Looking like it’s just ridden off the set of sci-fi classic ’Tron’, the Tarform Vera is the electric motorcycle ready to form the future of battery-powered city travel. This is a machine whose fast looks are easily matched by its pace, with 60 mph coming up in just 3.5 seconds, so you should be able to see off that boy racer Ferrari at the traffic lights. Range is 100 miles, perfectly adequate for both city use and that essential occasional sojourn into the retro video game world of ’Tron’. Just remember to watch out for the baddies.
New York-based Tarform warmed up for the Vera with a debut limited edition model called the Luna, an up-market electric motorcycle incorporating all the style of a café racer, with experienced motorcyclists as the main market. The Vera is aimed at first-time riders seeking an entry-level electric motorcycle with a style that turns more than a few heads.
Power is simple twist and go, low 31" seat height is designed to be accessible - and though it might be more than you’d like to lift at the gym, its 360 pound weight is competitive when set against fossil-fuelled machines from established players such as Kawasaki or Honda. It’s a measure of Tarform’s ambition - the New York Times has compared this electric motorcycle company’s output to Tesla’s early efforts - that the Luna takes the hype in its stride.
So just to be clear, the sleek Vera isn’t there just for preening on the electric motorcycle catwalk down the Kings Road in Chelsea. Long-travel shock absorbers and nifty wheelbase of this pioneering electric motorcycle means that off-roading is a a real possibility. It’s on the rough stuff that instant-on electric power comes into its own, particularly when compared to more traditional, oily machinery. Brakes are by Brembo and there’s also regenerative braking to top up the batteries. At home, Tarform say that the 8 kWh lithium ion battery pack can be recharged in a maximum of four hours.
Founder and head of design of these pioneering electric motorcycle makers, Taras Kravtchouk, likes to say that his company’s mission lies in "developing awe inspiring, sustainable, and technologically advanced vehicles that make mobility exhilarating and soulful”. Keen to sign up to that mission? Tarform are taking orders for their sci-fi superstar Vera right now, for delivery in 2025. With a sticker price in the US of the equivalent of £12,500, we’d say the Vera electric motorcycle is something of a bargain too. We’re electrified, frankly.
Up next, the best cafe racer motorcycles in 2024.
