2025 Streetdog EV motorcycle Review: No bark and no bite, the name is about right
Let’s start with the positives about the latest edition to the bunyoning, sorry, burgeoning market of electric motorcycles, the Streetdog. It’s not a bicycle, which is a start, although people who ride those might mock you or challenge you to a race.
And the name is kind of attractive, if you like dogs. And, in pictures at least, the Streetdog80 looks pretty good, like a stripped down TT racer with lashings of retro cool.
After riding it, I did also get a solid chuckle when I learned that the one I’d been brave enough to test was “the faster version of the Streetdog Classic”. I would have assumed the only thing this bike was faster than was walking uphill.
Apparently, however, the first Streetdog50 was called thus because it could only do 50km/h, while the Streetdog80 is, allegedly, capable of doing 80km/h (and offers a maximum range of 80km as well. You can get 100km out of the 50).
The cute little old-school speedo goes right up to 100km/h, but then I’ve seen cars with speedos that go to 350km/h, when they never will.
I would like to know exactly where a bike that can only do 50km/h flat out would be practical – a school playground perhaps – but the answer seems to be New Zealand, because that is where the brand, or its manufacturer at least, FTN Motion, is based (and where you can ride one with a car licence, no bike training, or ability, required).
Over there, the bike has apparently been a little old success, with the company selling more than 200 electric motorcycles across NZ since its launch in 2020.
The company is launching in Australia with an initial run of 50 Streetdogs, which are, I’m told, available for pre-order and selling quickly (more than 40 units have been reserved).
Depending where you live, you might be tempted by the Streetdog50 because in some states you can ride one without a motorcycle licence, which seems about as sensible as riding one without clothes.
Still, in Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia or the Northern Territory, the Streetdog50 is treated the same as a 50cc moped and you can ride one with your driver’s licence, just like a Kiwi.
In the more sensible states of ACT, NSW, Tasmania and Victoria you need a bike licence to ride any kind of motor scooter, which is, despite its looks, what the Streetdogs are.
2025 Streetdog price and equipment
FTN Motion describes its machines as being “a sustainable alternative to traditional modes of transport”, “purposefully minimalist”and “delivering an exhilarating and uncomplicated riding experience”. I fear the word “exhilarating” might be suing for defamation, but we’ll get to that.
Both Streetdogs feature a nifty removable battery, so you can pop it out and charge it at home, at work, or from any standard wall socket. It weighs just 15kg and takes 5.5 hours to charge from zero to 100 per cent. There’s also the option of adding a second battery to expand the range to 180km for the Streetdog50, which costs $11,260, and 140km for the Streetdog80, which is $12,950.
2025 Streetdog80: What we think
So I chose/was tricked into riding the Streetdog80, because I think machines that can only do 50km/h shouldn’t be allowed on public roads.
The best way to describe this machine is by using the word “insubstantial”, because it feels absolutely tiny, thinner than your forearm in fact, and firing it into busy Sydney traffic initially feels like taking part in a dare, or an episode of Jackass.
The tyres are thin and narrow – children riding past on fat bikes mocked me – and it was hard to escape the feeling that I should be pedalling, like those Uber Eats bikes that curse our roads.
Even the indicator switch is a tiny, thin little thing that feels like it might snap off if the weather gets too windy.
But it is simple to ride, just twist and go, with no gears, no back foot brake to worry about (the rear brakes are on the left hand side, like a bicycle) and easy, effortless acceleration off the line, and right up to about 50km/h.
If you’re cruising at that speed and you snap the throttle open, expecting the kind of savage surge that other electric motorcycles provide, you’ll be disappointed, as not much happens at all.
Personally, I like my motorcycles to provide the kind of protection from other motorists that extreme acceleration provides, so I felt a little exposed on the Streetdog80, a feeling exacerbated by its tininess. But after a while it did start to feel like a bit of fun, or at least like a bicycle with guts and no swearing required.
The regen braking is smooth and not unpleasant while the little drop mirrors on each handle bar are utterly useless. You may as well strap them to your ears.
Not for the first time, I found myself testing a machine that is clearly not aimed at someone like me – a mad motorcyclists possessed with derring do – so I tried to imagine if the Streetdog80 would appeal to me if I was just starting out on two wheels, or desperate for a cheap-ish form of transport that could carve through city traffic.
Well, yes, kind of, as long as I didn’t have to go any roads with an 80km/h limit.
2025 Streetdog80: Verdict
Honestly, I think the major appeal of a bike like this, aside from its eco friendliness and low running costs, has to be how cheap it is. And I’m not sure that any price over $10,000 feels cheap enough for a Streetdog.
This one might be for hipsters only.
Score: 2.5/5
2025 Streetdog80 price and specifications
Price: $12,950 (plus on-road costs)
Basics: EV, one seat (good luck going anywhere with someone on the back, although it does have pillion pegs), motorcycle, RWD
Range: 80km (WLTP)
Battery capacity: 2.9kWh
Battery warranty: Two years
Energy consumption: It can’t go 100km
Motors: 1, in rear hub, 7.9kW
AC charging: 7kW Type 2 plug
DC charging: N/A
0-100km/h: Never
