Lightning Motorcycles file patent of fully enclosed motorcycle

AMERICAN firm Lightning Motorcycles has filed a patent for a new design of an electric motorcycle that is fully enclosed.

The as-yet unnamed machine is a radical departure for the company, who made headlines in recent years with their Strike battery-powered sports bike. This latest design though is nothing like that machine.

The images seen above show a tear-drop shaped bike, with smooth lines and full enclosed bodywork, not dissimilar to the AKO electric leaning three-wheeler we reported on a few weeks back. This though is a two-wheeler, and that’s both a plus point and a negative for the team that is building it.

The bonus of being a two-wheeled machine is that it can be lighter, slimmer, and more efficient than a trike. The lower number of wheels decreases rolling resistance, allows the body shell can be more slender, improving aerodynamic efficiency and the whole machine is lighter and less complex.

The downsides to the system are that unlike a convention motorcycle, when stopping at traffic lights the rider can’t simply pop a foot to the floor to keep the bike shiny side up. Whether Lightning is planning to use extendable legs to hold the bike stable or not is tricky to tell, the level of detail in the patents is quite low and no other information supports them.

With the wheelbase of the machine looking quite long, especially when compared to the firm’s conventional machines, it could point to a feet-forward riding position and more batteries to help increase the range.

The patents were unearthed in China and while they aren’t officially released by the firm, they are stated to be owned by Lightning Motorcycles and feature the exact same blue colour as the firm's other bikes.