Don't get me wrong, I think electric motorcycles are cool. They're hysterically powered. They're silent, so my neighbors don't call the cops or complain to the HOA. And for the most part, the designs have been pretty dang neat.
But, at present, they have their place. And that place is riding dirt.
That's because current electric motorcycles have absolutely abysmal range. And that's putting it lightly, as most can't cope with anything above 70 miles before you need to stop for another 8 hours to charge the damn things. That's also with the best of conditions. A strong headwind or a Big Mac will further reduce that range.
And that might come as a surprise to some readers, especially given the big news that Verge's TS Pro electric bike just set a new Guinness Book of World Records record for electric motorcycle range at a whopping 193 miles! Do you hear that, folks? 193 miles on a single charge! That's nearly combustion engine range!
There's just one issue. It absolutely doesn't have 193 miles of range. Nowhere even close, in fact. Let me explain how these numbers are real fudged.
Now, before we get into the "record, " let's talk about what Verge states right out of the gate. According to the company, the Verge TS Pro features a 20.2-kilowatt-hour battery that the company states is good for an eye-watering 217 miles in the city and 124 miles on the highway.
But there are some hella caveats to both of those numbers, as the fine print says that 217 miles is "calculated by Verge aims to provide a reasonable approximation of calm stop-and-go riding in an urban environment at low speeds," while the highway range is "calculated by Verge aims to provide a reasonable approximation of steady and consistent highway riding at a speed of 56 mph."
Verge furthers by stating that the EU combined range is only 119 miles per charge, as "This standardised EU measurement is based on a mix of city and highway riding on a chassis dyno featuring relatively aggressive accelerations and decelerations at times. The dyno resistance is specified based on vehicle weight only, with aerodynamic qualities of the vehicle not being accounted for."
So Verge states that in the best-case scenario, not including rider weight, wind resistance, and testing on a low-resistance dyno, the TS Pro is only good for 119 miles per charge. Then how the hell did it achieve that 193-mile record? Easy, they went soooooo slow and just went around London.
Based on reporting done up by our sister publication InsideEVs, Verge accomplished the feat by going just 12 mph on its 193-mile walkabout through London Town. And, personally, I find it sort of frustrating that the company did this, as it gives folks the wrong idea of what these machines are capable of.
I get the appeal of electric bikes, I really do, but this does everyone a disservice, as well as your own company, when you're going around saying you've done 193 miles on a single charge. Folks already have trouble deciphering reality from fiction, and this is stretching the truth of the situation to its absolute limits. And that's frustrating as I think the Verge is a cool bike, and the brand has some neat ideas. This doesn't do anyone any favors.
