While using an electric motorcycle for long-distance travel remains a concern for riders, Lightning Motorcycles Corp., a California-based electric motorcycle manufacturer, claims that its new bike can be recharged as fast as a gas-powered motorcycle can fill its tank.
Although electric motorcycles have evolved to the point where they outperform gas-powered motorcycles in almost every other metric, fast recharging for long-distance travel has yet to reach parity with refueling at a gas station, as reported by Energy News Platform. This was the case until Lightning’s electric motorcycles made their debut, with the manufacturer claiming that it is the fastest charging electric motorcycle to date, according to a March report by Electrek.
The Fastest Electric Motorcycle
Previously, the fastest charging electric motorcycles using DC fast charging — such as models produced by Energica or Harley-Davidson's LiveWire One — boasted a recharge time of around 30 minutes to nearly fill the battery.
In contrast, Lightning claims that it can surpass these figures entirely using a new fast-charging battery technology developed by U.S.-based company Enevate.
The next-generation silicon anode batteries provided by Enevate enable significantly faster recharging, which Lightning believes will allow its electric motorcycles to recharge almost completely in under 10 minutes.
While this is still slightly longer than refueling with gasoline, considering that most touring motorcycle riders typically use a fuel stop as an opportunity to stretch their legs after several hours of riding, a 10-minute charging stop is relatively reasonable after a long-distance ride.
Other Advantages
Additionally, Lightning is testing a prototype system using the Lightning Strike electric motorcycle equipped with a 24 kWh battery from Enevate, according to Energy News Platform.
Lightning Motorcycles CEO, Richard Hatfield, told New Atlas that the new battery not only charges faster but also offers better range.
"We’ve been getting 150 to 170 miles (241 to 274 km) of range at 70 miles per hour (113 km/h) along Highway 5," he said.
He added, "We charge from 0 to 80% in about 10 minutes, or roughly at a 5C rate (12 minutes), using a Level 3 Combined Charging System (CCS) charger."
He further explained, "This is probably the most common Level 3 charger at this point, aside from Tesla, and I know Tesla offers CCS options on some of their chargers."