Electric Street Triple
From three-cylinder engine, to three-pin plug as Triumph reveal latest TE-1 prototype
‘We have been able to push the boundaries’
Triumph have unveiled phase three of their TE-1 electric project with a complete bike that clearly resembles their trademark Street Triple. The end of phase three marks the conclusion of the collaborative stage of the project, which has seen Triumph work with Williams Advanced Engineering, Integral Powertrain and WMG at the University of Warwick. Stage four will be solely undertaken by Triumph and will take it from this ready-to-roll bike to a fully rideable prototype.
The last update from the project was in March last year, when Triumph unveiled the battery unit as well as key specs – namely: 220kg weight, 174bhp, 120-mile range and a 0-80% recharge in just 20 minutes. Since then, each of the different groups involved in the project has been beavering away to ensure the complete machine is a game-changer.
From Triumph’s perspective this has meant finishing the frame and selecting the ancillary components such as brakes, suspension and other running gear.
“During phase three of the project we have focused on building the physical foundation of Triumph’s first electric prototype,” says Steve Sargent, Triumph’s Chief Product Officer. “I am pleased with the outcome of Triumph and the TE-1 partners’ efforts in creating a demonstrator bike that is not only visually so desirable with clear Triumph DNA, but also packaged with an exhilarating and thrilling brand-new electric powertrain that has such potential for the future,” he continued.
Of course all the testing in the world isn’t the same as throwing a leg over it, which is what Triumph see as being the really important next step. To really nail the
handling, in phase three Williams have been refining the internal architecture of the battery pack to ensure the bike has the optimum centre of gravity as well as finishing the charging components.
“Because we have designed the battery from the ground-up, design has not been compromised and we have been able to push the boundaries of current technology, offering both performance and all important, range,” says Dyrr Ardash, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Williams Advanced Engineering.
Paired with the battery changes, Integral Powertrain have also been fine tuning the motor and inverter, which now has a peak power density of 13kW/kg and continuous of 9kW/kg. Most importantly the motor could now be placed into volume production. Interestingly there’s the option for (a lot!) more power if they want it.
“The inverter concept, which is also scalable by tuning the number of silicon-carbide power stages for different diameter motors, has really delivered on performance,” says Andrew Cross, Chief Technical Officer at Integral Powertrain. “The TE-1 unit is capable of over 670bhp.” Perhaps a bit much...
One of the final pieces of the puzzle for the project has been the evaluation done by WMG. Their modelling work not only ensures that everything works well before it’s built but also allows for advanced simulations that mean many real-world riding scenarios have already been encountered, so the bike should be well behaved by the time it hits the road. Interestingly, WMG also say they’ve been looking at the potential for a dedicated motorcycle charging network, with the studies given over to the Government to help support electric bike adoption.
So what’s next? Phase four begins now and will last approximately six months, during which time Triumph will do live testing of the prototype. This will start with slightly dull stuff – calibrating the throttle on a dyno or testing the validity of the software – but will quickly progress to much more exciting things such as track testing where they’ll test the limits of the traction and wheelie control.
With that complete, they’ll confirm all the stats are right, then consider the next phase – an actual production bike for release.