Used Motorcycles Require Repairs Before Conversion to Electric Motorcycles

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The government wants to convert 120 million petrol-powered motorcycles into electric motorcycles. As a major step towards environmentally friendly transportation in Indonesia.

Spokesperson for KOSMIK (Indonesian electric motorcycle community), Hendro Sutono, said that in practice, the conversion process is not as straightforward as imagined.

Hendro explained, based on workshop experience, almost no used petrol motorcycles can be directly converted without thorough repairs first.

He explained that motorcycles aged five to ten years that come to the workshop generally require many component replacements at once. From lights, tyres, rims, bearings, drums, brake pads, to handlebars.

“This is not just about replacing the engine. This is about the basic roadworthiness of the vehicle that has been worn by age and mileage. At that point, all that remains of the ‘old motorcycle’ is its frame,” he said.

According to Hendro, this condition makes the conversion process more complex. Because, before installing the electrical components, all basic parts of the vehicle must be ensured to be roadworthy.

He added that after the repair list is compiled, questions often arise regarding cost efficiency.

“When the repair list is finished being written, the same question often arises in the minds of technicians: why bother, if this amount of money is enough to buy a new one?” said Hendro.

“Good policy is not the one that sounds most advanced. Good policy is the one that is most feasible to implement, easiest to measure, and most tangible in results on the ground,” he stated.

“The conversion programme may sound innovative and circular on paper. But in small workshops across Indonesia, the technicians already know the answer,” he said.

“Old motorcycles, with all the components that must be replaced one by one, are already too weary to be transformed,” said Hendro.