An Indian Offering

The concept of electric vehicles is inherently fascinating to most tech and automobile enthusiasts since they offer to combine high performance with low operational costs. This is why we get excited over the launch of every new vehicle, irrespective of the segment. However, segments do matter; since the reason, electric two-wheelers aren’t dominating the industry is because most offerings are limited to the low-end scooter segment. This has changed with the launch of the Revolt RV 400, India’s first home-grown electric motorcycle from a company called Revolt Intellicorp. This is the first product from the company and will compete in the highly popular 125cc commuter segment.

The bike features a sporty yet bare-bones design, with an LED headlight, and digital display. The stance is aggressive, with most of the weight located in the fuel tank, which houses the battery. Since it is electric, you can control most of its functions via an app, which can not only start the bike, but also give you access to diagnostics, navigation, and GPS monitoring. You can also keep an eye on the amount of charge left, which at a 100% claims to deliver around 156km of range. Although, the figures drop rapidly as you ramp up the speed.

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The power delivery is quite linear, which is a good thing considering how instant electric vehicles are with their torque. You get three riding modes to help you ease up the learning curve, as well as limit the speed. The top speed is around 70-80kmph but the sweet spot will be between 50-60kmph if you want the full range. You can charge the bike with any conventional 15A power socket. It will take around 4 hours to achieve full range, or you could go with the option of battery swapping, which will be supported by an entire network of locations promised by the company in the coming future.

You can get all of this by paying monthly EMIs of 3,499 - 3,999 for 37 months, which includes the cost of insurance, registration and service. This is certainly a lot of money to pay in the commuter segment but is still quite cheap for an electric vehicle.

Same in Class

Super Soco TS1200R

At a similar starting price and an astonishingly similar design, this offering from Super Soco is the closest thing we can consider as competition from the international market. The bike even has a similar range of around 160km, even though the company had to lock the speed at 45kmph to achieve it. The charge time is around 6-7 hours, which is a bit longer than the Revolt, which is why it a good thing that they also offer batter swapping as an option.

CSC City Slicker

With its scooter style 12-inch tyres and 50-65kms of range, this bike can easily be confused with a low power electric moped. However, thanks to its low weight and small size, it is also quite nimble and can achieve a top speed of around 75kmph with ease. This makes it a great option for people who require a made in America, easy to manoeuvre vehicle for inner-city travel, even though the price is closer to the longer-range Revolt.

From the October 2019 issue of FHM India.