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Richard made CNN:
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I am wanting to buy one for racing here in Australia next year.
Richard made CNN:
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It would have some competition in my bike at leastOriginally Posted by SplinterOz
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The article mentioned that the Lightning has 2.5 times the amount of torque at the rear wheel than a Suzuki GSXR1000.
I think even Top Gearwould find this EV interesting.
Na their a scripted show like most tv... They would just pull the usual **** and pretend the bike went dead etc, After the tesla and leaf episodes I will never watch that **** again!The article mentioned that the Lightning has 2.5 times the amount of torque at the rear wheel than a Suzuki GSXR1000.
I think even Top Gear
Indeed, however I would like to have 40,000 odd grand to get one over here.It would have some competition in my bike at least
If you didn't watch it, this video shows just how amazing this bike is. It's being chased by Jake Holden (who, according to a friend of mine from AZ who knows him, is very very fast) on a BMW S1000RR. You can see Holden is almost passing the guy on the Lightning in the corners, but only because he's a better rider. The lightning pulls away easily out of the turns. Pulling away from a skilled rider on an S1000RR says a lot.
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What I most love about Richard and the Lightning is that it's no bull****. I have very little doubt that this was part of the plan all along, but there was never any posturing, vaporware, noise and social networking crap. They built a bike, raced it, and built a few more... The motor enclosure is truly a breakthrough, and a very expensive part to develop, and yet it's described as pretty much only a part in a long list of parts that make the bike do what it does.
When they got it ready, BAM. Walk softly and carry a big stick indeed. It's the Tesla of motorcycles, can I say that? But without the Tesla hype... just real-world performance. Funny, even for me, who will never be able to afford that much for a motorcycle, the price was no surprise at all, it seem totally reasonable for that machine.
Clearly, the investor side of the business is taken care of, and I think that's what accounts for the different approach. I'd guess it's Richard funding the lions share of the whole thing personally, with maybe a few very close, well-heeled friends who trust him and know what he can do. He likely doesn't need to prove much to them, or do much in the way of fluff. Maybe it's a side project for his other interests... though it's a pretty impressive side project. You don't get the feeling that there are a bunch of employees working for little or nothing who have their eye on stock options, do you?
I'll say it again, congrats on a job well done to Richard, and the whole team!
Last edited by teddillard; 26 August 2012 at 0331.
I was at VIR two years ago. All of the builders were very friendly folks. I was particularly surprised how gracious Richard was. He didn't know me from Adam, but took the time to show me the bike, and point out all the details.
It appears, to get fast sport bike performance, and decent range, you need at least 10-12 kWh of battery. That is the biggest single item of your budget, and alone will cost as much as a 650-1000cc bike. Given that you can't match an ICE for range and price, and in this economy the rich are doing just fine, I think Tesla, and Lightning have the winning strategy. Build a product that is beyond anything available, at any price.
No, trust me the biggest part of your budget is a powerful motor that doesn't burn up, and a controller to run it. $20k right there. Battery can be had for under 9k, and that's with 10-12 kWh.
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