Langen’s Lightspeed officially revealed ahead of MCL debut

Langen Motorcycles has taken the wraps off the production-specification Lightspeed, marking the next major step for the small British manufacturer. 

First shown as a concept in 2023, the finished version has now been homologated for UK roads, with orders officially open.

Limited to just 185 units, the Lightspeed follows the brand’s familiar numerically neat philosophy: 185 horsepower, 185 kilograms, 185 examples. Power comes from a 1,190cc liquid-cooled V-twin housed in a handcrafted chassis that combines a high-tensile steel space frame with carbon fibre bodywork. The engine has been developed by Rotax, built by Buell, and then fettled by Langen with bespoke electronics. The suspension is handled by Öhlins, while the braking system is co-developed with HEL Performance. The electronics suite on the Lightspeed includes traction, cruise, launch and wheelie control, all of which were developed in-house at Langen.

On paper, that gives a power-to-weight ratio of 1,000bhp per tonne, but Langen’s focus seems to remain more on the feel of the ride than the numbers. The Lightspeed is described as a performance road bike with the comfort to go anywhere and the poise of a sportsbike. Its design takes cues from 1960s race machinery while maintaining Langen’s signature stance, which gives a short and purposeful silhouette.

Each bike will be built to order at Langen’s Wigan facility, with customers invited to specify paint, finishes and detailing in person. A £1,000 deposit secures a build slot, and first deliveries are planned for summer 2026. Exports to the US and other markets will follow from early 2027.

The Lightspeed will make its public debut at Motorcycle Live at the NEC Birmingham from 15–23 November 2025, following a private unveiling at Gunhill Studios earlier that week.

Langen’s founder, Chris Ratcliffe, grew up in a house where motorcycles were part of the family fabric. His mother was reportedly the first female dispatch rider in Manchester, and his father worked for Cotton and CCM, the latter being a company Chris would also go on to play a major role for. After studying automotive design and engineering, Ratcliffe’s early career took him to TVR, where he worked on development projects before a stint in oil and gas.

He returned to two wheels in 2010, going back to CCM as their first design engineer and playing a key role in the GP450 adventure bike and Spitfire projects. Those bikes helped redefine the CCM brand and gave Ratcliffe a taste for creating machines with character, and some of the Spitfire’s DNA is still visible in the Lightspeed he presented this week.

That philosophy eventually became the foundation for Langen Motorcycles, which he launched in 2018 after selling his home to fund the venture. The company’s first model, the Two Stroke, turned heads for its blend of precision engineering and old-school design, embodying a belief that motorcycles should be built by hand, with as many parts as possible sourced in the UK.

The Lightspeed represents the next evolution of that idea, a larger, more refined machine that retains the same hand-built ethos. Langen says it continues to “revive the lost art of creating machines by hand while applying the precision and performance of modern engineering.”

While the Lightspeed may not chase mass production, it reflects a growing appetite among riders for something different —a motorcycle crafted rather than built. The numbers are small, but the ambition is to keep alive a corner of Britain’s motorcycle industry where creativity still leads the way.

For now, the Lightspeed stands as Langen’s bridge between its two-stroke past and its high-performance future. A future we had a glimpse of earlier this year, when its 300bhp Langen LS12 Turbo (which is effectively a turbo-charged version of this bike) was revealed. 

The Langen Lightspeed will now make its UK debut at MCL25. You can find Langen in Hall 3, stand 3A40.

Tickets are still available for MCL25, and the best deal is still to book in advance on the official website.

Langen Lightspeed specs

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