Triumph previews TE-1 electric bike concept with fast charging battery
The battery can charge to 80 percent in 20 minutes.
Historic British motorcycle company Triumph has shared some of the first details on its TE-1 electric bike project, releasing concept images of the EV and photos of the prototype drivetrain that will one day power it (via Autoblog). In development since 2019, the TE-1 is a collaboration between Triumph and three other British companies, each providing their own expertise to the project, with the UK government's Office of Zero-Emission Vehicles providing funding.
Triumph claims the TE-1's electric motor can output 107 horsepower continuously and peak at 174 horses. Total range is the ballpark of 120 miles thanks to a 15kWh battery that can also charge from zero to 80 percent in about 20 minutes. What's more, the battery's thermal management system allows it to maintain a consistent level of output and performance from 100 percent charge to zero.
If the TE-1 looks like it could pass for your traditional motorcycle, that was an intentional design decision. "What we wanted to do was investigate how you could create an electric bike that would convince somebody to consider an electric bike, or even move them away from something with an internal combustion engine," Steve Sargent, Triumph's chief product officer, told Motorcycle News.
It will be a while yet before you get to see the TE-1 on public roads; Triumph is waiting for electric battery costs to come down before manufacturing the bike. "While battery costs are coming down, they're still expensive, so the bike will come to the market when we can get it down to a price that we think people are willing to pay," Sargent told Motorcycle News. In the meantime, the company plans to start testing the TE-1 prototype later this year.
