With the increasing popularity of electric scooters, Blacksmith coming new designs are coming up all over the place. The latest one is the B3 from Blacksmith, and it’s likely one of the more interesting electric scooters to be unveiled. The first thing interesting to note about the Blacksmith B3 electric scooter is that it diverges from the standard Vespa-style scooter design.
Blacksmith, the Chennai is an India based electric motorcycle startup, the design of the B3 is based mostly on their stunning B2 electric cruiser motorcycle unveiled earlier this summer. The Blacksmith B3 is powered by a 5 kW (6.7 hp) continuous electric motor which is rated for an actual peak power of 14.5 kW (19.4 hp). That helps the B3 reach its top speed of up to 120 km/h (75 mph). The B3 offers speed limiting though, with the capability of being electronically limited to lower top speeds, which likely helps it with regulatory hurdles in various countries.
The battery used is described as a high energy density NMC battery pack with Intelligent Bluetooth BMS, though the capacity hasn’t yet been revealed. Blacksmith claims the B3 can reach a maximum range of 120 km (75 mi), though it is not clear at what speed. The Blacksmith B3 has a rated capacity of 200 kg (441 lb), meaning two larger riders will not be an issue for it. It has also been estimated to climb grades as high as 25 degrees.
The B3 is featured with patent-pending traffic indicators to notify the rider of approaching traffic on either side of the scooter. These types of sensors are generally employed on electric motorcycles before, but they are rare on electric scooters. The scooter comes with built-in GPS, another feature becoming increasingly common on electric bikes and scooters.
The Blacksmith B3 electric scooter is designed in such a way to have swappable batteries, just like its big brother and the B2 electric motorcycle. Blacksmith actually has the only Indian patent for a battery swap station.
The Blacksmith B3 and B2 both have joined a number of new electric bikes and scooters coming out of India recently. The country is considering outlawing most non-electric two and three-wheeled vehicles by 2025, making the push for electric motorcycles and scooters that is of great importance for India.
