Triumph and Williams’ electric sports bike looks as awesome as you expect

Remember a bit over a year ago when Triumph released a series of sketches and serious performance promises? We do, but then we’ve been jonesing for an awesome electric bike ever since we found the sump of our Husqvarna 900 full of petrol and gave up on internal combustion entirely.

And, in case the actual photos above haven’t already given the game away, you’re looking at the proper prototype of Triumph’s first foray into electric motorbikes: the TE-1. No prizes for guessing what TE-1 stands for, then.

So, now that the TE-1’s a real, rideable machine, let’s see if Triumph’s prototype lives up to the promises.

The electric motor from Integral Powertrain promised about 180bhp and delivers exactly 175bhp, or enough to fling it, you and your gutful of brave pills from a standing start to 100mph in 6.2 seconds.

The battery from Williams Advanced Engineering offers 100 miles of range, yet only takes 20 minutes to recharge from zero to 80 per cent. Yep, that’s zero per cent, dead flat, push-it-to-the-pits battery charge, and back to 80 per cent in the time it takes to wrestle your leathers off for a quick bathroom break and get them back on.

And the whole bike, ready to ride, weighs just 220kg. If you’re familiar with the weight penalty that generally comes with electrification (hello, two-tonne family car), getting a 175bhp all-electric motorbike in well below a quarter-tonne is a proper achievement. For a bit of context, BMW’s perennially popular R1250GS adventure bike has 134bhp and weighs 250kg, while Triumph’s own (entirely ballistic) Speed Triple 1200 RS pumps out 177bhp and weighs 198kg. On the electric side of things, the Zero SR/F offers 110bhp for its 227kg and the Livewire manages 100bhp from a 255kg bike.

So, Triumph (and Williams, Integral Powertrain, the University of Warwick and so on) have taken the TE-1 from a series of promises to a seriously promising bit of kit. Now Triumph, we know you were already thinking about it, but please, please put this into production; we’ll be the first in line to buy one. Promise.