Verge Motorcycles light years ahead of the curve

In the 1982 film Tron, starring Jeff Bridges, a lot of the action takes place in a digital world, including a “light cycle” race on futuristic motorcycles.

In 2010, the sequel Tron: Legacy was released, also with a race featuring futuristic motorcycles. There is something about the bikes built by Verge Motorcycles that remind me of Tron, which I watched as a young boy in Maseru. I never did watch Tron: Legacy, but it’s on my bucket list.

Founded in 2018 as a Finnish start-up building electric motorcycles, Verge now has operations in Estonia, Italy, Germany, Spain, France, the US, UK and Monaco, led by CEO Tuomo Lehtimäki.

When asked how he would describe Verge, Lehtimäki said: “Verge Motorcycles is a technology company developing and manufacturing the world’s most advanced electric motorcycles. The aim of the company is to revolutionise the motorcycle industry and reshape the ways to build motorcycles.”

At the heart of Verge’s machines, namely the TS Pro and the TS Ultra, is the engine location and Starmatter, Verge’s advanced software and intelligence platform.

Lehtimäki explains: “Verge’s bikes have been designed from the ground up with electric drive in mind, unlike other electric motorcycles whose design philosophy is often influenced by existing motorcycles with an internal combustion engine.”

The motor is integrated into the rear wheel rim — an innovation Verge has patented and which is what gives it that Tron feel, in my mind.

The larger battery pack placed where the engine would be on an internal combustion motorcycle gives Verge’s motorcycles a longer range and a lower centre of gravity which, as Lehtimäki says, “provides a better riding experience compared to traditional electric motorcycles.”

With Starmatter, Verge brings advanced artificial intelligence functions — which have been used in cars for years — to motorcycles by introducing various sensors and machine learning models.

Lehtimäki explains: “We want to revolutionise the perception of the life cycle and intelligence of motorcycles. Typically, a vehicle is at its best when new, while smartphones, for example, gain completely new features that significantly improve their functionality year after year.

“We want to bring the same philosophy. One in which engineering and software walk hand in hand.”

Starmatter is updated over-the-air and the interface allows the rider to control elements like riding modes as well as get information on charging settings and diagnostics.

The machine learning component takes the data coming in from the sensors and allows Verge to continue to develop new features. The interface is built into the top of the fuel tank and is linked to a dash that provides general riding information such as speed, range and time.

Both the Pro and the Ultra come with heated grips, a storage compartment beneath the seat with USB charging slot, either Öhlins or Wilbers suspension, Brembo brakes, ABS, traction control and cruise control.

There are four riding modes, namely: Range, for city riding with regenerative braking at medium level and top speed and torque set to lower levels; Zen, designed for more open roads like highways, unlocking more speed and torque; Beast, which is a sportier ride with full power and top speed unlocked and regenerative braking high; and Custom.

The Ultra is a single seater while the Pro has space for a pillion rider. With the Pro, when riding solo, you can shift riding positions depending on whether you use the front or back footpegs.

The TS Pro has a top speed of 200km/h, 1,000Nm of torque, and power of 102kW, accelerating from 0-100 km/h in 3.5 seconds. It can be fast-charged in 35 minutes with an estimated range of 350km in the city and 200km on the highway.

The TS Ultra’s top speed is also 200km/h with 150kW power output and 1,200Nm of torque. It does 0-100km/h in 2.5 seconds. Fast-charging takes 25 minutes with estimated city range of 375km and estimated highway range of 215km.

Customisation and ordering is done through the Verge website and delivery is currently limited to a number of European countries with plans to increase countries as they expand their support network. With very few traditional moving parts in their motorcycles, maintenance is at a minimum and support is primarily done remotely.

Lehtimäki remains optimistic about the future of Verge Motorcycles: “We want to challenge the old ways of doing things to create something new. The goal for our impossible-sounding power machine is to challenge all existing models and patterns and make it as simple as possible for the user.

“Verge is the only one who has been able to do this so far, thanks to the unique rear wheel technology. We continuously develop new technologies and there are more motorcycles coming in the future.”