Nice!! I kinda miss my Zero. When's your next video man??

Had a 2018 SR sold it and a week later regretted so a year later found a 2020 SR. Use as a commuter and round town bike. Best commuter ever, even better than scooters.

For high performance Energica is the only one. There is no alternative. Next one should be Ducati, I hope they move to road legal soon.

@@IIARROWS What I want is the Triumph...to bad that was just an science experiment.

@@DaBinChe I want that too!!!!

Definitely. I think Lightning's ambitions were high but they haven't been able to make those dreams happen yet.

Man seriously.. upgrading the battery would have been impossible.

It would require approximately the same shipping time from Lightning in the US as from Italy.

Haha I went as far as I could. Thanks!

I dunno.. people actually own Lightnings. Just not very many.

Damon is already gone.

I had a damon on order since 2020. Cancelled my order last november as i was told it would be delayed another year. Supposed to have it spring of 22... to hell with em

@@jace2wheel762 good call man. I would have thought them using Ducati footage in their promo video or abandoning the factory in Canada would have been the reason you cancelled your order, but endless delays make sense 😂

@@NewZeroland they made this big stink when they broke ground on this new massive factory in Surrey BC... 🤦‍♂️🤣 they still insist they'll be hitting the market. Sure sure

Cargo pants will never die!

Cheers Gary! Glad ya liked it 😁

Oh maaaan! Is it?? Wait, are you in Vancouver? If so, or if you have any friends in the area, could you cruise by and take photos or something? I'm so curious what it looks like and if it's just empty or what. The drama is so entertaining 😂

I think people see the lack of owners posting about their bikes and assume it's a shady business, but it can all be explained. Production has been slow so far and that makes our minds wander. I hope Lightning is able to sell more so we get to see these on the roads more.

Why do you say that Lightning is “Shaddy”?

Thanks 😂 Had to go full stalker mode and it was really fun. I still wish I got to buy one.

Right? 😂 If I had to guess, they've sold about 10 Strikes in this time. Maybe more, maybe less. Nobody knows for sure, and that adds to the mystery 😁

Ohhh exciting! I'll read your message in the morning. Thanks for reaching out man!

Thanks man! Same here. It's a really special bike to ride, but I wouldn't call it "ready" yet. They're still ramping up into building production models. If you're looking for an electric motorcycle in NZ though, there are a few Zeros and Energicas on trademe right now!

You know it 😎🔋🇮🇹

Track bikes don't need to be registered at all, and you can import anything you want for that kinda thing.. but tracks banned electric vehicles. You're right though, as long as it says "limited edition" on the bike somewhere, it could be registered without ABS. I talked to Lightning and they said they're working on ABS for future models, but it's just a matter of time.

That's exactly how I see it, too. It's still early days for Lightning. They've built some bikes but production is still ramping up. I hope they do well!

Haha I hope so! It's been entertaining anyway. I still think they're really cool bikes.

Savic is reeeeally similar. Just a guy who built his own bike because he was passionate about it. Production hasn't started with that one either, as far as I know.

I never heard of them, but after a little net research, I definitely will start tracking them on my radar. 2024 should prove whether they're ... MORE vaporware or the real deal. Thanks for bringing them to my attention.

They've missed a few milestones... so will be interesting to see @@RPRosen-ki2fk

Verge is doing a lot of cool things and they're at CES right now, so I have a good feeling about them. Keep me posted when you get yours!

Thanks man. It might be time for a Damon video.. you're right. There's a lot of Scooby Doo going on there 😂

Yep, I've heard that thing has all kinds of problems 😬🙄 I guess Lightning still has bugs to work out.

That sounds like a cool project. Expensive though. Why not start with a cheap R6 or something?

@@NewZeroland I considered that option initially, but I’m concerned about how the heat from the R6 might impact the 3D printed filament. Plus, the Lightning fits the Night Fury vibe perfectly, the name, being quiet and rare.🏍️🐉⚡️

@@citricaura true! If you have your heart set on electric, I'd still suggest an Energica (maybe an Ego?) but if you want a Lightning, try and take one for a test ride to see if you like it. Good luck with your project and keep me posted on your progress!

Go test ride one and see what you think! Still no ABS but the bikes have improved a lot.

Right?? That's so cool 😂

Right?? The mystery continues 😂 I really hope the most recent owner starts a youtube channel.

There are 68 Lightning videos on KZfaq and posts from Lightning owners on the Lightning Motorcycle Owners Group

Yeah that makes a lot of sense. I still feel like an early adopter with electric motorcycles in general, but Lightning isn't at Zero or Energica's level yet. I hope they keep making bikes though, because nobody else is doing stuff like that.

@@NewZeroland They're in the right place for it in California, as long as they remember not every place is California and build accordingly. (probably why they didnt waterpoof their early bikes.)

Nope, the bikes are real! They're just rare. Maybe there's more to this story that none of us knows about. Maybe people got impatient and cancelled their orders, and that's the real reason we don't see many around. I'm still a believer 😂

Haha yes please!! 😂

No way! It could have been me 😂 Where was it?? Small world.

@@NewZeroland yeaah. I saw three times. One on motorway, other close to Cuba street and one on Mount Victoria.

Nice! A few Energica dudes went for a ride with him so they confirmed he's real 😂 but there's probably only one in the whole city.

Actually there are two Strikes in the San Diego area.

Yeah you might be right. There are so many heavily modified Zeros that do long distance rides and trackdays and the owners don't share any info or photos about them online. So it's hard to know how many Lightnings are actually out there. My guess is ~20-30.. but there's no way of knowing for sure.

That may explain the Verge TS. I know they're delivering bikes to customers, and I've even seen a owner delivery on YT, but I'm NOT seeing ANY owner vids. I hope succeed and they're legit, and not another ... Lightning.

@@RPRosen-ki2fk Yeah Lightning seems to be building and selling bikes in secret lol. Verge is doing everything right with production and marketing.. and then there's Damon that's a marketing master but not building anything.

Haha nah that's the original trunk. Definitely a good table. I should shoot video in there more often!

Lightning is a real business with employees, investors, and is working on a daily basis to push electric motorcycle technology forward and raise the capital required to invest in tooling for volume production

Yep, unicorns and lions. Someday I hope Lightning will build something I can buy.

I like Verge. Never ridden one but heard good things, and the original designer is cool 😂

Lots of people mentioned Verge! It's a sweet design. I hope they do well.

Don't know if I should write this because I also hope Verge do well and I don't want to cause any FUD. It's probably just me not liking cruisers at all - haven't ridden that many motorcycles. But I test rode a verge ts ultra for ~20 minutes and here are my thoughts: Pros: 1. Looks amazing 2. Really strong regen 3. Seems like DC fastcharging is actually working nicely (contrary to on my Zero), I got the bike fresh off the charger 4. Insane acceleration 5. Good brakes 6. Has traction control (contrary to my zero) Cons: 1. I think they've messed up with putting the motor into the wheel. Sitting on it feels like sitting on a giant gyroscope where you really have to use force to get the bike to lay down in the curves. Like on my Zero DSR I just counter steer a little and the bike lays down, the verge I felt like I had to force and like the dynamic changed weirdly as I increased the lean angle (might be using it wrong, might just be how cruisers feel) 2. When I got it, the dashboard experience wasn't really finished. It was impossible to see in sunlight that the blinkers were on (never knew that could be annoying) and the actual, usable dash was a small bolted on LCD screen. The huge touch screen didn't do much (they can OTA update it though, it's probably better now). 3. The traction control didn't feel fine-grained/refined. I accelerated pretty heavily while going over dry road paint (pedestrian crossing) and it felt like the bike cut power completely because there was some miniscule slip 4. The throttle mapping is weird when accelerating. Might just be something you get used to, but it felt like the throttle has a linear mapping to power which I also never knew before could daze me. Subjectively I'd say modern EVs and my zero have some fancier algorithm/mapping. Basically twisting the throttle from a 20% position to a 70% position quickly gives you a quicker acceleration than doing it slowly while it felt that to get the same on the verge I'd have to twist it from 20% to 100% REALLY quickly and then back down to 70% 5. The throttle mapping is borderline unusable when using regenerative breaking. Of course you can turn off and limit regen, but I WANT strong regen *that is controllable*. How driving a TESLA with regen feels like (made up numbers): throttle position: 40% - cruising. Want to slow down slowly for an upcoming roundabout, I'm on a downwards slope: reduce throttle to 30%, regen kicks in, reduce throttle to 15% slowly, vehicle slowly decelerates, reduce it from 15-0% and at 0% you're stopped. This is awesome, this is what I want. How riding a verge behaved: throttle position: 40% - cruising. Want to slow down: reduce throttle to 30%, nothing happens, keep reducing it, 15%, 0%: now at 0% finally the regen kicks in and it's amazingly strong which is dope, but you're now stopping halfways before the roundabout and the people behind you are confused because they don't see a kid running over the street, so you add 1% throttle again. Instantly the verge stops regening but because it's downhill you're now accelerating into the roundabout. You go to 0% throttle again and are quickly stopping. 1%, 0%, you get rocked like on a swing. I WANT REGEN. THAT I CAN CONTROL: Ok see that's why I shouldn't have written this comment I really love electric motorcycles and hope that verge succeeds. Please just go and give them a test ride @Xshunin, you could love it. But personally, on my search for the perfect electric motorcycle, I think @NewZeroland is right with his recommendation for an Energica. I'll ride one for two days in February and am hyped to see what it's like.

@@danieltroger1761 wow thanks so much for your feedback! That's really helpful. Sounds like the Verge is form over function. I hope these are noobie problems that will be ironed out with more road testing and firmware updates.

@@danieltroger1761 In general hub motors are a bad idea for anything other than bicycles and smaller, slower things than bicycles. Hub motors save tons of money and are simpler because there's no drivetrain. They also make packaging easier and allow more room for storage and other things. However, they are a gigantic cop-out and are horrible in terms of efficiency and vehicle dynamics. They massively increase unsprung weight, which is horrible for handling, and as you mention they also increase the gyroscopic effect which for vehicles that lean is catastrophic. Hub motors have a place in non-performance-oriented 3+ wheeled vehicles, but they have no place on a motorcycle capable of highway speeds. It's like front-wheel-drive cars: they are bad in every way except for packaging and profit margin for the manufacturers. The alleged benefits for drivers are 100% BS.

Wow nice! We rode the Grom thing and it was super fun, but I'm not sure what happened with that either. I'd still love to ride a Strike R someday. Maybe this is the year!

And yeah, cringe videos on their YT channel. They also switched it to a “kids” channel so people can’t leave comments. What???

@@daRogueJedi Yepppp.. too many questions I guess.

Sam we're focusing our resources on building Strikes and LS-218s and continuing to push the technology forward. @@NewZeroland

What!! Was this a coworker at Apple? I never heard about the zapping part 😲

@@NewZeroland Ah ah yes that was someone from Apple. For the zapping it was in a video which has been put down since. The wirering was an ugly mess 😓

@@cranfktubner7677 wow that's crazy. He didn't tell me about that 😂😳

Who was the co-worker at Apple that crashed his Lightning and was zapped?

@@RichardHatfield-LS218RR If i recalled i would not be authorized to give a name 😅

I'm not sure yet.. one article said electric motorcycles will be exempt. NZTA's official statement is that they're still sorting it out. Motorcycles don't tear up the roads nearly as much as cars, so we shouldn't have to pay full price. I'll make a video about it when we find out more.

I like your supercar analogies but I think Verge might be like Pagani and Damon will be like Vector 😂

Agreed. It's pretty sweet 😁 Just seems like a very slow production so far.

What tech?

That would be cooooool!

Do Lightning have some tech patents? If not, Energica could just buy a Lightning if they thought it had some secret sauce, but guessing they're all over it anyway.

Lightning isn't a scam though. They're building bikes.. just not at the scale people expected. Damon is a scam though 😂

What do you think is the scam? Lightning only takes deposits for bikes that will be built in the next 90 days. The principles have invested more than $9 million dollars of our own money.

@@RichardHatfield-LS218RR Lightning has yet to put a single motorcycle on the road. Has given near to no updates on their progress, no release dates, no delivery dates, yet they're begging for money. Lightning SCREAMS scam but keep throwing your money down the toilet, you'll figure it out once they pull the plug.

@@Waldo1122 haha, that's the lightning CEO you're talking to, he's doing PR to save face

@@Magic_Toaster LOL I didn't even notice the username, not too surprising that the CEO was quick to run over to this video with such a damaging title to make sure it doesn't cast any darkness towards Lightning.

😂😂😂 that sounds epic man hahaha. Certification here is really strict though so it's way easier to just buy an Energica.

4 years of firsties!

Honestly I will be way more impressed when you are the last to comment 🤨

Truuuue! I'm sad that they failed, but I didn't heard great stuff about the Metacycle.

It's to early to tell yet, but Ryvid may be able to deliver success where Sondors miserably failed.

Yeah 😥 I'm sad that I'll probably never get to own one, but safety-wise it's probably for the best. Hopefully bigger companies build something similar with less weight and cool styling.

What safety requlations are you stating that Lightning doesn't follow?

Good luck man, but it seems like a full on scam to me. All signs point to them running with the money. I hope things work out for you though. It would be a huge hit to the electric motorcycle community if they don't succeed.

😂 I think you just started it

Which electrics have you ridden?

It's possible.. I've seen those in person too. Way more expensive, but cool bikes.

I agree. What Lightning needs is a bigger company to buy their IP and bring it to a level that's ready for mass-production. It wouldn't take much, really. Maybe Lightning can get there themselves with enough time.. but mass-producing them will take a bigger factory and way more people.

Lightning processes deposit returns promptly and is only accepting deposits on bikes that will be built in the next 90 days. The Lightning principles and advisors have invested over $9 million of our own capital.

Arnaque totale. Je pourrais aussi faire une vidéo à ce sujet. 😂

Oui.

Je recevais de la pub pour Damon et il y avait possibilité de faire une précommande pour je ne sais combien d'euros par mois.... Sans suite heureusement car c'était vraiment alléchant ✌️

I think Lightning got a bad rap from a few people with devious agendas, and the reality is that Lightning is just a small company that was hit with lots of bad luck. Damon is an obvious scam and I don't know why people are still giving them money 😂

Dude nice! How are you liking it so far? The more videos we can make with electric motorcycles, the better.

@@NewZeroland I love it, its been two year owning it. its winter here so can't do anything right now lol

You need to become a stalker like me to get their attention

@@NewZeroland Maybe I gave up too fast

When did you try to email Lightning? @@-Seasons-

😂💥⚡

I dunno.. they're selling bikes, just not as many as people expected.

Yeah, I really loved the styling and how it felt to ride. I hope they succeed.

😂

Maybe!

You rock! ❤

😂 thank youuuu hahaha

I watched the video at 10x speed but didn't comment afterwards 😭

@@earthwormandruw did I sound like a Chipmunk??

Yeah lots of echos in my garage. I'll work on that.

Grind Hard is awesome. It's way harder to build something from scratch and pass all the DOT rules. Lightning's headlight design apparently cost $100k to get legalized. Converting stuff is easier but not by much if you want it registered on the street 😂

@@NewZeroland Can't help but concede the point given your conversion project. I walked right into that one...

@@DuncanJimmy haha all good. It all depends where we live. I wish there was more freedom with these projects, but I'm glad there are some safety standards so we don't get electrocuted while riding 😂