Remember Verge? It’s difficult to ignore them. They are remarkable. Of all the companies that started with the mission of making ultra-high-performance electric motorcycles, Verge is the one that has survived to date. Their TS range comprises the TS Pro, TS Ultra, and the TS California Edition, and is available in most European markets and in the US.
Verge’s calling card has been the unique motor. It’s a motor that sits inside the wheel rim, which makes the wheel completely see-through. The swing arm mounts to the rim of the rear wheel. Because of its shape, Verge calls it the Donut Motor.
The motors are extremely powerful, with the TS Ultra getting up to 150 kW power and 1200 Nm torque. That is wheel torque because the motor is in the wheel. Top speed is 200 kph, limited by the max rpm of the motor. The biggest advantage of the motor is that it opens up the entire packaging volume for packing the battery, the motor having been moved to inside the rear wheel.
The technology, for which Verge has the patent, and the massive battery pack, mean that the motorcycles are not exactly cheap. The TS Pro, currently the cheapest model, starts at EUR 36,880. The range tops out at beyond EUR 56,000.
That’s not mouth-watering; that’s eye-watering.
Considering the price points and the limited market size in Europe and North America, the TS range was never expected to set sales charts on fire. At the same time, considerable investment would have gone into the development of the Donut Motor and other components. At some point, Verge would have started facing the fundamental question of “How to make money?”
Offer the Tech
The answer is to monetise the tech stack beyond Verge. So, the Lehtimaki brothers, Marko and Trumo, the founders of Verge, set up Donut Lab to monetise the IP they created. We interviewed Marko when that journey started.
InsightEV – Global Electric Mobility
Then came Verge Next, the B2B arm of Verge that actually conducts the business of licensing the tech to businesses.
It seemed like a good win-win for everyone. Verge had class-leading motor tech, and manufacturers may want to shorten their development times by many months. Also, the motors hold the promise of cutting weight, always a good thing with electric vehicles.
The Hush Cycles Superior GT
The Switzerland-based Hush Cycles has become the first manufacturer outside Verge to use the Donut motor technology. The Hush Superior GT is a naked roadster/cruising motorcycle that mirrors the specifications of the Verge TS Ultra. There is 150 kW, 1200 Nm, and the speed is limited to 200 kph. Like the Verge TS Ultra, we don’t expect prices to be anywhere close to practical. Hush Cycles plans a 300 units limited production run.
What did not convince us about the idea was that even buyers of the Verge tech stack would end up reducing just the development time and not the cost.
Limitations of the Donut
The Donut motor has a big limitation: unlike regular motors, which are wheel-size agnostic, the Donut is designed for a specific wheel size. So 17″ motors would fit only 17″ wheels, the most popular rear wheel sizes in motorcycles globally.
But there are not many electric motorcycles around. There are electric scooters, but they have 12″ rear wheels. Verge Next needed to develop a 12″ Donut motor, and that’s what they have done now.
The 12″ motor is available in 4kW – 15 kW power outputs with a wheel torque range of 80Nm-350Nm. With an rpm range of 569 rpm – 1094 rpm, the motors can be good enough for top speeds of 50 kph – 100 kph+.
The 12″ Scooter Platform
What Verge supplies is not just the motor but an entire technology platform that can underpin new products for any manufacturer. In addition to the Donut motor, the Verge platform includes a battery module for small vehicles, a software suite for controlling the systems, and multi-functional, clear display screens.
Verge Next says that the first scooter on the technology platform would be unveiled at EICMA 2025. We can’t say if that is a Verge created scooter or another manufacturer using the platform.