Anyone would recognise the bike pictured above as the Yamaha FZ. The same ‘lord of the streets’ it is albeit with an electric motor. The 150cc, 13.8 BHP petrol engine has been replaced with an electric motor. The output of the electric motor? An impressive 40 BHP. This green thinking was done by a Pune based company Tork Motors which specialises in the development of electric sports motorcycles. The box beneath the petrol tank holds the battery unit and the one below it is the electric drivetrain. The space inside the petrol tank now holds various components related to the electric drive.
Tork Motors claims a top-speed of 120 km/hr and a full charge will give you a green ride of ideally 80 kilometres. The range should vary depending on usage. The Yamaha FZ has good riding dynamics and the same coupled with a silent electric motor, the absence of vibration created by the piston should only add to the dynamic sense. Apart from the petrol engine replaced with an electric motor, a major part of the bike is the original FZ. There is no gearbox required, so all the power generated is available right from standstill. Torque output is an impressive 60 Nm and 0-100 km/hr takes less than 9 seconds.
The Tork FZ is definitely a good step towards electric performance bikes. The performance figures suggest that an electric bike needn’t necessarily be under powered. The concept is still to grab mass attention but with time it might be considered as the need of the hour. Electric cars and bikes fall back on an important category called pricing. And a major chunk of it is consumed by the battery pack. However, the industry believes and so does Tork Motors, that with further research, newer techniques and increasing demand these prices can be brought to a manageable level. This Electric FZ costs around Rs. 3 lakhs.
