Much has been made about the demise of Australia’s automotive manufacturing industry en masse since Holden produced the last Commodore in 2017 – but that hasn’t stopped small companies making a big difference.
From Walkinshaw’s pickup conversions, Premcar partnering with Nissan and Mitsubishi for showroom-fresh vehicles, and the Volvo group building trucks in Australia too, if you go looking there’s a success story somewhere.
Now there’s a new brand to champion, with Melbourne-based Savic finally rolling out the C-Series motorcycle to customers across the country, having first previewed the electric two-wheeler in 2018, and faced a handful of delays along the way.
The brainchild of former Ford engineer Dennis Savic, the C-Series has all the attributes of a classic cafe racer, but with the advantage of modern technology, built around its battery and electric motor.
Powered by an electric motor which produces up to 80kW and 250Nm, the C-Series sends drive to the rear wheel via an Optibelt poly-carbon belt, rather than the traditional chains as found on the vast majority of bikes.
Fed by a 16.2kWh lithium-ion NMC battery, Savic claims the C-Series has 220km of combined range, making it ideal for around-town riding or the occasional squirt out on mountain roads. Charging takes place via a ‘Type 2’ AC port, allowing up to 3.3kW.
Its 280kg weight isn’t anything near the definition of lightweight, but considering the size of the battery pack and its every-day use case, it’s a manageable figure.
To test out Savic’s long-awaited creation, we set off on a quick loop of Brisbane’s southern city suburbs to see if the C-Series has been worth the more than half a decade of waiting.
Something that’s immediately tricky to wrap your head around is the lack of a clutch lever and gear selector, though thankfully the digital dash shows if you’re in the drive gear.
In its ‘normal’ drive mode, the Savic’s acceleration is predictable and linear. While it offers a different experience on and off throttle to a similarly sized petrol bike, it’s not as savage as you might expect if your only exposure to EVs has been hearing about Tesla Model Y Plaids doing ridiculous launches.
I’d liken the delivery of power to being at the top of the rev range on a litre bike, but the advantage on the C-Series is that you don’t need to worry about plucking another gear as the torque is near constant.
Switch to sport mode and the aggression kicks in, delivering a crisp throttle response where you wouldn’t want to accidentally slip from the grip. This, combined with the reduced regenerative braking in the mode, means you’ve got to have your wits about you, even though it still remains approachable.
Thanks to all that weight and its positioning, even from a near stop to full throttle you never feel like the C-Series is going to pick up the front wheel without you asking it to, with the balance easily transferring to that rear tyre.
Speaking of which, a pair of Pirelli Diablo Rosso III tyres are found on the C-Series, delivering the right balance between affording riders the grip to take on the twisties, while being compliant enough on the open road.
Helping to stop and steer the Savic C-Series are Brembo brakes at the front (twin monoblock calipers, 320mm discs) and rear, controlled by a Bosch ABS system, while all the suspension is developed in-house.
In fact, while Savic the man was a Ford engineer, the company utilised Holden’s former proving ground in Lang Lang to develop the suspension setup, something which is becoming more common in the car world and especially with Chinese brands.
As a result, the bike is predictable in turns and on the city streets alike, never feeling anything close to its weight unless you’re at the edge of what it can deliver.
The calibration of the brakes has also been done well. While I’d been warned the front in particular could be snappy, it offered a progressive feeling which complemented the integration of the regenerative braking.
That regen input can not only be adjusted by switching between the factory-set drive modes, but also by setting up three custom selections, allowing you to fine-tune the riding experience.
Personally, the normal ride mode feels the most like a ‘normal’ bike and is the most predictable offering, though those with a bit more confidence may enjoy tweaking the settings to deliver a harsher ride.
Overall, I came away surprised by the C-Series, having driven many EVs which are one-trick ponies and can’t replicate the driving experience of their petrol-powered equivalents, the Savic does well to limit its flaws.
Of course, this is not a bike for everyone. You won’t be able to do too many long distance rides thanks to its relatively limited range, while the extra weight might also be a bridge too far for some to cross.
With prices starting from $29,990 before on-road costs, it’s a fair amount of coin to outlay on a Swiss army knife that’s missing a few features, however – like with early iterations of the now most popular electric cars – it’ll find its niche community who can use it without limiting their daily lives.
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