Solar-Powered Lightning Motorcycles Electric Motorcycle Sets New El Mirage Speed Record At 189 MPH
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The electric motorcycle company Lightning Motorcycles recently set a new speed record for a 1.3-mile course that runs downs the El Mirage dry lake bed, reaching a speed of 189.086 mph. That’s the new record not just for electric motorcycles but gas-powered ones also.
Lightning Motorcycles has set a variety of other records recently, so it is no stranger to setting land speed records. It hit the 173.388 mile-per-hour marker for electric motorcycles in 2010, and then completely eclipsed its own record in 2011, hitting 215.960 mph.
The new speed record gives the company the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) record for production motorcycles – electric or gas-powered – for that track venue.
One of the most significant things about this accomplishment is that the motorcycle was powered by a portable solar array. The array fed into the motorcycle via a 48-kWh battery pack that attached to and fueled the bike’s on-board batteries, demonstrating the very impressive ability to stay ‘fueled’ even when far from the grid, potentially indefinitely.
If any of this sounds appealing to you, it’s going to be available to the public very soon. The motorcycle that achieved the new record is essentially the same as the ones that the company’s first customers are scheduled to receive in the next 60 days or so.
Source: Autoblog Green
Image Credits: Lightning Motorcycles
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