Triumph are trumpeting the development of their new electric bike which they are making in partnership with Williams racing, the TE-1. Its not an actual bike yet, they apparently have an engine, and no test bikes so they are obviously busy collecting reactions and opinions. Who knows if it will actually make it to production. Therefore my review is as good as anybody else’s, because they don’t have a bike to test.
As a designer - I have to say Im not impressed with these illustrations. There is something a bit lacking. I have obviously cribbed them for this article, and they are sanctioned by someone at Triumph. I would have gone black myself.
Whilst I'm at it - I wish they would stop using the 'T' logo. It’s rubbish. Someone created it in the noughties I think and they've dragged it about ever since. Please - stop it. It doesn’t work. The chain logo works - its a classic. Make new and exciting bikes - leave the logo or hire someone better to improve the T if you absolutely must use it.
So lets see the official video.
Im not going to be a buyer of this bike - because I can't afford one - yet. I'd like to be able to buy one, but no. So why bother discussing it? Two reasons, one I'm a massive fan of Triumph as a marquee and two because even though I cant afford it, Im a big believer in electric as being the way forward. So it's an interesting prospect. What happens now will / could be what I ride in maybe five or six years - maybe sooner if I get lucky, who knows.
Fascinatingly it’s very much based on the bike Ive owned for the longest, the Speed Triple. Ok, officially it’s not a Speed Triple, but it looks a lot like one. Its not going to be aimed at the more popular Street Triple market, the Street Triple being much more popular because I'm presuming its cheaper and more manageable - because its obviously going to be a lot more expensive, irrespective of what the marketing department may be saying about selling something that buyers can afford. So it’s an electric speed triple.
##### British Motorbikes
Lets tackle an issue lurking at the back of every British Triumph riders consciousness. In these difficult times, Brexit, Covid, polarised views and populism, Triumph are a genuine British marquee, and a reason to be proud of British engineering - the bikes are made here. the company has always been British, not owned by someone in India or the U.S. Quality.
With the same breath, alarmingly there is a very bad tendency of Triumph top brass to wilfully forget that they exist because of us, the British bikers, and not vice versa. All the sales in the US or Asia mean nothing without the kudos that comes from inherent Britishness that itself comes from British riders adopting the bikes, customising them in the ways they do making them successful. And the real endeavour of British workers that create them in the factories in the North of the country. Real people in the country of origin.
And forgetting this is something that nearly cost the company its very existence. Like music. As soon as someone making the decisions starts listening to someone in Europe or the US about what makes a good song we end up with dreadful shite. So it is with motorbikes. Getting it right here is paramount - making it British is down to us not a marketeer. Yes, sales figures - but I don’t care. They are ultimately based on what British bikers think and how they choose to uptake or not uptake. Not Europe, America or Asia. Without us, the bikes are just another faceless BMW Yamaha affix your number here. So electric, OK but forget selling it out, forget those American and Asian markets. If it doesn’t work for us, its not going to work for Triumph. Have a bit of faith in us and we will do the same for the only truly British bike company.
##### Green power
In many ways the chakra of biking is ostensibly at odds with eco friendly and environmentalism. Bikers are predominantly viewed as hedonistic pleasure seekers that don’t care about issues. But actually is that really the case? Does green power really matter for us?
Bikers are not generally conventional people. They are very discerning and particular. They are notoriously difficult to sell to. Not easily swayed. But the evidence in the case for electric is overwhelming which is something I think bikers will adopt over time given their virtues and natural tendencies. Ok so they weren’t the early adopters but then they were a bit less of a pollution aggravator in the first place.
It’s a very long time since anyone let alone manufacturers considered bikes as a serious rival to the car. But actually one rider, or even two compared to a car with one driver, it’s not a bad starting position. Add electric into that mix and suddenly it becomes a much more acceptable. Your carbon footprint is massively upgraded. You can both have fun and do the right thing. Of course it uses power from a network that uses coal sometimes. So its not free, just a move in the right direction.
It’s easy to look at the heritage of the bike and assume that electric or green power just wont fit with the biking world, but this is the case for some car enthusiasts as well. We all face the same issues, so Im hopeful. Its just a shame I wont be able to join the revolution just yet. Ive ridden bike since I was a lad. Noise, speed excitement - I get it. It makes no noise, ( which has practical implications in my opinion as well ) and where is the excitement? But actually it’s the circus of the new. It’s important that Triumph gets this right because as it will be the road ahead, I have to be looking at new bikes and saying to myself I want one.
##### ST3 but electric
The Speed Triple, which this bike is not based on - ahem, is what I would describe as a hooning bike. I know because Ive had a few and hooned about on them. Triumph have to toe the line with the establishment. They cannot sell it based on it on what people actually bought it for. Pulling wheelies, stunts and larking about. It’s got an aggressive demeanour. It’s the pitbull of the bike world. It wasn’t bought originally by middle aged men with a mid life crisis because Triumph were on the bones of their arse and needed a winner. It was bought by younger riders for a bit of fun. Over time it gained a reputation and Triumph worked on it, shoe horned in the bigger engine and gradually cranked up the power. Yes, more desirable but its so easy to get the recipe wrong with a motorbike. Lots of pretenders exist. The naked street bike. The KTM duke. The rather lame BMW thing - cant remember the numbers, thats how memorable it is. Don’t get me started on jap stuff. They are all second fiddle to the ST3. Only the Italians make a job of them with the Monster and the Brutale. The names say it all, and at least the Italians are honest about it. This style of bike is all about aggression. And so that then is carried to the TE-1. Listen to the marketing team and they will talk about the 'modern rider' and accomplished all round performance. It's twaddle. The buyers of these bikes are looking for excitement - the DNA of the Triple, its raison d'etre. And this is precisely why they want to graft this to the new TE-1, because there is a danger that electric is actually a bit boring. It’s not - but that perception would be a killer for sales of what will be an expensive machine.
So from my experience of riding the Speed Triple - my biggest bugbear by far was the 'snatchy' engine to wheel transmission at low revs. Great for wheelies, showing off to your mates, burn outs. It doesn’t suit a lot of riders. it doesn’t suit me any more really - thats why I changed. But this? as the geezer in the video says, a constant power response. Thats got to be amazing - Id like to experience it just for that.
The triple is a good road machine. One would presume that given the same basic setup with wheels, suspension, seating and so on it would be at least fairly similar. Likewise the handling in and around motorway traffic is very good, so assuming you can organise your trip for recharging then you can assume handling might be fairly similar on the road, when overtaking and so on. It’s a bit of a lump, but given you want batteries to be as large as possible this may well be an advantage.
But will it have lost its fun factor - thats so abstract that only a test would do, and I don’t suppose one of those will be occurring for quite a while.
##### The competition
Have you seen the electric Harley? And this is the benchmark? In ugly maybe. Harleys are not everyones bag, but god this is a travesty in the style department. Its got that saloon feel on the front but someones strapped a wine bar on the back. Yes, let all pretend that we are so practical that this would be the least of our considerations but in reality showing off is at the core of bike owning. You have to covet the thing. They say that looks are fleeting and soon forgotten. But those looks are crucial in being the hook that gets the deal onto the table in the first place.
Here Triumph have a leg up I feel. The basic stock is good with the triple. Its not quite new - although they have given it a facelift several times. And its not quite old. They kept the twin headlights, although I think they have gone too far up the road of 'fly' style myself. But the stance and modernity of it is about right. It suits the electric concept. Certainly when you compare side by side with the Harley, on paper its looking good - even if the current illustrations are a bit lacking.
##### Price
Clearly Triumph cant walk on water. If the Harley is the benchmark and thats £30k? looks like that kind of range - well thats a tough one. What can you do. It’s not going to be cheap. Just look at the guys making it. Do they look like the wear a brown overall and live in a terraced house? No. That would buy you a very nice car. It would buy you an extremely nice motorbike. But it’s a few years down the line, where will we be. Depreciation is seriously massive and what concerns me is the batteries. If phone batteries are anything to go by this will not be a great end result. And the batteries will be a big ol chunk of the cost. So even further drops in price once driven off the forecourt. But the market will support what it supports so lets wait and see.
