Richard Hatfield took this pic! Yes, I AM that cool! Ok, maybe not. 
I saw this MotorcycleUSA.com article last week, and shortly there after the impossible happened . . . I got an e-mail from Lightning! [Que dramatic music]
PR is not their strong suite, but making the fastest electric motorcycles on the planet is (sorry Chip). It is a great article that covers stuff you’ve heard here, and some stuff I’ve heard but held onto. The basics are they will be racing the NA TTXGP and the TT Zero this year (yeah!). And, they are designing a new , from what I’ve been told, really really cool street look for the bike. I am pretty certain that it will still be front end heavy as, from this article, it appears it will only be a cosmetic change. But you can have one for $40,000. Also, they are working on an $8k-$12k (read: Cheaper than the Empulse 10.0) street bike to be released the first half of next year.
We know from the interview with Ted Rich that they have worked really hard on getting the Flying Banana Mk II dialed in. Most of the effort has been in the ergo and handling department. Other than a weight bias that is a bit too far forward, that would take a complete redesign to fix, Ted felt they got the bike really dialed [edit: check the 1 hour 3 minute mark here]. Apparently the forward weight means you sacrifice corner entry speed, but can just nail it coming out of corners. I think I could deal with that considering the high powered bike (of the 2 development bikes) has 240hp.
Yep, that’s a quirk [edit] I could definitely live with.
The Lightning SBK is running times consistent with AMA Pro Supersport 600s, so to say it needs a complete redesign is insane. With all the development we have done in the last 8 months the Bike is very well balanced and easy to ride. It is setup in such a way that any rider can get on it and feel right at home as if it was a gas bike. Watch for us to show up and race against gas bikes head to head.
Our next test is in a few weeks, I can’t wait! I’m sure it will be another huge step forward in development of this exciting technology.
Ted Rich
Lightning Motorcycles
Development Rider
2012 Lightning superbike is 240hp?
Yep! I recommend you listen to episode 1 of my podcast. It’s all in there, plus what the next evolution will be. Mind you, the 2012 is the 2011 bike. They have just developed it, versus building a whole new bike. Mostly handling. The power was pretty much already there.
Can’t play,text description? Thank you
The short version is that interview was recorded back at the end of November. Lightning has 2 bikes, and at the time one had 200hp, and the other 240hp. Both bikes should be good for 240hp in the 2012 season. But, Ted Rich said that they have some new batteries they were waiting for the price come down on. He said in the interview that in 6 to 12 month he expected the bike to be 250hp and 400lbs, and capable of Superbike lap times.
Is there a technical reason you can’t play the interview? Thank you.
Thank you, because the computer does not support
If you got to the podcast archives page you should be able to download the mp3. Let me know.
When can reach 400hp and the weight down to 400 lbs?
400hp? Not for a while. There needs to be some advancements in inverter technology first. 400lbs? Probably as soon as next year.
400 lbs is the only battery? Car?
No, just over 400lbs for the whole bike. But that is still a year or 2 off.
2013 Lightning what brand of batteries?
Ahahahaha. Wouldn’t we like to know!
why?
The batteries are proprietary to Lightning.
Self-developed? dedicated?
They are not going to tell anyone Andy. Battery pack size and tech is one of the teams closely guarded secrets.
I am quite looking forward for the next 5-10 years!
Hope TTXGP high popularity!