Countering to the deals that lurk all around the use of combustion fuel and its effects on the environment, a greater deal of thought is gone into using alternative sources to power our vehicles, and one such company is Lightning Motorcycles. It has been involved in manufacturing electric motorcycles for almost a decade now and beams with superior efficiency, performance, and affordability than current gasoline alternatives.

Their first mass production model, the LS-218, was the fastest and most brutal machine running on electric power currently. It held three land speed records at the Bonneville salt flats including a 218 mph stint (hence the name) and many others until came the mighty Kawasaki Ninja H2R track only bike that did two mph more than the LS and snatched the throne.

Now, the company wants to get back its mojo with its second production bike, the LS-2?? R. Yes, there are two ‘question marks’ in the name but don’t worry, you’ll not have to call it so. At least not until it sets a new top speed figure at this year’s Bonneville Speed Week.

“Electric vehicles are the future” is what you will see under the banner of every automotive manufacturer now. They are moving away from the addiction to liquefied dinosaurs in a bid to a cleaner alternative to protect the environment. Time and again it has been proved that electric/hybrid vehicles have an overwhelming advantage especially to ride within the town and this evolution has been a gradual process for some – and an exciting start for others like Lightning.

The Lightning LS-218 is the fastest production electric motorcycle since the time it was launched in 2014. Weighing only 495 lbs and equipped with the latest electric technologies in the business, the new LS-218 is powered by an IPM liquid cooled, 150kw+, 10,500 rpm electric motor that generates an equivalent of 200 hp and 168 ft/lbs of torque.

It took the two-way average at Bonneville at 215.96 mph and crossed the timing lights at 218.6 mph. It costs $38,888, which is far lesser than the Ninja H2R track only edition that clipped the LS-218 from being the fastest at Bonneville. To regain that title back, the folks at Lightning have come up with the LS-2?? R which will showcase their land speed run at Bonneville this year.

The makers say that the LS-2?? R currently produces a whopping 250 hp, and they are working on increasing that somewhere in the ballpark of 300 hp. The company has already tested this bike on the mile long stretch at the El Mirage, and the bike did an impressive top speed of 212 mph. With further alterations in the engineering aspects and the vastness of the Bonneville, the folk hope to hit the 220 mph mark.

Lightning founder and CEO Richard Hatfield says “if we manage to go faster than we did before, I'll consider it a success. If we get into the 220s, I'll consider it a big success, and anything over that will be whipped cream and ice cream on top of it."

The 2017 Bonneville Speed Week will take place on August 12-18 and along with the LS, There is another motorcycle manufacturer who is full burst into setting a new land-speed record - Triumph->ke1864. Triumph is attempting to break the land speed record in a 1000 bhp rascal. A feat of engineering and guts that will see the machine break the 376.3 mph record in an attempt to set a new outright motorcycle Land Speed World Record in 2017.

Check out the LS-218 doing the salt run at Bonneville: