The biggest undergoing revolution of recent times is the Green Revolution. The world is transitioning towards a cleaner and greener mobility solutions and every OEM wants to have at least one electric vehicle in their portfolio. And why not? Of course, because EVs are eco-friendly, cheap to maintain, cheap to run, better for the mother earth and whatnot. But, there is one hitch that repels people from buying an EV and it is its cost. EVs are currently in their nascent stage and are very expensive. And to decode this drawback, some Indian college students have come up with a cheap e-bike called the 'Fuerza' Electric Motorcycle.
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The Fuerza Electric Motorcycle has been designed and developed by half a dozen students of Thiagarajar Polytechnic College (Salem, Tamil Nadu). The six students, namely, Elavarassan, Abinash, Ahmed Taufeeq, Balachandran, Chandradevan and Jagadeeswaran, aided by their faculty head at the Polytechnic College lay hold of an old petrol-powered motorcycle, scrapped its head and started working on it. Finally, after three months of rigorous hard work, research and development what materialized is the prototype version of Fuerza Electric Motorcycle.
The E-bike has been named 'Fuerza' which means 'Force' in the Spanish language. Now, talking about the development process of this E-motorcycle. It hasn't been mentioned anywhere that which petrol bike was chosen for the project but the pictures clearly reveal that it is a Yamaha FZ motorcycle that has been completely re-developed into an electric hog. What's even commendable is that it has been developed in just under 1 lakh rupees.
In an electric vehicle, charging solution and battery pack adds to a huge chunk of cost and thus the students had to choose components carefully to keep the costs in check. The electric motorcycle has got an efficient lithium-ion battery pack that claims to provide a real-world riding range of 80 kilometres on a single charge and then the recharge for the bike costs mere 20 rupees.
The E-bike uses a brushless DC electric motor as it is noiseless with high power transmission to the system and claims to deliver a maximum speed of 40 kmph. Also, like other E-scooters out in the market, the students have chosen a belt drive mechanism as it would reduce power consumption and at the same time, protect the electric motor's life. Keeping the Indian riding conditions in mind, the structure of the electric bike has been designed in such a way that it can bear a load of up to 250 kilograms at a speed of 35 kmph.
The electric bike made by the students of the Polytechnic College is high on practicality too. The fuel tank of the motorcycle has been converted to an all-purpose storage unit of 12-litre capacity. This overall electric system is customised to the bike with a front telescopic fork and rear mono-shock absorber that reduces the vibrations affecting the motorcycle and makes it suitable for all types of Indian road conditions.
We have already answered your range anxiety question as it runs 80 kms on a single charge but what if once it goes out of juice? The developers say that the motorcycle can be fully juiced up in three to four hours via their fast chargers. Talking about its development cost, the team had to shell out Rs. 98,000 to make this prototype Fuerza Electric Motorcycle, but they claim that it can be manufactured for mass-market buyers at Rs. 60,000 - Rs. 70,000.
The Fuerza Electric Motorcycle was recently awarded the project first prize and Rs. 50,000 cash reward by the jury at 'Mobility Mission Festival 2019-2020', instituted under the aegis of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). The Principal of the college says that once the lockdown is over, the College team would showcase their E-bike to bike manufacturers. This customised electric motorcycle produced from an old petrol-powered bike is an interesting affordable and practical option for intra-city commutes.
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