chuyskywalker
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HMP Lightning -- Website
While I've been having a lot of fun with my M1PS, it's extremely impractical for everyday errands and short-haul people moving. I'd been eyeing this HMP Lightning for a while now, though, which was looking highly practical. Originally was exposed to it from a few Area13 videos on the bike (1, 2, 3).
I'm lucky enough to be within spittin' distance of their shop in San Francisco, so I took a trip to meet the owner (Mike) and test drive the bike. I do not miss living in SF, lol! I got it around a few blocks and managed a little bit of speed, despite there being grid locked streets in the area. No issues on the test drive and I found myself more-or-less agreeing with the video reviews of the bike. Comfortable, good power, easy to control -- just a nice overall ride. Mike went over all the features and operations of the bike, but if you've watched the Area13 videos, you'll know pretty much all of this already.
I picked the 30Ah model in white -- I don't need the extra 15Ah for $600, most of my commuting will be very local and short trips. (And, besides, I might replace the battery with an NMC chemistry someday down the line.) They offered to assemble and deliver, which I took them up on. Showed up next day on the back of Mike's truck.
Overall, the visit, test drive, purchase, and delivery have been top notch. Very happy with how that all worked out. Communication has been prompt and effective.
Now, on to some of the downsides I've run into so far, because in the following three days some things have gone awry.
First, there is no manual with the bike. Second, there is no hazards button (all blinkers). Third, there is a 3way switch on the handle bar that...does nothing? Kinda odd. These are all pretty minor issues, but worth noting.
Registering it with the DMV as a motorcycle and getting insurance has worked, but it's definitely a little quirky. First, the VIN seems to be hit-or-miss. While it does show up with the NHTSA, Progressive (at least) couldn't find the moto with it. They did let me add the bike on to my policy, but it required some extra steps. As for the DMV, I went to a local satellite office, which was a novel experience -- and quick. They got me a temp registration, but pointed out that I didn't have the MCO signed and was missing a DMV form for transfer, plus missing a full Bill Of Sale. At the shop, we just did the purchase with, more-or-less, the website checkout flow. Thus, I have an email receipt, but that's not good enough for the DMV, nor does it establish ownership chain, which they are apparently more strict about these days. So, I'll need to get these forms to the store so they can sign them, get them back to me, and I can finalize the registration. Ultimately, it seems like it'll work out just fine, but do be ready to spend some time navigating the process -- and make sure you get a bill of sale and proper DMV transfer form with your purchase.
The most major problem so far, however, is a bit of a pain. The bike died on me at "55% Battery" reading on the dash. Voltmeter says it's at 70v when "dead". So I plugged in the charger, gave it a few hours to top up, charger stopped, at... 77v!? Numbers make zero sense; a typical LiFePO4 "72v" should be 24s, 2.5->3.65 range for a 60->87.6 range. Checking the charger, it's only putting out 82v at rest. Lot's of this doesn't add up.
When I contacted them about the battery issues, they replied quickly and have arranged to pickup the bike, get it back to their shop, investigate, and resolve the issue(s). So, a bit of a bummer, but it's not the end of the world and they are standing by their product and working to get it resolved quickly. If you bought this from further away, it could be more of a problem, though.
Regardless of the problems so far, my passengers are much happier on this bike, it's got a LOT of storage, and it is really nice to ride. I'm looking forward to it getting the battery issue straightened out and putting plenty of miles on it. I'll update here as things get resolved (or not? but I suspect it'll work out just fine).
