Lightning Motorcycles Streetliner is in the planning stages

Lightning Motorcycles is working on its next ground weapon, but is it also working on a serial road racer? (Lightning Motorcycles /)

Two full years have passed since we unveiled the first patents for the design of planned Lightning motorcycles completely closed bike. There has been nothing about the project since then, but it may finally have a name, as the company has applied for the rights to use the name “Streetliner” for future motorcycles.

Readers ’comments on our original story leave no doubt that Lightning still has a lot of work to do when it comes to convincing the public that it can indeed fulfill the promises made on machines like Strike serial bike. But there is no doubt that the record of 218 miles per hour, set by the original LS-218 back in 2012, was an impressive achievement. During the pandemic, the company was forced to scale down and relocate its operations in the U.S. to a corner of the Corbin facility in Hollister, California, but the company plans to return to Bonneville this year with a target speed of 250 mph for the latest generation LS-212.

The enclosed project of a fairing system is more than just a set of drawings. Shortly after we unveiled the bike drawings, Lightning provided the Electrek Electric Vehicle website footage of an early prototype car on the road. It had no windows at the time, but it clearly reflected the images seen here, in terms of its silhouette and wide wheelbase. The name “Streetliner”, intended for commercial use on a motorcycle under a trademark application, seems to probably be the name of a serial version.

The original two-year-old patent images show what a Streamliner might look like. (Lightning Motorcycles /)

Of course, drop-shaped and completely enclosed bikes are not a new idea. The Swiss firm Peraves has spent decades creating machines such as the MonoTracer and now the electric MonoRacer, with a design very similar to the one proposed by Lightning. These “bikes” have achieved excellent top speeds and impressive fuel economy.

Given that the biggest stumbling block is for electric motorcycles their relatively small power reserve, especially on the highway, the attractiveness of the car, which is much more aerodynamic than modern designs, is crucial if you rely on the battery; just look at what the British firm WMC is going to do WMC250EV. The ability to reduce bicycle resistance is becoming more significant than ever when we enter the era of electricity.

Lightning’s move towards a completely closed future is also evident in the following Bonneville’s record bike, is currently being built with the help of Corbin. An image of this machine, published on the Corbin website, shows that the chassis and transmission of the existing LS-218 are wrapped in a partially streamlined fairing.

There is no shortage of skepticism around Lightning Motorcycles ’bold plans, which include using Chinese-made to make its bikes much more affordable than its competitors. But the firm has managed to keep the course for ten years since it first captured headlines with a record speed of LS-218 218 mph. This is more than can be said about several of its modern competitors in the fight for the superiority of electric bicycles.

In addition to the name “Streetliner”, definitely intended for a streamlined motorcycle, Lightning has also applied for an American trademark under the name “AeroBlade” for another motorcycle. Again, this looks like a model name with an extraordinary emphasis on aerodynamics.

https://www.cycleworld.com/story/motorcycle-news/lightning-motorcycles-streetliner-planning-stage/