Savic Motorcycles
(est. 2016, Melbourne)

Savic Motorcycles is Australia’s first high-performance electric motorcycle manufacturer. Founder Dennis Savic is an automotive engineer who, after optimising car designs at Ford Australia, created a series of prototype e-motorcycles. After showcasing his first model at Moto Expo Melbourne in 2018, Savic began building a market-ready 60-kilowatt e-motorcycle from the ground up, supported by designer Dave Hendroff and a small engineering team.

On display at Melbourne Now is the company’s flagship e-motorcycle, the Savic C-series, first designed in 2017 and updated in 2022. The appeal of the C-series is based on the classic cafe racers of the 1970s, providing the look and feel of a handcrafted motorbike. Savic set out to create a vehicle that united the power, handling and stripped-back style of a traditional cafe racer with cutting-edge electric battery and power conversion technologies. A key challenge was integrating a bulky 80-kilogram powertrain. To achieve this, the Savic team designed a lightweight cast-aluminium frame – which doubles as a waterproof enclosure – incorporating the 140-volt battery pack and 80 per cent of the bike’s electronics in a structural chassis. In keeping with the company’s sustainable ethos, more than 80 per cent of the emissions-free vehicle is made from recyclable aluminium. Design features include Savic’s own customisable touch-screen dash, a specialised anti-lock braking system and push-button reverse gear. The design sold out its first production run and 70 per cent of its second without a single customer test ride.

Savic Motorcycles’ vehicles are made in West Melbourne. Its e-motorcycles have been recognised with engineering and product design prizes at the 2021 Australian Good Design Awards and awarded at the Victorian Premier’s Design Award of the Year in 2022. The company received grant funding from the Victorian and Australian governments to develop its flagship series.