The Streetdog isn't your average motorbike - but the Kiwi-made e-bike is turning heads and flying off the shelves of its Wellington factory.
Equipped with a 3-kilowatt engine, a range of 100km and a 50 km/h top speed, the electric motorbike-moped hybrid is the creation of Pukekohe lads Kendall Bristow and Luke Sinclair.
"It falls between it seems a few different categories, we haven't found a word to describe it," says Kendall.
Packing a removable battery, 30-litres of storage, the stylish commuter is perfect for the inner city.
It's also in demand - the first batch of 100 selling out in a matter of days.
The founders of FTN Motion say it's hard to believe how far they've come in two years.
"You're so busy all the time you don't really realise until, in a few months you look back for a second and go, woah lots has happened in the last few months," says Kendall.
The childhood mates from Pukekohe had lingered on the idea since 2015.
"I think we've been friends for 20 years almost we went to uni together, we studied engineering together," says Sinclair.
"After we walked Te Araroa, the length of New Zealand we really wanted to do something more meaningful."
"We'd just moved to Wellington, lockdown happened, we were in the same flat."
They two built the first prototype in a "dingy little workshop", crafting it on a bike frame rescued from the local dump.
"We came out of lockdown with a fully assembled prototype and at that time realised we were on to something that was not only practical, useful for commuting but had good styling, something people might want to ride."
Co-founder and Head of Marketing Saskia Thornton says in 2021 they sold out of their first hundred early adopter models.
Despite pride in their work, the demand caught them by surprise.
"We didn't know what to expect but we've been blown away with the response," says Saskia.
The waitlist for their second batch due in July is quickly filling up.
"The fact that it's Wellington made, we're a Wellington company, so we're getting a lot of support from Wellington companies but also all around New Zealand as well."
Now a team of 15, she says they're looking to expand to Europe by the end of the year.
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