Triumph TE-1: the prototype of the first electric motorcycle of the British house

The historic British brand announces the conclusion of the third phase of the TE-1 project by unveiling the demonstration prototype with which the fourth and final tranche of the research will start, that is the road test program. Launched in May 2019, the partnership between Triumph Motorcycles, Williams Advanced Engineering, Integral Powertrain Ltd and the Warwick Manufacturing Group of the University of Warwick is fully funded by the UK Government’s zero-emission vehicle office with the aim of develop innovative technologies for the construction of electric motorcycles based on integrated design solutions. But the ultimate goal of the Triumph TE-1 project is much broader and is aimed at improving the performance of electric two-wheeled vehicles to provide the right momentum for the future offering of Triumph motorcycles in the name of innovation and performance by relaunching the style and design of the English industry.

Triumph TE-1: the prototype

–

The demonstrative prototype is the result of the excellent work of the partners participating in the project and is the result of a series of well-defined contributions from the logic underlying the cooperation. Triumph has made the following components for the bike: frame, rear subframe, instrument panel, panels, wheels, transmission and control electronics. Gates Carbon Drive final drive belt, Ohlins rear fork and shock absorber, Brembo M50 brake calipers. Williams Advanced Engineering took care of the final iteration of the Wae battery pack and the optimized positioning of the cells in search of a better distribution of the masses, as well as the vehicle control unit, the Dc-Dc converter, the cooling system, the power socket. refill and carbon lids. The prototyping of the transmission with integrated and scalable inverter and motor with silicon carbide switching technology and integrated cooling was the work of Integral Powertrain, while the final simulations for the start of the testing phase to confirm the achievement of the expected performance objectives and reliability is the task entrusted to the University of Warwick.

Phase 4: road test

–

For the next six months, the electric naked of the English brand will be engaged in a grueling series of tests at the Triumph factories to check all the parameters of the bike and to obtain useful information for the final set-up of the prototype. The road tests will include the following checks: throttle calibration, transmission mapping, power and torque delivery, fuel consumption and range assessment, driving mode development, software function validation, thermal optimization. Different is the approach on the track designed to evaluate other aspects and behaviors of the bike such as: handling, acceleration, braking and regenerative braking strategies, traction control, anti-wheelie control. Presumably the tests will end next summer, after which the bike will be updated with the definitive panels and related graphics in view of the demonstration on the track and the presentation to the press. The final results of the project, the final technical specifications of the vehicle and the results of the tests will also be published.