With a top speed of 218 mph (351 km/h), the production LS-218 is faster than any other street-legal electric motorcycle, and tops the list of fastest production motorcycles.[3][4] While the 218 mph top speed of the LS-218 was arrived at through calculations of power and wind resistance, the speed was proven at Bonneville Speedway using an LS-218 modified from street-legal form, using "high speed gearing and fairing".[5]
A race-modified LS-218 won the 2013 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in open competition against both gasoline and electric motorcycles, ridden by professional racer Carlin Dunne.[6] The Pikes Peak victory was historic as the first time an electric motorcycle beat internal-combustion rivals in a professional road race. The Lightning team's Pikes Peak race was conducted entirely off-grid, and relied on solar panels to charge the LS-218 racer, making it the first vehicle of any type to win a professional road race using solar power.[7]
The LS-218's standard battery pack's capacity is 12 kWh (43 MJ).[3] Adding a 20 kWh battery pack gives a range of 160–180 mi (260–290 km).[1]
