Triumph TE-1 Electric Motorcycle

While new bike development projects are usually cloak-and-dagger exercises kept hidden from prying eyes, Triumph has been completely open during the evolution of its TE-1 electric prototype – finally showing the completed prototype today as it’s readied for a barrage of rolling road and track tests to see if it meets all the firm’s performance targets.

The TE-1 isn’t intended to be a direct prototype for a production model but to give Triumph and its partners in the project – Williams Advanced Engineering, Integral Powertrain and WMG – a strong footing in electric motorcycle technology, including intellectual property and hands-on experience in developing such bikes, to carry forward into future projects. However, if the prototype manages to hit the numbers it’s expected to achieve in tests it would be a tempting proposition, with performance on a par with the very fastest combustion-engined Triumphs.