EV aficionados in Australia will know the name Fonzarelli who are famous for their locally built electric scooters and motorcycles. Well, they’re still going strong and have a new model (the NKD X) and a new name; Fonz Moto.

And it’s cool, man. See for yourself in the video at the end of this article.

Living the dream life that I do, I got invited to take home the new NKD X for a few days, courtesy of Fonz Moto, which is their latest top of the line model. I collected my brand spankers NKD X from Fonz Moto HQ at Alexandria, which is an all-new (solar -powered of course) assembly, warehousing and office space the team moved into not long ago, really highlighting their success.

Although Fonz don’t publish their sales figures, it’s pretty safe to say that based on available registration data they have probably sold more electric two-wheelers in Australia than anyone else, ever.

The NKD X is the evolution of everything Fonz Moto has learned in the 12 years since they were founded and, of course, the latest in EV two-wheeler tech in its class.

To me, the bike is a kind of scooter/motorcycle hybrid, having 12-inch wheels and the compact dimensions of a scooter but a more motorcycle-like stance and of course, no step-through cavity. I really like the funky modern look and was impressed by the build quality.

Right off the bat, it’s appropriate to understand the category this machine falls into, which is as an urban commuter bike. I haven’t ridden a lot of comparable electrics or low-powered petrol bikes in this class lately, but for what it’s designed for it really nails it with zippy acceleration, respectable handling and of course, virtually no running cost. In terms of power it probably is similar feeling to a 150cc bike, with the torque of a 250cc.

It was a gem to zip through traffic and has plenty of torque (in the high power mode) to get you to where you need to be, quickly. It has a relatively upright riding position and decent adjustable controls with a neat left-hand brake lever, which activates the linked front and rear brake, alongside a conventional right-hand lever for the front. Pulling on either brake lever also triggers regenerative braking.

The right-hand control block also has a gear/mode button allowing you to switch between levels 1,2 or 3. Level 1 is the softest throttle response and lowest power, an eco-mode or good for wet roads. Level 2 is a nice halfway with significantly more punch but still a quite soft/progressive power delivery. Level 3 gives you everything the bike has in terms of power and torque – in such a light package, quite capable of popping the front wheel, as I learned.

Overall, I couldn’t help smiling while I rode the NKD X. The closest feeling I could relate it to was like the feeling I got riding a (slightly larger and more sophisticated) Honda Monkey bike – super nimble and enough power for heaps of smile-inducing fun.

I can see why Fonz Moto are struggling to keep up with demand because if you want a fun bike that is incredibly cheap to run, requires virtually no maintenance and just want to zip around the city, pop out to the shops or head down the beach for a dip, its spot on.

I also took the NKD X up my favourite test circuit, through the quite challenging West Head Road on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. This 65km loop includes tight, steep hairpin turns and drops down very steeply and runs along the edge of Pittwater, then climbs back up for a nice 80km road out to west head.

The NKD X was really impressive through this test run with plenty or torque to handle the steep gradients and punch out of corners nicely. The suspension, brakes and regen did their job nicely, too, given that it’s not a sports bike. Again, the compelling feeling was bags of fun.

I also did a couple of obligatory city commuting runs (40km each way) and zipped around my local neighbourhood while I got familiar with the bike and in this of course, it just excelled.

Ultimately, when it comes to electric anything, range is a key factor. The NKD X has the largest capacity battery in the Fonz Moto range and a claimed 200km urban/eco range. Based on my experience I would say that’s pretty realistic in ideal conditions.

At the other end of the spectrum, if you are a 6 foot, somewhat flappy, middle-aged man like me and you ride it hard on steep gradients, you could expect around 100km, similar to most electric motorcycles where higher speed equals less range.

The NKD X features a 6.2kWh battery which is designed for owners wanting longer range in between charges. On average owners can expect to see a very impressive 33Wh/Km although this will vary of course but explains the impressive range estimates.

For reference, the more exotic electric motorcycles I often talk about will typically use more like 60-100Wh/Km. It is removable, but their smaller packs are far better suited to easily taking them inside to recharge – horses for courses.

The NKD X also has a dual charger system. My test bike was equipped with 20A Level 2 onboard charger which provides a great recharge speed on Level 2 facilities and can be equipped with a variety of different charging ports, just remember to BYO charge cable. I also had the optional 10A Level 1 charger which works from any household outlet.

I talked quite a bit with founder Michelle Nazarri about the logic here and she highlighted that the charging options, like so many features available on the bike are inevitably customised to suit the particular owner’s needs as part of the buying process – a unique and awesome benefit of having an Australian manufacturing capability.

My bike was fitted with their 3Phase AC brushless permanent magnet motor that delivers 11kW and is mid-mounted in their custom swingarm. It’s a really elegant design and uses a beefy belt rive for smooth, maintenance free and quiet running.

The power of this tiny motor is really impressive and almost double that of their base models, delivering a claimed top speed of 100km/hr. It easily achieved that in varying conditions and in fact delivered even more on one of two safe and legal occasions.

The bike I had also featured luscious carbon fibre body panels, dual charging ports, adjustable levers, bar end indicators, a tasty tangerine orange frame, and a very handy Givi bag for storage. Universally, the response from everyone who saw it was “oh man, that’s so cool”

If I’m being totally honest I had no major complaints about the NKD X. There were a few minor things that I felt could use a bit of work, but in fairness that’s mostly because I ride much more expensive machines which can afford to lavish you with big-budget sophistication.

I also adapted quickly over the course of a few days and my quibbles faded away, which I think would be the case for most owners.

Having said this, I’d prefer to see a range display rather than just a battery gauge so I can instantly tell when it’s time to head to a charger without having to guestimate. Likewise, there’s no external indication of how long it will take to charge, although you can easily pop the seat and see the simple LED display on the battery pack. Pretty damn minor.

In fairness, Michelle and I talked a lot about both these calculations can and have been provided before – but making them accurate and dynamic (ie to changing riding style, conditions etc) – it’s highly complex and they need to right or can mislead. As an example, Zero motorcycles continue to have seemingly endless problems creating a trustworthy range calculation in their much more expensive bikes so I think Fonz Moto have probably made the right decision to keep things simple.

The way the regen operates on the Fonz was also something that took a bit of acclimatisation for me – another topic Michelle and I talked about at length.

To Fonz Moto’s credit, they have listened carefully to customer feedback and it has resoundingly shown a preference for regen on braking only, with no regen on closed throttle, despite that being my personal preference.

I’m okay with it being triggered by the brake levers, but felt like it would be more user-friendly if it was a bit more progressive.

Lastly, I also want to talk about throttle response. Predictable, linear and progressive throttle response is (in my humble opinion) the best thing about electric motorcycles.

The Fonz delivers really well but I did find that in the highest power mode it could use a bit of fine-tuning. I found it so snappy that I had to be careful, or it would unsettle the bike which is exacerbated by its super lightweight.

I also found it a bit unpredictable because it seems to taper off from the peak pretty quickly.

Now, I don’t want to be overly critical about this because the more I rode it, the more I became accustomed to it. Also, there are two other power modes that are buttery smooth in their power delivery, albeit just a bit less powerful. It’s just something to be conscious of.

Overall, the finish and build quality was a really high standard, so full marks for that. I loved how nimble and light it was, the dual charging options provided great versatility and personally I reckon the larger battery/range was spot on. I really liked the linked brake, which is super user-friendly and activates the front and rear brakes for really stable braking.

Did I mention smile-inducing fun? Honestly, I reckon this is the bike’s most endearing feature.

Lastly, the million-dollar question many of my friends asked was “Would you buy one?”. If I was in the market for a compact and lightweight electric bike, oozing style for getting around town with very decent range for a two-wheeler, the answer would be yes, absolutely.

Apart from the great build quality and power for its class, the main reasons I would say yes to this bike over the alternatives is because Fonz Moto can customise to suit me, and I’ve got local support. The only alternative is a budget-oriented fully imported machine that hasn’t been built with Australian owners in mind – and that’s really not a great alternative at all.

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