Best Bikes in India | No.1 Two Wheeler Magazine
Ola Electric have launched the ‘Gerua’ Edition for the S1 and S1 Pro. The company has also announced the availability of the Ola S1 in five more colours – Marshmallow, Millennial Pink, Anthracite Grey, Midnight Blue and Matt Black.
Tethering your smartphone and playing music was not enough for the blokes at Ola, patented AI model taking inputs from the frequency, amplitude and volume to control eight lights on the scooter to make a party spot on the go kind of did it for them. The new MoveOS 3 came with a bevy of improvements and new features and they work quite well, more on that further down the story.
Ola Electric roll out the MoveOS 3 for their products and the brand says it is the biggest Move OS update yet with over 100 improvements.
Ola Electric have clocked a sales of 20,000 units in the month of October according to the Vahan vehicle registration portal. And it happens to be the highest number of units dispatched by any EV OEM in the country. The company struck its lowest sales in June 2022 at 3426 units.
Ola Electric launched the S1 Air for Rs 79,999 making it the most affordable electric scooter in the Indian market. Major changes between the outgoing model and the Air remains to be cosmetic differences, the scooter gets a dual-tone colour scheme, tubular metal grab rail, standard telescopic fork up front and a dual shock at the rear.
Under the skin, the scooter houses a 2.5Kwh battery unit that delivers a claimed ARAI figure of 101 Km and weighs 99 kgs, it has a 4.5kW hub motor with a top speed capped at 90 km/h. The storage space under the seat is 34-litres. When compared to the siblings, the S1 gets a 3Kwh battery unit and the S1 Pro comes with a 4Kwh unit. The 0-40 dash is also slower when compared to the S1 and the Pro. Storage space as well comes up short.
In terms of features, the Air comes with Reverse mode, Ride modes, Ride profiles, in-built speakers, seven-inch touchscreen with smartphone connectivity and music and call management buttons. The scooter can booked on the company’s website for Rs 999, payment window will be open by the first week of Februrary 2023 and deliveries are expected by April 2023.
On the occasion of the 75th Independence Day, the Ola S1 was launched for a price of Rs 99,999 (ex-showroom). The company also announced their future plans for enabling India to become part of the global EV transformation.
We get our hands on the Ola S1 Pro for a thorough test in daily life conditions.
Story: Joshua Varghese
Photography: Apurva Ambep
Riding along with music blasting from speakers is something I have enjoyed in the past astride some expensive machinery and at the time, I believed it was a luxury that was well out of reach for most people. That belief was turned on its head recently. Particularly because I had just got the chance to ride the EV sensation everyone has been talking about, the Ola S1 Pro, and it came equipped with its own sound system. Now that is a neat party trick to woo customers away from the competition which includes both petrol-powered scooters and electric ones as well. A smart move indeed.
Even without the twin 10W speakers, the S1 Pro has enough up its sleeve to charm most people at first sight. Available in bright or subtle colours, this scooter’s bodywork is simple, curvy and elegant. So when the designers threw in exposed wheels on the right-hand-side profile, it only seemed a natural addition. An LED headlamp should be a contrast here but somehow it blends into the whole retro-modern-future appeal, as does the touchscreen. The seven-inch display is as important to the S1 Pro as a key is to any other scooter because this EV does not require a physical key. A passcode is used to lock/unlock the scooter, just like a smartphone. If you are among those who have difficulty remembering ATM PINs, then this system is probably not for you. Personally, I found it rather convenient. Foolproof? Maybe not but convenient all the same. The console also relays a bevy of information in addition to the conventional fare of which navigation (MapMyIndia supported) and music controls were the most useful during my rides. The LED headlamp that looks like a modern Wall-E has great throw and illumination for riding at night and the other lighting units are also fitted seamlessly into the bodywork.
So far we have established that the Ola S1 Pro is a smartphone on wheels but there is more. Under the floorboard is a 3.97-kWh battery that supplies power to an 8.5-kW (11.6 hp) motor which then relays it to the rear wheel via a belt drive. This bit should not need much maintenance because it is completely sealed from the elements and it is also noticeably more silent than any of its EV rivals. The characteristic EV whine is subdued in the S1 Pro. Normal, Sport and Hyper modes offer increasingly positive levels of throttle response and acceleration but compensate for those gains with a proportionate depletion of charge. Sport is great for a quick and thrilling run about town and Hyper offers the most violent acceleration that the scooter is capable of — Ola claim that 0-40 km/h is dismissed in three seconds flat and the scooter tops out at 115 km/h. With a top speed of 80 km/h, a more usable rate of acceleration and feasible pace of charge depletion, Normal mode made the most sense for me. Particularly because I would need the 100-plus km range that it promised. The early morning ride had me use full throttle for a considerable amount of time along relatively empty roads that also had a few flyovers. The Ola made quick work of overtakes whenever necessary and scaled flyovers easily as well but the indicated range also depleted just as quickly. At that rate, the battery did not last long. Within a few hours of shooting, I had managed to drain the battery completely. At the end of the day, my no-holds-barred riding pattern and generous use of the Bluetooth-connected sound system got me 74 km of range. Of course, more mindful usage should easily return more range per charge. Couple of things I liked about this exercise was that the scooter prevents the absent-minded rider from depleting the battery too soon. For example, Hyper mode is not available below a certain state of charge and the S1 Pro automatically switches to Eco mode on the lower side of 20 per cent. In Eco, speed is limited to 40 km/h and the indicated range is most accurate even with throttle-wide-open usage. Also, I would like to add that we faced no heating issues during the time we spent with the scooter.
By the way, the Ola’s under-seat storage is accessed using the touchscreen. So once the scooter ran out of charge, I was not expecting to be able to access that space. Thankfully, Ola have covered this by leaving as much as three per cent battery life even after the motor shuts off to access the screen and other functions. Even so, the system glitched once during our test and we were not able to access the under-seat storage. It was easily fixed by a quick reset but it does show that the interface needs to be looked over once more. The storage area itself is impressive because it can easily accommodate two helmets or one full-face helmet and the charger. When using a standard charging socket, the S1 Pro charges from 0-100 per cent within six hours.
The structural integrity of the single-tube telescopic fork may seem questionable but there was no diversion from the expected performance during the time I rode the scooter. It is stable under hard braking and planted while going through corners. The ride quality is also up to the mark over most city roads but over bad surfaces, it is evident that the telescopic fork is significantly stiffer than the rear monoshock. The latter is set up well and travels through its working range without much resistance to return a plush ride. 12-inch wheels with 110/70 tyres provide ample grip around corners and are ably supported by the suspension. This translates to an experience that is not exactly sporty but enjoyable all the same. Braking is managed by discs at either end and they do a good job of shedding speed and come equipped with combined braking system.
At Rs 1.40 lakh (ex-showroom), the Ola S1 Pro seems fairly priced when compared to the competition and then there are the subsidies provided by FAME II. No EV is still ready to outrightly replace traditional transport across all parameters but as far as everyday commute is concerned, this could easily be a smooth, well-equipped and interesting alternative to a petrol-powered scooter. Evidence of which was further cemented when I was joined at a traffic light by a gentleman on a yellow Ola S1 Pro who was having a smashing time vibing to his tunes. He gave me a friendly nod before taking off from the signal like a bat out of hell. I suspect he may have been in Hyper mode.
Also Read: TVS Ronin First Ride Review
The future is electric. This has been a term we’ve heard over the past decade. While it’s been a couple of years since the transition towards electric mobility began, 2021 saw a lot of manufacturers confirm electrification on a larger scale. Here are a few confirmed motorcycles and scooters that will be launched over the next twelve months.
Bajaj, KTM and Husqvarna:
After successfully launching the Chetak electric scooter, it looks like Bajaj are working on yet another electric scooter. While we’re still waiting on confirmation if this would be a KTM, Husqvarna or another Chetak, we expect this to feature a more powerful motor along with a larger battery to back it up. In the international market, Husqvarna unveiled two electric two wheeler concepts, the E-Pilen and the Vektorr, and we expect them to run the powertrain that Bajaj are testing in India.
We were recently invited to get a look at the Ola S1 Pro EV and ride it to bring you our first impressions.
Story: Azaman Chothia
Photography: Apurva Ambep
The Ola Electric scooters have been a hot topic of conversation since they were teased. Bookings went live for a token amount of Rs 500 and the hype was real with a ton of units getting sold out within minutes. Out here we have the top-of-the-line S1 Pro variant sporting the glossy Jet Black colour scheme.
There were many claims from Ola regarding the specifications of the scooters and on paper, they looked very promising. Unfortunately for this ride, we were given the scooter inside a gated community for a very short period of time and the location did not allow us to do any kind of actual testing. So for now, we can only speak about some aspects of the S1 Pro.
The styling is simplistic with the large body panels flowing and merging into what appears to be a blend of a classic scooter design complimented with futuristic elements. The battery in this EV is situated inside the floorboard of the scooter. It is powered by an 8.5-kW (11.6 hp) electric motor with a continuous output of 5.5 kW (7.5 hp) and gets a 3.97-kWh battery. The S1 Pro is claimed to be able to do a top-speed run of 115 km/h. and is said to take a good 6.30 hours to fully charge and a fast charger will be able to provide enough juice for 75 km in approximately 18 minutes. But like I said earlier, all of these are just claims and we have no way of actually telling you about it
The Commuta, Electa and Byka will make their way to India in January 2022
Elysium Automotives, an Indian startup from Hyderabad is all set to introduce a British electric bikemaker, One Moto, to India. The company will initially bring three scooters to India: Commuta, Electa and Byka.
The most affordable offering from One Moto will be the Commuta. Priced at Rs 1.20 lakh (ex-showroom), the Commuta comes equipped with a 2.0-kW (2.7-hp) electric motor that allows for a top speed of 55 km/h. Its 27.5-Ah battery pack takes about five hours to charge and can do 80 km on a single charge.
The latter two, the Electa and the Byka, will be premium offerings from the brand that will be priced at Rs 1.85 lakh (ex-showroom), initially. Both scooters will get a 4.0-kW (5.4-hp) QS electric motor capable of getting them up to a top speed of 85 km/h. While the Electa gets a 45-Ah battery pack while the Byka gets a 48-Ah lithium-ion removable battery pack. Charge times for both scooters are said to be five hours with an expected range of 150 km.
A creature comfort the electric bikemaker will be offering at launch is the One App. This application will allow one to track riding history, battery performance, access GPS, search for battery packs, book service appointments and allow for smartphone integration on the scooter’s display.
Elysium Motors are expected to launch the One Moto range in India in January 2022. The scooters will compete with brands like Rowwet, Benling and a lot more.
