Upon its launch, the new electric scooter from Suzuki is likely to rival the likes of TVS iQube, Bajaj Chetak and Ather 450X
Though Suzuki’s new electric scooter based on Burgman has been on test in India for a while now, the company has not yet officially confirmed anything in this regard. A leaked image of a patent filed by the Japanese auto giant in the country revealing the design of its upcoming e-scooter almost confirms its plans.
As revealed by the patent, design of the upcoming electric scooter is very similar to the conventional Suzuki Burgman Street 125. It adopts the same Maxi body style as its petrol-powered sibling with a front-heavy fairing, a large windscreen and a rear tyre hugger.
Unique Internal Mechanics
Interestingly, test mules of the battery-powered Burgman Street were spotted on a couple of occasions. While its shape and silhouette are very similar to conventional scooters, the patents reveal very unique internal mechanics. Conventional electric scooters in this segment usually feature an electric motor and swingarm as a combined unit or take another approach of mounting the motor on the hub of the rear wheel.
In doing so, it frees up space within the chassis to create more room for luggage or larger batteries. However, in this case, the patents reveal a unique design where a drivetrain is located in the under-seat area connected to the motor via a chain drive setup.
Rest of the electric scooter’s electronics are mounted on top of the motor along with a speed controller, transformer and battery. While surely it is slightly unconventional, it does provide some other benefits as well.
The patent describes that the new layout aids air cooling through inlet ducts, outlets and fans mounted within the body. However, their detailed functions and effects on the working of the electric motor have not been explained yet. More details regarding this approach are likely to surface in the near future.
Other Details
While most of its aesthetics are likely to be carried forward from Burgman Street, there are expected to be some variations in specs. For instance, the front suspension units will feature telescopic forks, however, dual shock absorbers will be installed at rear to carry the extra weight of the lithium-ion battery packs. Alloy wheels will also be carried forward from the regular IC engine-powered model.
As far as features are concerned, Suzuki is expected to offer standard features such as LED headlamp, an LED taillight, a fully digital instrument cluster with Bluetooth as well as smartphone connectivity in the upcoming e-scooter. A few months ago, the Japanese brand also released the latest version of Suzuki Connect which now offers features such as Whatsapp alerts, SMS and CALL alerts, turn-by-turn navigation, charging status, riding status, etc. There are no details on powertrain specs as of now.
Source: Bike - rushlane.com
