How far do you think you can ride on a single charge from an electric motorcycle? In the case of European battery bike builder Verge, they’ve just set what Guinness says is a world record for the longest trip on a single charge of an electric moto battery.
The trip took place back in March, around London’s suburbs (the UK London, not London, Ontario). On the 22nd, riders Sam Clarke and Sara Sloman took a Verge TS Pro on a trip of just under 311 kilometres around the city. It took them a little more than 16 hours.
That’s good enough for the all-time record on a single battery bike charge, says Guinness. And it turns out that TS Pro actually had 7 percent battery remaining when they stopped the test, so conceivably they could have pushed to nearly 350 kilometres before running out of juice. It’s also worth noting that Verge used to claim the TS Ultra had even more range capability than the TS Pro, so perhaps they could have gone even further if that was true.
But while this is a pretty long run for an electric motorcycle, remember that it took place within city limits—the ideal place to stretch an electric motorcycle’s range. All that stopping and starting recharges an electric motorcycle’s battery if it’s equipped with regenerative braking, while on an internal combustion bike, it simply drains the fuel tank with no return. And, urban and suburban riding is done at low-ish speeds that are much more easier on an electric motorcycle’s battery than even the slow speeds of a secondary highway; 80 km/h might be the most efficient speed for an internal combustion engine, but it drains an electric bike’s juice much more quickly.
On its website, Verge actually claims a 350-kilometre estimate for its TS Pro on a single battery charge, and a 200-kilometre, highway charge. It comes with a 20.2 kWh li-ion battery as stock.
You can see Verge’s electric motorcycle lineup here.
