VOL. 52 ISSUE 43 OCTOBER 27, 2015 P81
see it in the metal the LS-218 is
indeed two-wheeled eye candy,
and French-based freelance
designer Glenn Kerr has done a
brilliant job of clothing it in haute
couture styling, complete with
numerous neat detail touches
headlined by that array of eight
projector headlamps arrayed
across its face. Climb aboard
and be ready to find quite a
long reach across the top of
the "tank" to the clip-on 'bars
that's perhaps inevitable thanks
to the real estate needed to
maximize the cell count of the
battery package that makes up
most of the physical area of the
motorcycle. But while the good-
looking Corbin seat's 32-inch
to him. "There was a lot of arm
wrestling on several design ele-
ments on the bike, and I con-
ceded on that one, to my regret.
Lightning's production line is
nestled right in the heart of electric
pioneering country, just south of
San Francisco.
height is quite rational, and
doesn't deliver too extreme a
sporty stance that might prove
tiring on your arms and shoul-
ders, it's definitely too wide. The
result is that its edges dig into
your thighs and makes it hard
to move around on the bike.
"You're right," said Richard
Hatfield when I mentioned this
We will change it."
To boot up the Lightning, sim-
ply turn the ignition key beneath
the dash, press down the red
switch on the left handlebar that
is the outright kill switch, and
then press the red button on
the right clip-on which arms the
throttle, noting that the left one
naturally has no clutch lever, but
also none for the rear brake,
either. Working this is done
conventionally on the LS-218
via a right-foot pedal, just as on
a combustion-engined motor-
cycle. Now you're live, so just
twist and go, but be ready for
the Lightning's arm-lengthening
acceleration, so hold on tight.
Very tight!
Pretty close to the kind of dash
you'd get on a factory World
Superbike machine.
"Hello. I'm from the future." James
Cameron was right, here comes the
Rise of The Machines.
The Corbin seat, while very pretty,
is too wide and restricts the rider
movement, according to Cathcart.
