07-10-2026, 07:53 PM
Well, if anyone was planning to drop $34,000 on a Finnish electric motorcycle claiming to be the first electric vehicle to market with a solid state battery, you might want to put your checkbook back in the drawer.
I had a trainee rider with me today, and at our first pickup stop, we were delayed for quite a while, long enough to have lunch while we waited. That made for plenty of get-to-know-you conversation, and he talked about what he did before coming to our company. I knew he had worked in the motorcycle market and is a riding coach, but not much else.
He said he was the company representative for Verge Motorcycles at The Bike Shed. I have seen and talked about the Verge prototypes and demo bikes they have displayed for quite some time. No doubt I must have spoken with him before, and he was probably the guy who took me a on a demo ride when I tried one out. I was quite fascinated and talked about how I had never spent $34k on a car, let alone a motorcycle, I had been monitoring its progress and their claim to have revolutionized electric vehicle range and charging time.
He said the fact that he was recently let go, along with nearly all of their U.S. staff indicated that the progress must have... stalled. As for the claims of a solid state battery, he said it was a bold claim but never really materialized. Recent announced longer ranges were achieved with an enhanced standard battery, while riding at very slow speeds in London to maximize the absolute range it could give. I mentioned that it looked they were making improvements, as the initial U.S. prototypes didn't have a rear brake foot pedal, and the screens seemed to have gone from a generic Amazon-grade speedo to a TFT screen. He said that Verge hadn't really done any research on U.S. motorcycle regulations, and didn't know that a rear brake foot pedal was a legal requrement until he brought it to their attention. While the updated demo models have a pedal, he said that it wasn't connected to the bike's brake system, and that stepping on the pedal just induced a large degree of regen braking from the rear wheel hub motor.
I haven't been to the Bike Shed in about a month, and he believes that since that time, the Verge display and demo bikes have most likely been removed.
I had a trainee rider with me today, and at our first pickup stop, we were delayed for quite a while, long enough to have lunch while we waited. That made for plenty of get-to-know-you conversation, and he talked about what he did before coming to our company. I knew he had worked in the motorcycle market and is a riding coach, but not much else.
He said he was the company representative for Verge Motorcycles at The Bike Shed. I have seen and talked about the Verge prototypes and demo bikes they have displayed for quite some time. No doubt I must have spoken with him before, and he was probably the guy who took me a on a demo ride when I tried one out. I was quite fascinated and talked about how I had never spent $34k on a car, let alone a motorcycle, I had been monitoring its progress and their claim to have revolutionized electric vehicle range and charging time.
He said the fact that he was recently let go, along with nearly all of their U.S. staff indicated that the progress must have... stalled. As for the claims of a solid state battery, he said it was a bold claim but never really materialized. Recent announced longer ranges were achieved with an enhanced standard battery, while riding at very slow speeds in London to maximize the absolute range it could give. I mentioned that it looked they were making improvements, as the initial U.S. prototypes didn't have a rear brake foot pedal, and the screens seemed to have gone from a generic Amazon-grade speedo to a TFT screen. He said that Verge hadn't really done any research on U.S. motorcycle regulations, and didn't know that a rear brake foot pedal was a legal requrement until he brought it to their attention. While the updated demo models have a pedal, he said that it wasn't connected to the bike's brake system, and that stepping on the pedal just induced a large degree of regen braking from the rear wheel hub motor.
I haven't been to the Bike Shed in about a month, and he believes that since that time, the Verge display and demo bikes have most likely been removed.
You know what? I actually would like a pickle.