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Arcimoto and Lightning Motorcycles Join Forces for World’s Fastest Tilting Trike

There are always obvious advantages to teamwork, so can you imagine the results that could come out of two leading companies joining forces? If all goes well, they should be record-breaking, in the most literal sense.
Arcimoto and Lightning Motorcycles will build the world's fastest tilting trike 9 photos
Photo: Spenser Robert for Arcimoto
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Arcimoto, the maker of electric three-wheel FUVs (Fun Utility Vehicles), has partnered with Lightning Motorcycles, the current record holder for the world’s fastest production motorcycle, electric or otherwise, with the explicit goal of setting a new world record. The world’s fastest tilting trike is officially in the works.

According to the Arcimoto press release, we don’t even have that long a wait: the prototype will be unveiled on July 26 at the Portland International Raceway, at the “FUV and Friends Summer Showcase.” The prototype will be a Lightning LS-218 superbike, the same one that holds the title of the world’s fastest (215.960 mph/347.5 kph), fitted with the Tilting Motor Works TRiO kit, a conversion kit for touring motorcycles. Arcimoto bought Tilting Motor Works earlier this year, and while their trikes don’t have tilting tech as of right now, it does look like this is the plan.

This will be the first time we outfit an electric bike with the TRiO kit, and it certainly won’t be the last, as we drive toward a sustainable future faster than ever before,” Bob Mighell of Arcimoto says. Mighell is a pro trike racer and a record holder himself: at the 2013 Motorcycle Speed Trials at Bonneville, he broke the land-speed record for three-wheeled motorcycles.

In addition to the limited-series LS-218, Lightning Motorcyles also offers a less impressive Strike and, as revealed in June 2020, is working on a fully-enclosed e-bike based on the latter. As far as the world knows, that one is still in the prototype stage.

Meanwhile, Arcimoto enjoys decent commercial success in the United States. Delivering a 2-person urban mobility solution that is halfway between a passenger car and a motorcycle, the company has positioned itself at the forefront of the electric revolution in this segment of the market—even drawing the attention of one Elon Musk for the briefest moments, and just long enough to crash one such FUV.
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About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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