Good. Lord. 350km/h is fast, like super fast, like suck-the-teeth-out-the-back-of-your-head super fast. And that’s world-record setting speed the Lightning Motorcycle SuperBike just pulled off at the Bonneville Salt Flats last week. Why should you care? Because you can now own one.
The Lightning Motorcycle SuperBike is the the fastest production motorcycle — internal combustion or otherwise — for sale in North America and the fastest electric bike in its class worldwide. It blew the doors off of the previous record by more than 64km/h, also held by Lightning Motorcycles. It features a Remy HVH250 electric propulsion motor, an Ener1 battery pack (reputedly good for 160+ freeway kilometres) and a range of 240km.
For reference, 350km/h is approximately triple — triple — the speed limit in most parts of the US. Plus, electric motors have this awesome ability to provide 100 per cent of the available torque the second you hit the throttle — more power off the line, higher top speed. I’ll take five.
You’ll have to put down a pretty penny to ride this pony, however. Its $US40,000 price tag is triple the $US13,000 you’d pay for a 2011 Suzuki Hayabusa — the world’s fastest motorcycle with a top speed of 400km/h, though it’s not sold in North America. You’ve got to import Hayabusas, hence Lightning’s claims of being the fastest bike available for sale in North America.
[PR News Wire via UberGizmo]
EckyThump
Thursday, August 25, 2011 at 4:56 PMFinally, a subject that doesn’t have Jobs in it, and that I can get my teeth into! Give them a few more years to perfect the capacitor battery and you won’t catch an electric vehicle with anything petrol! The new capacitor that is coming down the line will be able to discharge almost instantly, allowing for more torque than has been possible so far! #]
nick
Thursday, August 25, 2011 at 6:24 PMThe Suzuki is speed limited to 299km/h and derestricted only does around 320km/h. Not 400.
Uncle Sam
Thursday, August 25, 2011 at 7:02 PMi was gunna say. thats a stretch of truth for a stock bike…it does 317km without a tail wind…done it personally!
EckyThump
Friday, August 26, 2011 at 7:35 AMDoes it really matter what the Suzuki does? it just got blistered by the Lightning Electric! Plus the electric will just get faster!
W
Friday, August 26, 2011 at 9:03 AMYeah but you can buy a Busa. Then turbo it for much less than 27 grand and have a bike capable of 450km/h