Indonesian social entrepreneur Iben Yuzenho Ismarson converted his sports motorcycle Suzuki Thunder into an electric two-wheeler.
CREDIT: COURTESY OF MR IBEN YUZENHO ISMARSON
Linda Yulisman
Indonesia Correspondent
JAKARTA – Early in 2022, Indonesian social entrepreneur Iben Yuzenho Ismarson, 42, ditched his car to ride an electric motorcycle to his office 5km away from his home in South Jakarta.
In 2021, he converted his Suzuki Thunder sports motorcycle – bought second-hand in 2008 and mostly kept in his garage – into a clean and noiseless two-wheeler at a workshop. The key changes included replacing its 250cc engine with a 3,000-watt hub motor and a 72 volt, 20 ampere battery.
“Its engine used to be quite hot and smoky. Now it’s very comfortable to ride,” said the founder of eco-tourism platform Sebumi. It is also convenient for him, with four hours of home-charging the battery proving sufficient for one week of use.
For Mr Iben, the conversion – which cost him 30 million rupiah (S$2,700) – is a “little step” towards adopting an eco-friendly lifestyle that is more affordable than driving an electric car and installing solar panels at home.
Mr Ardin Yekti Prabowo, 39, who works for a telco, also turned his Vespa PTS 100 scooter into an electric version in 2021.
Describing himself as an “early adopter” of electric vehicle technology, he spent around 28 million rupiah and got a more powerful scooter driven by a 3,000-watt motor hub and a 72 volt, 24 ampere battery that replaced its old 100cc engine.
A recent experience riding in hilly Bali conditions proved the motorbike’s newly gained capabilities.
“I was amazed because for the first time, I could try ascending extremely high ground with my scooter,” Mr Ardin said. “Surprisingly, it was so powerful that it could ascend with less effort. That’s what made me think that the electric scooter is very wonderful.”
The quality comes with efficiency, too. He needs to charge his battery for only around four hours, which he feels does not cost much, to cover the 44km daily return trips from his home in South Tangerang to his office in Jakarta, instead of spending 30,000 rupiah for fuel daily.
Mr Iben and Mr Ardin are among Indonesian automotive enthusiasts who are taking the environmental route.
For many other motorcycle owners, however, the conversion remains costly. Similarly, buying a ready-to-use electric two-wheeler, sold for around 28 million rupiah, is still not affordable for most people.
The government aims to see 13 million electric motorcycles in Indonesia by 2030, which translates into around 1.63 million each year. But, as at the first half of 2022, the number of new electric motorbikes totalled only 18,000.
While a massive shift to electric motorcycles has yet to happen, eco-conscious people present new business opportunities to small-scale workshops.
Emostra Garage in South Jakarta initially converted motorbikes into electric motorcycles in 2017, before getting more orders in 2018. The work costs 20 million rupiah or more, with the job completed in around 10 days.
The workshop’s owner, Mr Dharmawan Somaatmadja, 47, noticed that conversion demand has risen significantly since 2020, although it has not been as high as the demand for new electric two-wheelers.
Linda Yulisman
Indonesia Correspondent
JAKARTA – Early in 2022, Indonesian social entrepreneur Iben Yuzenho Ismarson, 42, ditched his car to ride an electric motorcycle to his office 5km away from his home in South Jakarta.
In 2021, he converted his Suzuki Thunder sports motorcycle – bought second-hand in 2008 and mostly kept in his garage – into a clean and noiseless two-wheeler at a workshop. The key changes included replacing its 250cc engine with a 3,000-watt hub motor and a 72 volt, 20 ampere battery.
“Its engine used to be quite hot and smoky. Now it’s very comfortable to ride,” said the founder of eco-tourism platform Sebumi. It is also convenient for him, with four hours of home-charging the battery proving sufficient for one week of use.
For Mr Iben, the conversion – which cost him 30 million rupiah (S$2,700) – is a “little step” towards adopting an eco-friendly lifestyle that is more affordable than driving an electric car and installing solar panels at home.
Mr Ardin Yekti Prabowo, 39, who works for a telco, also turned his Vespa PTS 100 scooter into an electric version in 2021.
Describing himself as an “early adopter” of electric vehicle technology, he spent around 28 million rupiah and got a more powerful scooter driven by a 3,000-watt motor hub and a 72 volt, 24 ampere battery that replaced its old 100cc engine.
A recent experience riding in hilly Bali conditions proved the motorbike’s newly gained capabilities.
“I was amazed because for the first time, I could try ascending extremely high ground with my scooter,” Mr Ardin said. “Surprisingly, it was so powerful that it could ascend with less effort. That’s what made me think that the electric scooter is very wonderful.”
The quality comes with efficiency, too. He needs to charge his battery for only around four hours, which he feels does not cost much, to cover the 44km daily return trips from his home in South Tangerang to his office in Jakarta, instead of spending 30,000 rupiah for fuel daily.
Mr Iben and Mr Ardin are among Indonesian automotive enthusiasts who are taking the environmental route.
For many other motorcycle owners, however, the conversion remains costly. Similarly, buying a ready-to-use electric two-wheeler, sold for around 28 million rupiah, is still not affordable for most people.
The government aims to see 13 million electric motorcycles in Indonesia by 2030, which translates into around 1.63 million each year. But, as at the first half of 2022, the number of new electric motorbikes totalled only 18,000.
While a massive shift to electric motorcycles has yet to happen, eco-conscious people present new business opportunities to small-scale workshops.
Emostra Garage in South Jakarta initially converted motorbikes into electric motorcycles in 2017, before getting more orders in 2018. The work costs 20 million rupiah or more, with the job completed in around 10 days.
The workshop’s owner, Mr Dharmawan Somaatmadja, 47, noticed that conversion demand has risen significantly since 2020, although it has not been as high as the demand for new electric two-wheelers.
“The manufactured electric motorcycles have standard specifications. Their maximum speed is only 45kmh to 50kmh, while people usually want the ones that can run above 60kmh,” said Mr Dharmawan of the appeal of converting motorbikes into electric motorcycles.
“The models are also not so varied. And converting can give us personal satisfaction because we can set the vehicles to meet the performance that we want.”
As electric vehicles are a “future necessity”, Mr Dharmawan expects enormous opportunities for conversion within the next five years, after which the pace will decline as more models of electric two-wheelers enter the market.
Founded nine years ago, Elders Garage, also in South Jakarta, started to convert Vespa scooters with 125cc to 150cc engines into electric ones in 2021.
There are significant cost savings, said workshop owner Heret Frasthio. For a 600km trip from Jakarta to Yogyakarta, a regular Vespa scooter owner spends 330,000 rupiah for fuel, while an electric-converted scooter owner pays only 45,000 rupiah for battery-charging.
Elders Garage converts 20 scooters on average each month. Its business has expanded into other cities, including Bandung, Medan, Yogyakarta and Denpasar, through partnerships with other workshops.
The workshop offers two types of conversion kits, costing from 18.5 million rupiah to 25.8 million rupiah, in addition to a service fee of 1.5 million rupiah, which can be paid in instalments within six months.
“The models are also not so varied. And converting can give us personal satisfaction because we can set the vehicles to meet the performance that we want.”
As electric vehicles are a “future necessity”, Mr Dharmawan expects enormous opportunities for conversion within the next five years, after which the pace will decline as more models of electric two-wheelers enter the market.
Founded nine years ago, Elders Garage, also in South Jakarta, started to convert Vespa scooters with 125cc to 150cc engines into electric ones in 2021.
There are significant cost savings, said workshop owner Heret Frasthio. For a 600km trip from Jakarta to Yogyakarta, a regular Vespa scooter owner spends 330,000 rupiah for fuel, while an electric-converted scooter owner pays only 45,000 rupiah for battery-charging.
Elders Garage converts 20 scooters on average each month. Its business has expanded into other cities, including Bandung, Medan, Yogyakarta and Denpasar, through partnerships with other workshops.
The workshop offers two types of conversion kits, costing from 18.5 million rupiah to 25.8 million rupiah, in addition to a service fee of 1.5 million rupiah, which can be paid in instalments within six months.
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