They must be putting something into the water in Finland. Not only is the country a hub for some of the best video games of all time (and a few others), but it’s also home to some serious tech. Nokia and Polar hail from the country as well. Now there’s one more — Verge, makers of the Verge TS.
The Verge TS is an electric motorcycle. Big deal, right? There are tons of those. Triumph, Husqvarna, BMW, Harley Davidson — loads of folks have one. Even South African outfit BST has a spectacular option. But Verge’s bike is a little different.
On the very Verge TS
See, the TS isn’t just any old electric motorcycle. It’d still be pretty cool if it were, but it’s not. The bike is unique, in that it stuffs most of the working parts into the rear wheel. The rim contains the electric motor, as well as a batch of powerful electromagnets. The rim doesn’t spin — at least, not the way you’d expect. It’s connected to the Verge TS’ main body by way of the swing-arm, and the rear tyre turns around this stationary arrangement.
And it turns, by most accounts, rather bloody quickly. The Verge TS will go from 0 to 100km/h in under 4 seconds. That’s faster than the Jaguar I-Pace can do it. It’s got a top speed of 180km/h and a range of between 200km (highway) and 300km (city driving).
The lack of a gearbox, crank, chain, or belt means that this 80kW ‘cycle spits out 1,000Nm of torque. That’s the same as BMW’s XM SUV Concept, which will turn up packing a 560kW engine. It’s a little mental, is what we’re saying.
The bike itself weighs in at less than 250kg, while the 20.2kWh battery can add up to 100km of range with fifteen minutes of charge (CSS). It’ll charge to full in 4.5 hours. The price you’d pay for the Verge TS? A fair bit more than its R386,000 price, which is what you’ll snag it for overseas. Then you’ve got to get it here, to South Africa. That’ll cost a little extra. Still, for 1,000Nm of torque at the twist of a wrist, it might be worth it.
