Being part of the EV evolution worldwide has been an awesome challenge for the engineering and development team here at FONZ. As we move into the next stages of the uptake of EV’s FONZ has been developing Conversion kits to give our oil-pumping, gas-guzzling predecessors a second wind and bring that classic style into the future.

We were brought in to help give one of DEUS’ first custom bikes a second life and our engineering team went to work converting a very eye-catching classic Yamaha SR into an electric beast. The bike now boasts the instant torque that FONZ is famous for and even the creature comforts made possible by our FONZ conversion kits (i.e. this SR has a reverse function now… neat huh?)

The brief was more or less the same as when the bike was first built. An urban commuter that looks good and performs even better! The EV powertrain was tailored to the existing sprocket and chain existing on the bike and allowed FONZ and DEUS to build upon the character of the original bike. A custom PowerPack and motor combo was made to fit into the small frame of the SR. The FONZ EV conversion kit included the FONZ powertrain with a peak power output between 9000W and 10,000W, a 3.3kWh PowerPack, as well as a new brain (EV controller) which was pieced together to replace the original petrol power plant. Mounts were created to mount the bike’s electrical heart in a similar position to the original motor. This allowed the conversion to keep a similar centre of gravity to the original bike and retain the cafe racer’s handling and overall ride characteristics. The end result is one extremely unique classic motorcycle. First reports say that the new set up is “Lightweight, torquey, smooth. and is good for around 100km/h with 100km of range”. We think it's an awesome urban commuter to blast past anyone at the traffic lights with.

FONZ always prides itself on the customisation options available for our riders! A longtime project for the team has been developing a conversion system to help bring these vintage bikes into the future, and with this proof of concept up and running about the streets of sydney we believe there is a future for the classic EV conversion indeed. We wanted to say a massive thank you to the owner, Fergus as well as Jeremy and the team that were part of the conversion down at DEUS in Camperdown. It was a pleasure to work with such an amazing custom shop and we look forward to integrating this sophisticated engineering into more and more future projects!

If you’re a backyard builder and motorcycle enthusiast looking for something different for your next build, feel free to submit the form below so we can keep you in the loop as development continues. These Drop-in electric conversions are a fantastic way to revive the motorcycles we all know and love. They add a very unique character (and a fair bit of performance) to any custom motorcycle project.

Big thanks to everyone involved. To the future and beyond!

⚡️ Team FONZ