As people who are as crazy about motorcycles as most of us here, we can develop an annoying habit of naming to anyone in earshot, the make and model of each and every bike that rides past us. Bonus points when you know the year of manufacture and other tidbits! But when the photos of the motorcycle before you came through, I had absolutely no idea what it was, not even a clue as to which company might have built the donor bike. And that’s just a small part of what makes this machine so cool, a combination of some of Europe’s best motorcycle minds, intent on delivering a truly unique custom. Trevor x Veridis as it’s known, is a collaboration between Veridis Studios and Trevor Motorcycles, and they’ve produced an EV Flat Tracker that’s as fast as it is fun.
Otis West is the man to pull all the right people together for this project and he knows a thing or two about building one hell of a fast flat-track machine. Going back a few years, he showed off a 990cc KTM-powered dirt destroying machine at the Bike Shed show, and it was a beautiful display of sweeping lines to fit the style and an angry engine capable of crushing anything in its path. Having displayed that bike to great acclaim and seen it splashed across the internet, it was time to set himself a new challenge. “I wanted to do something a bit different, from Second Wave – the first bike. But I wanted to do another flat tracker,” he explains.
And as luck would have it, another visit to the Bike Shed, that palace of custom motorcycle perfection, would ensure that he found a great partner in crime. “I also met with a concept designer in the UK, Luke Robbins last year, and after a chat, we realised we wanted to do a bike together. So we agreed to try something totally different and do an electric flat tracker.” Between them they bring a host of skills to the table and from initial design to final fabrication, there isn’t much they can’t do. But they needed to find the right donor bike and also a company that would let them chop their perfectly good motorcycle up into pieces.
“We did a rough concept then went to some manufacturers to see if they’d let us buy a bike, cut it up and totally rebuild it to smush it into our image.” And it was on this journey that they found Trevor Motorcycles in Belgium, a company that produces high-end electric flat trackers that can be had in a street or race spec. The founders of the company Jeroen-Vincent and Philippe were incredibly enthusiastic about what Otis and Luke had in mind. “They fully supported our idea, gave me a base to start with and supported us in the design and build.” Trevor also works with E-Racing in Denmark, producers of high-performance electric components and drivetrains, so a Euro dream team had been established.
After a trip to the continent to see the EV machines in action, Otis and Luke set to work in their small East London workshop, giving themselves just 6 months from design to completed product, so that the bike could be ready for the Bike Shed Show 2025. What they commenced with is basically a Trevor Motorcycles prototype powertrain and a bit of one of their old frames. But immediately Otis was cutting into that chassis, making all sorts of modifications based on his knowledge of building a fast flat tracker. And one of the key goals was to lower the weight of the battery, closer to the ground for improved handling.
“The frame and swingarm were built with Bob at The Machine Shop, he did all my structural welds and is a damn genius when it comes to chassis work,” Otis tells us. Finished in black, the complete chassis is a work of art and you can see the immense effort that has gone into crafting a frame fit for fast flat track work. To create the body, Otis took Luke’s design and brought it all to life. “I 3D printed all of the bodywork out of Carbon PLA. The seat is a singular CNC LD60 foam piece that we had machined and I wrapped in Alcantara. The retro side panels were laser cut out of flat 2mm aluminium, then shaped and brushed by hand.”
And that same level of incredible design and perfect execution is carried over to the mechanical side of the build. “The yokes were designed and CNC machined by Tom at Deftcad and are easily one of the most beautiful parts of the build.” The risers are just as beefy to ensure precise steering, and the wide flat bars are fitted up with only the bare essentials. Dropped through those rigid clamps, the suspension is all top shelf, with the Swedes at Ohlins the masters behind the FG 621 front forks. Being of a mono-shock design, the guys needed just the right piece and chose a YSS MZ456 rear shock, with a custom colour for the spring.
The wheels are from Excel, while the purposeful rubber is Hoosier, part of the team’s approach of adding some retro flavour to the build. Obviously, there is no front brake, but the rear is all quality with a Beringer caliper and Hel master cylinder and lines. Details on the powertrain are being kept guarded for now, the 84v battery architecture is in place, and we know from Trevor’s production machines that fast charging and 125km+ of range are easily achieved; more than enough for racing.
But one of the big advantages of EV on the flat track is being able to control precisely the way the power comes on, when full torque is available and it’s possible to make it rapidly fast and yet highly predictable in nature. The finished product is a credit to all involved and Veridis Studio are giving the big manufacturers a major hint as to where success can be found in the EV world.
[ Veridis Studio | Trevor ]