RM Mechanics owner Robbie McKenzie has delved into the electric vehicle world, becoming one of the only South Island dealers for New Zealand Electric Utility Motorbike brand UBCO.
He said after first seeing the bikes he was hooked.
"I saw them advertised and I thought they looked really good, so I got in touch with them and they brought one down and showed me all about them.
"It was a really good team, the bikes looked simple but all the little things were well thought out and I was sold. I think these are going to be a great thing.
"The quality and design of the bikes was what really got me. I just wanted to get ahead of it and get into [it] before anyone did."
The bikes were the brainchild of New Zealand inventors Daryl Neal and Anthony Clyde, with the initial goal to create a bike that could survive on a New Zealand farm.
The farming application of the bikes was something Mr McKenzie thought would be very beneficial to this region.
He said after working on farm bikes for the last 17 years, he believed the UBCO bikes eliminated a lot of the problems they had.
"Most farm bikes aren’t cheap to fix.
"They are also lighter, more user-friendly and have far cheaper maintenance and running fees.
"I think the farm bikes will prove pretty popular here, for the farming of course but also the hunting. They’ll be awesome for hunting.
"They’re so quiet and light enough to just chuck on the back of a ute."
So far the interest had been "pretty good".
"We’ve had them a couple [of] weeks, we’ve had a good number of inquiries and have already sold one.
"All the feedback has been pretty good so far. We’ve only just got them in so it’s still a matter of trying to get things off the ground and get a few out there.
"They’re quite big in the North Island but they’re only really now just starting to filter down here."
"It is just basically a motorbike but electric and you’re eliminating brake cables, clutches and you also get regenerative braking so the motor brakes as well and charges your battery back."
Demos are available and Mr McKenzie is also offering to bring the bike out to a farm to be tested.
He said the hope was to eventually make it a standalone business.
"I think it will be tied in the mechanic shop for a long while yet but I’d love to make it its own thing eventually.
"We hope to move to Timaru eventually, so all you’d need is small shop, so that’ll be the goal, but we’ll see how it goes."
