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Home Industry Innovation

Australia’s first electric motorbike prepares for launch

Elle Hardy by Elle Hardy
2 December 2021
in Innovation, Features
4 min read
26
Australia’s first electric motorbike prepares for launch

Savic Motorcycles has developed Australia’s first electric motorbike.

An ex-Ford engineer has developed Australia’s first electric motorbike, which will begin production in Melbourne next year.

Savic Motorcycles founder Dennis Savic said it’s been “a whirlwind ride” since create first interviewed him about his big idea in 2019. Since then, he has successfully completed a $1.83 million dollar capital raise and has grown his team to more than 30 automotive engineers, software developers, artificial intelligence (AI) specialists and marketers.

“So far, we’ve received 90 orders for our three-model C-Series, which ranges from the torquey 25-kilowatt Omega — comparable to a 300cc traditional motorbike — to the 40 kW Delta, and the 60 kw Alpha, roughly equivalent to a 1000cc bike,” he said. 

“The Alpha has 200 Nm of torque, which will power it to 100 kph from a standing start in 3.5 seconds.”

Savic aims to have at least 20 electric motorbikes delivered to their owners in the last quarter of 2022, before scaling up manufacturing in 2023. 

“We’re very proud of our production prototype, which boasts a number of world-class, racing-quality components, including Wilbers suspension, Brembo brakes and a customised Optibelt carbon fibre drive belt,” he said.

“Our ingenious engineers are currently developing a sophisticated AI system and riders’ app, and will soon embark on the design of a customised anti-lock braking system with Bosch Australia.”

The bikes have the torque of a small European hatchback, and impressive charging and speed capabilities.

“The C-Series’ 16 kWh lithium-ion battery can be charged to 80 per cent in under four hours and will deliver a city range of between 150 km (for the Omega) and 250 km (for the Alpha),” Savic said. 

“The retail price is extremely competitive compared to other full-size e-motos, with the Omega retailing at $12,990, the Delta at $16,990 and the Alpha at $23,990.”

The design showcases the large lithium battery wrapped in cooling fins, with the belt-driving motor nearly hidden away and disappearing into the single-sided swingarm. 

In fact, the C-Series has been recognised twice in the Good Design Awards for Design Excellence. This includes as the overall winner of the Good Design Award Product Design category and with a Gold award in the Engineering Design Category. 

The Good Design Awards jury stated that they “love the retro-tech styling of this e-bike … Combining the exciting looks of a café racer with zero emissions and low running and maintenance costs has real appeal.” 

Looking under the hood

Mechanical engineer Adrian Vinovrski joined Savic Motorcycles in 2018 as one of five engineering students who helped Savic design the mathematical model used to test the C-Series prototype’s performance.

The model ran simulations to discover how the bike’s weight, shape, power, tyres and other factors would affect its speed and acceleration, in order to ensure the optimal motor specs and gearing ratios for its on-road performance.

Over the past year, Vinovrski has been looking after the design and wiring of the prototype’s electrical systems, developing the vehicle control logic, programming the motor controller and modelling parts of the 12V system.

He said one of the greatest challenges in developing the C-Series was ensuring that the designs ticked all the boxes across engineering, production, supply chain and economics. 

“Designing a superior system or component, building an efficient supply chain and adhering to the economic requirements and price points of our product are all relatively straightforward in their own right,” he said. “But balancing all three and completing them in parallel requires meticulous planning and coordination.”

Members of the Savic Motorcycles team.

Savic follows a cyclical design process, with many iterations of the core components. Vinovrski said the team was able to balance the discrepancies between the ideal designs of the engineers and the realities of manufacturing and supply chains, especially during COVID. 

“Another challenge was finding a suitable production strategy that would scale as the business grows,” he said. 

“Parts needed to be designed [so] they’d be suitable to manufacture efficiently and affordably in small quantities, while ensuring they would not have to be significantly changed or redesigned when we are ready to scale. For example, from gravity casting to pressure casting techniques.”

The engineers also had to plan for the cost of tooling for a variety of manufacturing methods, while future proofing for new manufacturing techniques and capabilities. 

“A final challenge is striking a balance between design, engineering and the compliance regulations we will have to pass,” Vinovrski said.

“A final challenge is striking a balance between design, engineering and the compliance regulations we will have to pass."
Adrian Vinovrski

“The team has put so much emphasis and effort into ensuring that our production vehicle is as close to the concept our designers and initial customers fell in love with. We have had to work hard to ensure that any deviations from the original concept are meaningful, progressive and balanced. 

“In fact, I would say that the overarching theme when faced with the majority of our engineering challenges has always been balance.”

Vinovrski said that being a small, young team, many comments they’ve received regarding the design concern the differences between their vehicle and what people are used to seeing on high-volume products from large manufacturers. 

“It seems to me that the premium details and material selections for a lot of the minor components have always been appreciated,” he said.

“The way we’ve designed the powertrain has been particularly engaging, because there are currently very few examples of electric powertrains being designed for a motorcycle from scratch. 

“Our team is very proud of what we’ve been able to achieve so far. But having said that, this is just the very start of our electrifying journey.”

Tags: automotive engineeringelectric vehiclemechanical engineeringproduct design
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Elle Hardy

Elle Hardy

Elle is a freelance journalist. She has written for industry publications including the Australian Water Association's Current magazine, Mercer Magazine and BPay Banter.

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Comments 26

  1. Marc says:
    3 years ago

    Very good initiative and highly promising & successful start. Keep the good work and good luck!

    Reply
  2. Rowan Goyns says:
    3 years ago

    Thanks for sharing insight into the design and manufacturing aspects, and supply chain challenges faced. Great to see Australian small business ‘having a go’ in such a competitive environment.

    Reply
  3. Terry Moore says:
    3 years ago

    Good luck boys

    Reply
  4. Jason says:
    3 years ago

    Fonz has delivered over 100 NKD Australian made electric motorcycles this year.

    Reply
  5. Jack says:
    3 years ago

    Sooo you ride for approximately two and a half hrs on open road then find a charging station .You said 4 hrs for 80 per cent how long for 100 per cent?.These bikes could only be used. as commuters around Cities or towns where you can plug them in over night? What would your power bill be every quarter?

    Reply
    • Peter Campbell says:
      3 years ago

      EV power bill will be much less than your petrol bill would be for an equivalent ICE vehicle.

      Reply
    • DBT says:
      3 years ago

      Thanks to my roof-top solar, my power bill will still be zero.

      Reply
    • Glenn says:
      3 years ago

      There seems to be a lot of effort put into why evs aren’t suitable, as opposed to what they are suitable for.

      Reply
  6. Dan Burns says:
    3 years ago

    What safety features are applied to counter a hard hit collision in regards to the battery and wiring shorting?

    Reply
    • Wes says:
      3 years ago

      Depending on the chemistry there are no special requirements.It would be safer than a petrol leak

      Reply
  7. Mike says:
    3 years ago

    90% of the time, the biggest safety factor on a motorbike is the noise, car drivers only register” motorbike” is because of the exhaust noise

    Reply
    • Wayne says:
      3 years ago

      Thats the usual mantra of the “loud pipes save lives” crowd.
      That idea has already been debunked.
      By the time any motorist might hear you, and react, you have already passed them.

      Reply
    • Glenn says:
      3 years ago

      Try learning to steer and brake properly, reading traffic is also useful.

      Reply
  8. Bryan Marshall says:
    3 years ago

    l like it, Australian made great, a nice looking bike, l also like the prices shown, pricing is much lower than l expected , half the price of a (harley livewire) 3 things stand out to me from the photo’s ,1/ seat height looks very tall?. 2/ no side stand ,is it to heavy to support one? 3/ how much does it weigh?..id be looking at this when it hits the shops …

    Reply
  9. Keith says:
    3 years ago

    Any chance of increasing battery to twice its capacity. As a second pack and small high speed charger built in .?

    Reply
    • Steve says:
      3 years ago

      that’s what may happen when the Lithium/Sulphur battery is finally sorted. It seems our universities are onto it already. 3-5 times the power of current Lithium technology for any given physical size I believe I read.

      Reply
  10. DBT says:
    3 years ago

    As a motorcyclist in my sixties, I have petrol well and truly coursing through my veins. I currently have quite a few classic cars and bikes but I am very much looking forward to accelerating to 100 km/h in 3.5 seconds without making any noise or having to change gear. Sign me up please.

    Reply
  11. Bernardo says:
    3 years ago

    It’s actually Australia’s second electric bike. Fonz has had the NKD electric bike out for a while now.
    https://electricbikeaction.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/90_fonz_new.jpg

    Reply
  12. Brian says:
    3 years ago

    Why can’t they put the electric motor in the rear wheel hub and also have it generate power to battery when costing or even motor/ generator in both hubs and have it two wheel drive?

    Reply
  13. Eugene says:
    3 years ago

    Great Effort Team Savic! ??

    Reply
  14. Abs Absy says:
    3 years ago

    Australia has produced some really great innovative enterprises to fruition..
    lets hope this one does not outsource its production off-shore and then find out the hard way that it too has been cloned with cheaper competition from their factory.

    Reply
  15. Phill says:
    3 years ago

    So I live in Albany and regularly ride to Perth, let’s say 500 ks and back 1000 ks return trip including fuel stops and meals takes 10 hours
    150 ks on a charge and 8 hours for 80 % would take….. let me work it out…. Original 150 then 8 hours then 120 after = 270 8 hours, 390, 510, 630,750,870,990 close enough… 56 hours charge time ( assuming charging stations existed every 120 ks between Perth and Albany which they don’t) and then the original 9 hours ride time, makes this 10 hour trip a 65 hour nightmare.
    Will always be electric bikes and cars problem- they, unlike ICE are never going to be a one vehicle solution! Just a cool toy

    Reply
    • Steve says:
      3 years ago

      so you ride to Perth on something else. The EV is (for now at least) for shorter everyday trips. Horses for courses

      Reply
  16. James O’Donnell says:
    3 years ago

    We need an electric adventure bike that you can throw your swag on and piss off to the bush for the weekend. Maybe have power tool batteries as backup power?

    Reply
  17. Craig says:
    3 years ago

    Can you bag it up when you have the shits, and get the back end to kick out without holding some front brake. Because we all need to let off some steam. Does it have a traction control and if so what are you doing?

    Reply
  18. Steve says:
    3 years ago

    how proud I’ll be to see Australians develop a motorcycle industry – and from fresh, using only the most up to date electric/battery technology.
    Please Australian mega rich, with your tons of money from casinos and mining, even if your financial controllers and accounts people think it’s a bit of a gamble, invest in something we’ll remember you fondly for.
    To all those involved in this fledgling industry – thank you for making up proud and determining to get some industry up and running again here. Wishing you eventual worldwide success

    Reply

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