Not a lot has come out of New Zealand that I don’t like – Jacinta Arden, Possum Bourne, Bruce McLaren, Courtney Duncan (MXGP Champion) and, of course, the wine. For such a small strip of island, they punch well above their weight in so many areas, and that is why I must tell you more about the Kiwi motorcycle start-up, FTN Motion.
Luke Sinclair and Kendall Bristow created FTN Motion out of the frustration of sitting in hours of noisy, polluting traffic and dropping too much cash at the bowser. I don’t know NZ traffic, but imagine if they lived in LA. They might have built some kind of e-hovercraft blimps. The aim was to create a quiet, stress-free, environmentally friendly commuter – the ‘Streetdog’. Soon, they connected with now co-founder Saskia Thornton from Amsterdam, and well, they know stuff in the Netherlands. They’re progressive, well-balanced, environmentally conscious and occasionally high. All the good things in life.
So, what is this bike? Designed and built in New Zealand, the Streetdog80 has a top speed of 80km/h and 30-litres of lockable storage. Its battery is removable and can be charged anywhere there is a power point.
Engineers by trade, Luke and Kendall’s lightbulb concept began from humble beginnings, tinkering in their garages with the idea of strapping electric power onto pushbikes. This concept evolved and very quickly found momentum. In 2020, during COVID, they completed their first prototype. The half-Kiwi, half-Dutch Saskia Thornton, a brand-building and business development expert, joined the team, and in 2021, they pre-sold all available 100 ‘Streetdogs’ to their NZ pool of moto peeps. Come 2024, they have closed their books to investors (with a tidy NZD $2.6million raised in the recent round) and recruited talent like the newly announced former CEO of Dyson, Roland Krueger, as an advisor and shareholder alongside Jamie France, who most recently led Engineering, Production and Launch for the electron rocket at New Zealand space company Rocket Lab.
Before Dyson, Roland had an extensive career in automotive as the former president of Infiniti, a major division of Nissan responsible for its premium cars, and previously held roles at BMW. He explains: “The Streetdog is brilliant in its simplicity. The way the Streetdog’s storage is integrated into the body of the bike is one of those ideas so perfectly simple, you wonder why no one else thought of it before.”
“It builds on the heritage of pure motorcycle design and combines it with the latest EV technology, allowing a new transport method. With the Streetdog, FTN has huge potential and a real chance of becoming an iconic brand,” he says. Sounds exciting huh!
Jamie France joined New Zealand space company Rocket Lab in 2014 when it was still a start-up so has plenty of experience in the tech start up space. He is now the Head of Manufacturing and Supply Chain at Fleet Space Technologies.
“The bikes that FTN make transform a customer’s daily commute into the most enjoyable part of their day – bringing that experience to new international locations is an awesome opportunity,” Jamie says.
Busy people like Roland and Jamie don’t commit to any old concept. The Streetdog is expected to arrive here in 2025, and Roland and Jamie’s contribution will be key to this launch.
Co-founder Luke Sinclair explains, “We’re stoked to have them join as we ramp up our plans to export, beginning with Australia. They get the vision and most critically, understand the supply chain, quality control and cashflow challenges unique to a manufacturing company with a technically complex product.”
FTN Motion moved to a new purpose-built facility in the Waikato region at the start of 2024 to scale for exports in Australia and beyond, aiming to build 70 Streetdogs a month. All are hand built and fully customisable.
Release the hounds; let’s get these puppies on the road! Whichever way you look at it, the Streetdog80s will be an exciting addition to our Australian moto culture.
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