For a manufacturer with the stature of Triumph Motorcycles, producing an electric bike is tricky. What makes a Triumph, well, a Triumph, is the sound of the iconic Bonneville combustion engine, tasteful design principles that span its range and the knowledge that early iterations of its current motorcycles broke records in races around the world.

This might be why, when Brummell questioned head of brand management Miles Perkins in May 2022 about whether the marque would be throwing its hat into the electric ring, his answer was a downplayed one. He mentioned that while there was a prototype in the works, electric motorcycle development – across the whole sector – had a long way to go. A relatively humble response, considering that on the prototype’s reveal just a few months later in July, there was news that it had exceeded the company’s expectations with a 100-mile range and 3.6-second acceleration from 0-60mph, as well as a 20-minute charge time to 80 per cent battery.

This “TE-1” project has been in the works since 2018, and borrows expertise from Williams Advanced Engineering, which contributed to battery design and integration. The University of Warwick offered electrification knowledge and Integral Powertrain Ltd led the development of the electric motor. Triumph has worked to ensure that the TE-1 aligns with the rest of its offering by using the Speed Triple 1200 RS as the basis for the throttle action and torque delivery mapping. The ergonomics and weight distribution are closely matched to the existing sports model, too.

But how to go about replacing an engine sound that is one of the manufacturer’s defining features? Well, it’s no Bonneville Twin but, pleasingly, the TE-1 is consciously engineered with a more appealing noise than most electric motorcycles, thanks to the helical gear pair primary transmission. And what better way to put it to the test than by thrashing it around a race track with someone who really knows how, like Daytona 200 rider Brandon Paasch? ‘The throttle response on the TE-1 is kind of incredible, it’s very torquey and when you first touch the throttle it’s instant power, which is obviously what I love as a motorcycle racer,’ Paasch said after the ride. ‘I got to push this thing all the way from zero to 100 per cent throttle and it’s unbelievably quick. It pulls like crazy.’

This is only the beginning for Triumph’s electrification programme. Its engineering team in Hinckley must now figure out how to translate this into a road-going model for consumers. Chief product officer Steve Sargent is confident it will be a strong challenger: ‘We have already seen an incredibly positive reaction to the TE-1 prototype all around the world, where many people are telling us that for the first time, they are seeing an electric motorcycle as desirable, and something that they would genuinely want to own.’ Count us in.

triumphmotorcycles.co.uk