Triumph TE1: Electric Streetfighter Breaks Cover

[advrider]

The wait for the Triumph TE1 electric motorcycle is over. After months of R&D, Hinkley has revealed the final configuration for its new electric streetfighter, built with help from the private sector and university researchers, and government grants.

Here are the important specs: Triumph says the TE1 has a 100-mile range, “Significantly exceeding the real-world range of the equivalent electric motorcycles available today, with a category-leading 100-mile range, based on live testing and official projections.” It makes the battery-powered equivalent of 175 horsepower, good enough for 0-60 mph in 3.6 seconds and 0-100 mph in 6.2 seconds. Charging time from 0-80 percent is only 20 minutes, and the bike weighs 485 pounds.

Racer Brandon Paasch flogs the Triumph TE1 on-track. This machine was definitely made with an aggressive look and feel, to fit into Triumph’s performance hooligan bike line. Photo: Triumph

For those of you curious about how these specs stack up against the Harley-Davidson-built LiveWire One: The LiveWire makes less horsepower, and weighs more. On a DC fast charger, the LiveWire One will recharge 0-100 percent in 60 minutes, and 0-80 percent in 45 minutes; its battery has a 70-mile highway range and 146-mile city range.

For its part, Triumph’s presser doesn’t specify whether the TE1’s 100-mile range is simply urban riding (where electric motorcycles are more efficient, thanks to regenerative braking), or highway riding (where electric motorcycles are less efficient). One thing to note: That 20-minute fast-recharge time could be the game-changer that really pushes Triumph’s machine to the forefront, as it’s still slower than a gas stop, but wayyyyyyy quicker than anything equivalent bike on the market right now. String together a bunch of fast-charge stops, and you could almost see how this could become a practical mile-muncher, even with a short-ish battery range.

Photo: Triumph

Photo: Triumph

Photo: Triumph

Of course, the LiveWire One is actually at the low end of the performance scale for electric motorcycles. In particular, motorcycles from Zero and Energica offer more range and performance (see our recent review of the Energica Experia here). The TE1 may beat the LiveWire One on the spec sheet, but it will have a harder time against dedicated electric motorcycle companies that have been researching and perfecting their technology for a decade or longer. Triumph’s powertrain does appear ready to go toe-to-toe with all competitors, though, and the researchers believe they can get more power as they refine the electronics.

Not that this was a quick turnover project for Triumph. The roots of this program were back in 2019, when Triumph began research on electric powertrains. Since then, with help from the British government’s Innovate UK fund, Triumph has been working with Williams Advanced Engineering, Integral Powertrain Ltd., and researchers from the University of Warwick. The TE1 is the firstfruits of those labors, and chances are there will be more to come.

Along with the specs listed above, Triumph’s press release also is quick to point out the new bike looks like a Triumph naked, with “signature design DNA,” and comes with “Triumph’s signature thrilling feel and neutral handling, with the throttle and torque delivery map equivalent to a Speed Triple 1200 RS.” Seems the design team was really going for the streetfighter characteristics of the Speed Triple here—the ergos, the look, the attitude.

Photo: Triumph

And, this is only the beginning of this project, just as the original Harley-Davidson LiveWire was only the start of H-D’s electric efforts (now spun off into the LiveWire company). As per Triumph’s press release, this is a “Stunning final prototype that demonstrates Triumph’s class-leading USPs and hints at the exciting future to come for Triumph fans across the world.”

Pricing?

At this point, we haven’t seen an MSRP (highly likely we’ll see one later today, though!). We’d expect it to come in at less $$ than the $21,999 LiveWire One, but that’s just a guess. Stay tuned.

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