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Despite the fact that Americans buy more electric bicycles than electric cars, widespread adoption of electric motorcycles still lags well behind both. Part of the sluggish sales pace likely comes down to high prices, but as tech continues to evolve, e-moto sticker shock will eventually subside.
Lower costs will only reflect the apparent benefits of electrifying motorcycles: quiet operation, fast and simple charging, fewer moving parts to maintain, and a smaller footprint when riding. Meanwhile, one of the most attractive concepts on the market today comes from a company called Verge in Finland, with a completely baffling hubless rear-wheel motor design.
As always with the most advanced technology, Verge’s first model, the TS, is expensive: A base TS starts at $26,900, and the mid-tier TS Pro adds $3,000, while the TS Ultra goes up to $49,900. I recently tested one of the first TS Pros that Verge shipped to the United States, hoping to find out if this hubless rear motor really deserves a long run in the industry or just represents some other overpriced gimmick.
Driving hard on Malibu’s weathered roads was a wonderful way to explore the prospects of the hubless rear wheel. But first, one of Verge’s engineers helped me understand how exactly this mind-blowing hubless formula works.
Essentially, the design uses a giant diameter bushing built into the swingarm, which houses copper coil electromagnets. Two giant ball bearings and then an internally evolved carbon fiber rear wheel with classic magnets on the inside of the rim. The electromagnets that send force to the bushing rotate the magnets in the wheel and the wheel rotates around the motor-hub unit.
Thanks to the rear motor, the motorcycle’s heaviest component, the battery, can now move lower in the chassis. The battery in my TS Pro is rated at 20. 2 kWh and the TS Ultra’s is a little more at 21. 8 kWh, but both weigh around 220 pounds (110 kg). The entire motorcycle is air-cooled, for further weight savings, so three 3. 5-inch (90 mm) panels help keep the batteries at optimal temperatures in traffic jams or when parking. The rear motor also has fins to do the same.
This battery still contributes to an unladen weight of 540 pounds (245 kg), but it allows the TS Ultra to handle a claimed range of 233 miles (375 km) in the city or 134 miles (215 km) on the highway. The TS Pro drops those numbers down to 217 and 124 miles, respectively (349 and 200 km), but on my morning on the bike, the remaining diversity never dropped below 150 miles (241 km). And this is, despite many intense attempts and tests at top speed, precisely the type of riding in which the diversity of electric motorcycles sometimes comes off the worst.
The bushing-less design also particularly reduces transmission losses, vibration, and loud noise caused by classic chains, belts, or driveshafts, while allowing for the Verge’s maximum force score of 885 lb-ft (1200 Nm). ) of torque for the Ultra, or “only” 737 lb-ft (1000 Nm) for my Pro.
Four selectable riding modes make this pair less intimidating. I started in Zen mode, thinking that I would take it easily and give myself the possibility to acclimatize. Even before it began, the low center of gravity immediately appeared. I just moved my hips, feet still on the ground, and moved the motorcycle with ease despite the total weight. The same was true when I was riding at a moderate speed on Mulholland Drive, as I temporarily learned that the 170 pounds (77 kg) of my frame hanging from the seat mattered much less than reclining the bike itself.
The fact that I immediately started thinking about getting out of the saddle indicates the impressive integration of Verge’s virtual controller. Adjusting to the modulation of the throttle, the brake levers of the double handlebars and the overall geometry of the TS required less intellectual effort than expected. And yet, I also saw the rear suspension without delay, which was one of my main questions at Verge before getting on board.
Placing a motor and magnetized wheel on a reinforced swingarm increases the unsprung mass of the suspension system. When I mentioned this, the Verge engineer responded that unsprung weight is of less importance than how to take care of unsprung weight, hence the beefy Öhlins suspension components, front and rear. And yet, I still felt more feedback on the rear tire than any other. motorcycle I’ve ridden before. Surprise and spring take care of weight and small road cracks, but larger undulations result in rafting effects. On my own board, I could play with the simple setup to melt the damping.
Instead, on the fly, I switched to Beast mode, which unlocks the maximum torque of 737 lb-ft while reducing traction intervention (but not to 0 absolute, since electric motors produce so much torque at almost 0 speeds). The “throttle” modulation is also adjusted accordingly in Beast mode: Verge intentionally dampened the reaction to my right hand turns, so I had to achieve about a quarter of the overall wrist action before the bike got going. And yet, I have never done propulsion either, not even pulling as hard as possible. Verge’s internal traction and wheelie programming aims to prevent accidental consequences or reckless mischief.
Dual four-piston Brembo brake calipers on the front pair with a traditional rear caliper and regenerative braking to help harness that much power with ease. But I found that I prefer to play with my mode, with the torque set halfway at 450 lb-ft (610 Nm) and regenerative braking at maximum. This point provides a bit of that amazing acceleration, but without going too far on the tight mountain roads. With that power output, the rotation between power and maximum regeneration can produce a slight drift when leaning into the most sensitive corner, so I started braking on the track with the left lever to trace the line of demarcation.
The rear brake and engine layout also makes it easy to cut the rear wheel: remove just five bolts to open the left swingarm, remove the license plate, and then remove 20 bolts from the rim to slide the wheel off the engine. No special equipment is required, which fits the concept of futuristic ease. On the other hand, the yellow paint and maximum fabrics are at a slightly lower point than the Verge price suggests. I would opt for a matte gray or green paint for aesthetic reasons.
For Verge customers, most of the windfall obviously goes to technology – the ability to quickly rate through Tesla Superraters will also undoubtedly play a key role in sales. Connected to a fast DC tester, Verge claims the Pro can handle a 25kW rate, which translates to an 80% rate time of 35 minutes. With alternating current, the charging rate drops to 3. 6 kW on 240 volts, enough to rerate the battery overnight. (This story originally featured billing rates. )
Production and shipping is already underway in Europe, but final approval testing for the US market means current lead times for orders are around nine months. A new Verge store at the Westfield Century City grocery shopping center in Los Angeles will offer testing until deliveries to consumers can begin. For now I can verify that the impressive rear-wheel hub motor contraption works well, that 1000 Nm (much less 1200 Nm) of torque on two wheels is surely crazy, and that no transmission loss helps with the predictable modulation of the electric motorcycle. regeneration too.
Verge plans to launch more affordable models later using the same rear-engine generation, and over time the design may also lose a few kilos in weight. Both would certainly help this electric motorcycle, in particular, contribute to more widespread use of this type of motorcycle. an extraordinary tool for travelers and enthusiasts.
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