FTN Motion is designing and building electric motorcycles right here in Hamilton, NZ
The Streetdog offers a unique, minimalist take on urban commuting with customisable design
New Streetdog 80 boosts power and speed, making it far more usable in real-world traffic
The small team of FTN are making a bit of noise on a global scale with their NZ-built electric mopeds. Paul headed to their new Hamilton HQ to check it out. (Article originally published in BRM July 2024)
FTN’s Hamilton HQ
There can’t be many motorcycles born and built in New Zealand, but that’s exactly what the FTN team (which stands for F*&k The Norm) has done with their Streetdog. And I can’t imagine anyone has achieved this since John Britten first conceived his incredible machine. But even he didn’t do anything on the scale of FTN.
The founders of the operation are a couple of guys from Wellington who, using their degrees in electrical engineering, strapped a battery to a BMX and the rest, as they say, is history. From there, Luke and Kendall worked on the Streetdog concept as a way to alleviate the boredom of their daily commute. Not only did it achieve that, but it also started them on a journey of finding investment, building a company, marketing and developing what is now a well-sorted, cool-looking, electric motorcycle (well, moped…)
I reached out to the FTN team because they’d recently relocated to Hamilton. Being based about 7 minutes from BRM HQ meant getting to them was a lot easier than hitting the expressway to Auckland, which we have to do with all the other motorcycle distributors. Also, I saw an announcement that the Streetdog was getting bigger, with an increase in power from 3.7kW to 5kW, seeing the new Streetdog 80 pushing the dog’s top speed from 50km/h to 80km/h, making it much more viable for commuters who need to venture onto faster roads.
For around town, the Streetdog is a heap of fun!
There’s obviously a bit of a ‘dog’ thing going on with FTN, with a large black four-legged fella greeting me at the door of FTN’s new workshop and offices just off Te Rapa in Hamilton, and a large coloured picture of a scruffy K9 also adorned the wall above a line of completed machines.
Speaking to new marketing manager Mathew Joubert about how FTN works, he explained that they had ‘production cycles’, meaning they waited until they had a certain number of confirmed orders in the bag before starting an assembly line and putting the customers’ machines together. With more space in the new Hamilton workshop than in the Wellington premises they recently vacated, a production run hadn’t yet taken place there, although the racks were already full of items like wheels and other components, ready for manufacturing to begin.
According to Mathew, Streetdog customers aren’t too bothered about waiting for their bike to be assembled, with certain bespoke options ensuring the owner knows they aren’t just getting one of a thousand or more identical machines. And with a black Streetdog sitting in the workshop with custom graphics covering the hemp (yes, really) shrouds, customers really can design their Streetdog to make a statement. Whether that’s for promotion of a business or product or simply an extension of the owner’s personality varies from bike to bike. But there’s no denying that the Streetdog is unique in that it’s a cool commuter.
It’s certainly better looking than you’re usual 50cc scooter!
Big Plans
The move to Hamilton wasn’t just for more space but more a necessity for shipping, because the FTN team have international plans. With Australian ADR certification pretty much sorted, the bigger capacity Streetdog 80 is garnering plenty of attention from customers in a country where distances are greater than here in NZ. And once FTN has Aussie sorted, the next step is Euro-compliance and hitting the northern hemisphere. That’s a bit trickier, according to Luke, who I was chatting with in the FTN workshop as he tinkered with one of his babies, as they are really strict on ‘electrical noise’ and making sure that all the charging infrastructure and electrical components are up to an extensive standard.
But it’s clear that this is a clever bunch, especially when I discover they made their own in-house software to run the electronics on the Streetdog which, combined with a sweet 2.1-inch round TFT dash, allows the rider to do things like have a security PIN to start the bike, monitor the system and all manner of other things. They didn’t just go and buy a battery either, instead working with LG to develop a removable Li-ion battery made specifically for the Streetdog. Their own battery management system monitors temp., cell voltage and power consumption to ensure optimal performance, while the unique design offers three layers of protection combined with four sensors to really make sure nothing goes wrong. And if you happen to crash a Streetdog, the die-cast aluminium casing provides impact protection.
Within 5 minutes of chatting with Luke, it was easy to see that this wasn’t a group of ‘she’ll be right’ Kiwis playing around with a push-bike and an electric motor. Instead, it’s a well-resourced, smart and forward-thinking group of passionate people who have found a niche by making a machine which is not only a great commuter, but looks cool and is full of top-tech. And they’re destined to go places.
Riding The Dog
With one of the workshop team giving me a pre-ride briefing, it became apparent that the team had thought about the functionality of the Streetdog. You don’t need a key, instead a fob touched to the FTN logo on the tank activates the ignition, with the stylish round dash coming to life. Unfortunately, the Streetdog I was due to ride had been given a custom sticker kit that had done away with the FTN logo, meaning a bit of a hunt to get the fob in the correct spot. But there is an alternative, with a numeric touchscreen and a personalised PIN number that also activates everything.
Being electric, nothing actually happens when the ignition is turned on other than the ride screen appearing. And it’s not until you flick the sidestand up, which on this model made a weird ‘spring contracting’ noise, that the Streetdog is armed and ready to go. It’s another safety feature as it’s all too easy to grab the throttle (or someone else does) when there’s no engine noise and fire an electric vehicle forward.
The riding position looks typical café racer, although the smallish size of the machine means it doesn’t feature the typical stretch to the ‘bars. Instead, the riding position is surprisingly natural, with that slim, brown saddle actually doing an okay job of offering a bit of cushioning. As there’s no tank as such, the cockpit is nice and open, and there’s plenty of steering lock with nothing to catch your thumbs against, making it ideal for inner-city life. The switchgear is minimalist, with just an indicator switch, horn and full beam button on the left and a switch to activate and another to open the storage on the right. It’s simple, uncluttered, and almost like the designers haven’t really followed any styling cues from traditional motorcycles.
The suspension is simple, like the rest of the bike, with twin shocks at the rear and a set of conventional forks at the front. The footpegs are fixed, so I made a mental note not to touch them down with any aggressive cornering, as I knew it would result in embarrassment. The brakes are scooter-style: left for the back and right for the front. And being a moped, there’s no requirement for ABS, which means the opportunity for skids…
Heading out into Hamilton traffic, and even though the Streetdog looks funky, it’s soon apparent that it had to be kept within the confines of moped rules. Off the line and there’s the typical surge we love from electric vehicles but then it’s like an invisible wall comes into play when the digital dash reaches 55km/h. And no matter how hard I pulled on the throttle, there’s no going beyond this number.
Realistically, that puts you in a tricky situation on the roads, as only inner-city traffic is likely to stay below this speed. Anywhere else, and I could feel the pressure from drivers behind, which eventually saw me concede to riding on the hard shoulder, especially when the limit increased to 80km/h. And looking at the back of the Streetdog to see a tiny red LED rear light and a set of tiny indicators positioned down by the electric motor, I couldn’t help feeling invisible in traffic. The front is better with a large round LED headlight complete with DRL, letting others know you’re approaching, but even that didn’t stop mums from getting bored waiting for me to approach and pulling across in front of me.
The latest version is the XR, which sits higher with a more upright riding position
Yep, a moped is a tricky genre. The law requires it to be limited to this sort of performance and then allows those with a car licence only to ride one. But I’m sure the fear when actually riding on the road either causes them to return back to four wheels or head off to get a bike licence to ride something faster.
The FTN team are aware of the issue and has come up with a solution – the Streetdog 80. This sees the electric motor increased in size from 3kW to 5kW, and the top speed increased to 85km/h, which is much more respectable. The battery is a 2.9kWh item and should give the Streetdog between 80 and 100km of range, although, as I permanently had the throttle on the stop, I’d imagine the lower figure would be more likely.
There’s no denying the Streetdog is unique. And it’s also well designed and executed, with nothing feeling flimsy or unfinished, and I’m looking forward to riding the faster version once they’ve got models completed later in the year. For me, a bit more lighting at the rear would be appreciated, even if it impacted the styling slightly. But when I’m riding a bike limited in speed, I really want those closing in on me to know I’m there.
For more on the Streetdog, head to www.ftnmotion.com
