Blacksmith! The name doesn’t ring a bell. We can’t blame you! We had to do a bit of snooping around to get information too. Blacksmith as a company was formed in 2003 and ever since the engineers out there have been studying electric vehicles. The range and other details were being explored. However, the company also developed multiple prototypes and tested them. Their latest, and apparently, production-ready electric vehicle is the Blacksmith B2 electric motorcycle. The teasers are out and here is what we could glean from the images as well as the information on the website.
The Blacksmith B2 looks like one of the Harley-Davidson models. From the dark images, it looks like there will be a bit of bling as well. Especially on the front as well as rear fenders. The 18-inch alloy wheels also subscribe to the bling factor. The LED projector headlamp looks like a photocopy of the H-D Fat Bob. There is also a tall visor (adjustable?) that is flanked by the rear view mirrors. The handlebar too looks raised and should be comfortable as well. There is a regular looking fuel tank as well but we all know that this will be a dummy unit and could perhaps be used for storage purpose. A fully digital instrument cluster can be expected as well with some vital battery statistics on the tank as well.
We like the plush look of the step-up seats and the pillion gets a backrest as well. Overall, the motorcycle’s design mixes retro and modern very nicely. Standard telescopic front suspension as well as dual sided shock absorbers can be expected at the rear. Ground clearance is 200mm.
Just like Ather, there is pretty much a lot of information on the company’s website. For example, the powertrain is specified as having a 5kW asynchronous motor that links a Bluetooth-managed battery system. The rated power is 19.44hp while the torque is 96Nm. A 25-degree gradeability is quoted by the company. The loading capacity is 200kg which is pretty much good. There though is no mention of the gross vehicle weight. Two swappable batteries are available and the combined range is a claimed 240km. Blacksmith claims that these batteries can easily be removed and even taken home for charging. The charge time is four hours per battery. Top speed of the B2 is rated at 120kmph and is electronically limited while 0-50kmph comes up in 3.7s.
As far as the gizmos are concerned, there is artificial intelligence as well as inbuilt GPS. Blacksmith also has a traffic indicators which will warn the riders of other vehicles close-by, side stand sensor, occupant sensor, perimeter alarm, anti-theft alarm and more.
Now the most important part. Price. The price of the Blacksmith B2 will be key in its adoption by the Indian masses. Moreover, there is a question about its longevity as well as aftersales. We hope to have the answers to this very soon.
