LIGHTNING LS-218
FIRST RIDE
P82
The acceleration is absolutely
monstrous, with your surround-
ings fast-forwarded via your
peripheral vision as you focus
relentlessly on the horizon, and
your mind struggles to keep up
with the warp factor velocity the
Lightning achieves in next to no
time. No conventionally engined
sportbike, supercharged or
otherwise, will deliver anything
remotely approaching this kind
of heart-stopping acceleration.
Sorry, Kawasaki! Yet at the
same time, getting the Light-
ning moving is very controllable
from rest, more so than most
other high-performance E-bikes
I've ridden, which had a pretty
brusque pickup from a closed
throttle. Not here. The fact that
the build of power and espe-
cially torque all the way to the
soft-action 10,500 rpm limiter
is so smooth and linear, with no
spikes in the delivery ready to
set the rear tire spinning via a
sudden spurt of speed as on a
combustion-engined Superbike,
makes it feasible to exploit the
huge reserves of performance of
the Lightning motor, just so long
as you have a clear open road
and plenty of space!
So compared to the other
E-Superbikes I've tested, the
fastest one is also the easiest to
ride. That's thanks to the clev-
erly sanitized way that Hatfield
& Co. have mapped what is by
definition a ride-by-wire throttle
for street use. While you can get
