Last year, he decided to convert his sports motorcycle Suzuki Thunder, bought second-hand in 2008 and mostly kept in his garage, into a clean and noiseless two-wheeler at a workshop. The key changes included replacing its 250cc engine with a 3,000-watt hub motor and a 72 volt 20 ampere battery.
Private company employee Ardin Yekti Prabowo, 39, also turned his Vespa scooter PTS 100 into an electric version last year. Mr Iben and Mr Ardin are among Indonesian automotive enthusiasts who are taking the environmental route. But, for many other motorcycle owners, the conversion remains costly. Similarly, buying a ready-to-use electric two-wheeler, sold for around 28 million rupiah, is still not affordable for most people.
Emostra Garage in South Jakarta initially converted bikes into electric motorcycles in 2017, before getting more orders in 2018. The work costs 20 million rupiah or more, with the job done in around 10 days. “The models are also not so varied. And converting can give us personal satisfaction because we can set the vehicles to meet the performance that we want.”
The electric scooter market is not the focus of Tesla but there is a large need for this in the Third world. Wonder if there is a tesla of the scooter world?
The electric scooter market is not the focus of Tesla but there is a large need for this in the Third world. Wonder if there is a tesla of the scooter world?