by Mark Appleton
We spoke to Maarten about one of his recent concepts, titled the Vertigo or VertiGO, it’s an awesome looking electric super sport motorcycle that I think we’d all like to see on the roads.
Maarten doesn’t subscribe to the theory that electric bikes are slow and clumsy.
“The idea people have about electric powered vehicles is that these behave stupid, slow and clumsy” says Maarten. The opposite is true! Electric powered vehicles have relatively small engines but have a lot of torque present instantly, which ensures a very swift acceleration, beating most current motorcycles.”
And what of handling? How do you go about designing a bike that can handle as well as have the speed people have come to expect?
“The drivability of a sport motorcycle is defined by more than pure acceleration,” he says, “how it handles and takes corners might be even more important. To design a motorcycle that handles light and agile; the position of the centre of gravity is one important factor.
“So an electric powered motorcycle can look very different from a ‘normal’ motorcycle, due to its drive train. This drive train calls for another type of interaction between the user and the motorcycle. This interaction is analyzed in this design, and the way it influences the overall design has had its effect on the final prototype of the VertiGO.”
And what of the styling on the VertiGO? That large empty space where an engine should be?
“The styling of the VertiGO is designed around the empty space under the sub-frame and tank. The advantage it generates according to weight distribution goes hand-in-hand with the fact that it makes a difference with current super-sport motorcycles.
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“The main goal during the design of the VertiGO was to design a motorcycle which clearly shows its differences, and the way the components are positioned made it possible to create this beautiful emptiness.”
When researching the motorcycle Maarten decided on a belt transmission and a pulley based CVT, just like the continuous variable transmission of the Suzuki Burgman. the whole bike screams, but does so silently.
The lines in the bodywork design are inspired by the agility and elegance of the cheetah!
“This cheetah is a solitaire animal which hunts alone,” says Maarten. “When detected a prey the cheetah stalks towards it and strikes accurate from a short distance. Over a short distance a cheetah can accelerate from zero to hundred in less than 4 seconds, its long legs and powerfully chest make this possible.
“In this short sprint a cheetah is very fast and agile, thanks to its slightly flexible bones and its slim and muscular build. The VertiGO is the cheetah in motorcycle world!”
So lets talk range, the pain in all electric cars and bikes at the moment, how dows the VertiGO compare?
“The VertiGO will be used for the fun of riding; mainly focusing on circuit rides and short trips over curved twisty roads. Drivability and fun will overrule the need for a large range. The range of the VertiGO will be around 100-150 km depending on the average trip speed” says Maarten
“The energy for the VertiGO is stored in a battery pack; which consists out of two parts, one left and one right,” he says. “This keeps the weight per battery pack at 50 kilograms, still a lot of weight but the packs are easy to replace by the special trolley. The battery packs are easily flipped out of the frame and positioned in the trolley.”
The PERM engine of the VertiGO is a full electrical engine producing 18 kW of power and 80 Nm of torque and the bike has a carbon monocoque main frame.
The main frame is bolted on the engine block, and forms the connection between the engine with the swing arm and the steering head.
