electric vehicle industry. Not only that, Lightning Vehicles would beat Tesla's own record for electric vehicles with the longest range at 315 miles on a single charge.
"We see ourselves as following in the footsteps of Tesla, and accomplishing the San Francisco-to-Los Angeles run would show that range anxiety is becoming a thing of the past," Hatfield said in an interview.
Lightning Motorcycles claims the fastest land speed record of 215.960 miles per hour - and that is an official SCTA World Record - and a timed run of 218.637 miles per hour and the fastest production motorcycle. In fact, the company officially claims to have "not only the fastest electric bike available, but the fastest bike available (period)." All its official records were also set using solar energy so that is really impressive.
Unless BIC and Lightning Motorcycles achieve a quick breakthrough, we probably would not witness the San Francisco-Los Angeles single charge run anytime soon. However, we can all bet that there would be a huge celebration when they finally manage it.
