The latest electric bike to hit Australian streets comes from New Zealand manufacturer FTN Motion. To coincide with the Everything Electric event and the local launch of the brand we managed to get our hands on a Streetdog80.
On a wet and gloomy afternoon in Sydney, we arrived at Zen Motorcycles, who incidentally will be a delivery partner for the brand, to pick up our test bikes. Waiting for us were two Streetdog80’s, fully charged and ready to roll (it’s also available in a smaller 50).
Although the weather wasn’t the best, it wasn’t going to dampen our spirits. After an introduction about the bikes, it was nearly time to hit the road. First though, a bit of a history lesson on these guys.
Founders of FTN Motion Luke and Kendall began tinkering with the idea of producing an electric bike back in 2020. With the assistance of some excited investors it wasn’t long until 10 beta bikes were sold, and now there are just over 200 Streetdogs on the streets in NZ.
They’ve has now crossed the ditch, with the Streetdog achieving ADR approval. To date, 40+ examples of this truly unique looking motorcycle have been pre-ordered in Australia, with first deliveries expected in mid-2025. Easy on the eye, they certainly attract attention.
Testing them in Sydney alongside the team from Bike Review, our bikes were presented in American Mustard and British Racing Green, in Classic trim. The Streetdog is small and nimble too, and had this human wondering if it was too small for his physique.
Yours truly stands just over 180cm and tips the scales at roughly 100kg, for reference. In comparison, the Streetdog80 weighs in at 88kg, ensuring it’s easy to move around the garage or parking spaces in the city.
Making our way into the urban jungle that is the Sydney CBD during peak hour, our route would see us head to Redfern, down Harris Street, through Pyrmont and over the Harbour Bridge, before making our way to Milsons Point for some happy snaps.
We would then weave our way back through the city, further testing the Streetdog80’s credentials and ride modes. With unique cafe racer styling, which is on point, the Streetdog80 is a hell of a lot of fun to commute on.
Its stature makes it perfect for lane filtering, and it works surprisingly well, ergonomically. The bench seat puts the rider in good position to be able to control the bike, especially in tight situations and is comfortable to cruise on at top speed, which is just over 80km/h.
The clip on style handlebars not only look good aesthetically but house the indicators, along with buttons to turn the bike on, access menu functions and activate Eco mode. There’s also a Normal mode that offers full power.
The beauty of having two test bikes is you can compare performance of things like ride modes side-by-side. Pulling away from lights, Normal mode is definitely much quicker than Eco, and that performance is carried through to the top of the bikes speed limit.
A TFT display works well and presents clear information that’s easy to read on the move. It shows speed, range (distance to empty) and distance travelled. It also has a nifty pin lock feature so you can unlock your bike if you lose or leave your fob at home.
Suspension also gets a massive tick. We expected it to be a little underdone and were pleasantly surprised by the amount of travel offered over manhole covers and potholes. Braking is good too, with the rear brake offering a lot of stopping power.
As our bikes were new, the front brake did take a few kilometres to bed in, but after the first 15km or so, it was pretty good. The Streetdog80 comes standard with one battery and offers a range of up to 80km.
If optioned with a second battery, that range increase up to 140km. This is impacted by external factors such as wind, rider weight, riding conditions and the like, all of which is pretty normal for most electric offerings.
The batteries can be easily removed for charging away from the bike, which is also a handy feature if you don’t have a garage. You can do that via a standard household powerpoint, which should take around five or six hours.
With a plethora of storage compartments and an abundance of style, the Streetdog80 is sure to be a hit with city commuters. Perhaps this is the most practical and fun EV commuter to hit the Australian market to date – time will tell.
We were certainly impressed. The FTN Motion Streetdog80 is available from $12,930 plus on-roads. You can configure your own on their Australian website or by talking to your local dealership.
Our test bikes were provided by FTN Motion for independent review purposes.
