The Hindu Business Line : Evergreen Hero with an electric touch

With rising oil prices, the prospects for battery operated bikes and scooters are bright. Hero Motors’ Ultra Maxi is a good option for those looking for a reliable e-scooter that is well-supported by a network of dealers and service outlets.

Will definitely make the greens happy, but still an edgy experience. — S. Muralidhar

He looked very much the metrosexual. Clad in upmarket smart casuals, teaming a pair of Levi’s jeans and a Nike T-shirt with suede clogs and a pair of Ray-Ban, he seemed to be a fashion conscious young man used to the good things in life.

He was striding up to us purposefully, his eyes fixated on the new bike that we were astride. We were testing the Ducati Monster 600 in one of the swankier locales in Chennai. And gleaming under the afternoon sun, the stylish Ducati, red paint and all, was catching the eye of onlookers.

But what was this kid going to ask us. We hurriedly did a mental recall of what is the power, what is the technology behind its desmodromic engine, of course, the price etc., and waited to answer the first query from this guy who obviously seemed smitten by the bike.

Fixation with mileage

And then it happened, he blurted out the unthinkable. ‘Iska mileage kya hai?’ We heaved a collective sigh of resignation. Faced with an iconic, Italian bike, burly, naked and bristling with power, this young man only thought of asking about its fuel efficiency! Though we were disappointed, this was the not the first occasion when we have had to deal with this question.

Ask dealers of expensive car brands such as Mercedes Benz and BMW and he would tell you that even today there are potential customers who walk into their showrooms and ask about the car’s fuel efficiency. What is it with us Indians and our fixation with mileage?

One wonders whether the ‘green’ brigade will even have an issue to protest about, what with our urge to get maximum fuel efficiency from out of our vehicles. But apparently they do have an issue with our buying more vehicles.

Both the average Indian vehicle user’s focus on fuel efficiency and the green brigade’s protests about rising pollution levels get juxtaposed in a unique way with the two-wheeler we test rode for this week’s column. The Hero Ultra Maxi we tested was at the receiving end of stares that were whole lot different from the ones we got for the Ducati. The expressions of surprise, though, were similar.

Battery power

Running as it does on battery power, we passed by bemused onlookers; some even jiggled their little finger in their ears, checking to see if they might have had a build up of wax. Even for us, after hearing the amazing, raspy exhaust note of the Ducati just a couple of weeks ago, the absence of even so much as a whimper from the Hero Ultra Maxi took a bit of getting used to.

Hero Motors has a technical collaboration with Ultra Motors of the UK for developing and sourcing the electric motors that power this company’s two-wheelers. Other than the Maxi, the company offers six other models, with the Velociti alone featuring the higher-powered 500-watts motor.

A 250-watts brushless motor that is mounted right next to the 16-inch rear wheel powers the Hero Ultra Maxi. The motor allows the Maxi a top speed of only 25 kmph. The power pack consists of a team of four standard lead-acid batteries. Usual charging time for the power pack is about six to eight hours and the range for the scooter is about 70 km per charge (on average).

No licence to ride

Except for the higher-powered Velociti, the other vehicles are not deemed to be motor vehicles for compliance to CMVR (central motor vehicles rules) stipulations. Accordingly, Hero Ultra’s models like the Maxi, Flash, Eazy, Dash, Hi-Moto and Advanta are all exempt from RTO registration and the user does not need a licence to ride the vehicle. Further, these exempt vehicles also do not attract road tax. The savings from all that put together make the Ultra’s ex-showroom price an attractive Rs 29,000. For that price the buyer will get a scooter that is just a bit smaller (of course, a lot lighter) than the Honda Activa.

The driving force behind Hero Ultra’s electric vehicles is the pack from Ultra of the UK, which includes the reliable, low heat generating brushless motor, an electronic controller for ensuring a steady flow of power to the motor and consistent discharge of power from the battery pack and a charger. The company has also taken another safety precaution to ensure that a surge in power does not damage equipment. Accordingly, the Maxi comes with an electronic cut-off device.

Slow and unnerving

The Hero Ultra Maxi that we tested had a top speed of 25 kmph, which could go up to 28-30 kmph on a downhill. Riding uphill on an incline with a pillion was a bit unnerving, especially if the flow of traffic is relatively fast.

Overall though, riding the scooter in crawling traffic is not a problem. But if the speed of the traffic picks up then you will be left feeling a bit edgy. For once, after a long time, we got to feel how it must be for the average cycle rider on our cities roads.

Advising the user of an e-scooter to take the necessary safety precautions that the regular bike user would take will be a good idea. The risk of an accident due to high speed riding is not possible in such vehicles; on the contrary, the risk still exists due to their extremely slow speeds.

The higher-powered 500-watts, and in the case of manufacturers like Electrotherm India even more powerful 750-watts, e-bikes can generate more power, with speeds of up to 60 kmph. But then these are not exempt under the CMV rules and will become more expensive to own. Levies such as road tax, licence and registration charges will apply to these scooters and bikes.

Target consumers

So, now, to the whole point of who is the target customer for these kinds of scooters? It is not the environmental activist.

This is a very small segment of the population and unlike in the West, it is not yet the in-thing in India to be environmentally conscious.

On the contrary, the mass-market target for e-bikes in India is the ultra fuel efficiency conscious two-wheeler buyer, who can be wooed into the showroom with promises of running costs that are as low as 10 paise per km. Of course, the point that most manufacturers don’t talk about is that the cost of replacing the battery pack, once every two years or so, has to be included in the average cost per km, after all the batteries are almost consumables.

The Hero Ultra Maxi is a good option for buyers looking for a reliable e-scooter that is well-supported by a network of dealers and service outlets. There are a couple of points that could have been considered by Hero, including making the pack of four batteries easy to plug-in and remove, so that the user can carry it with him to charge them at his convenience in his apartment on the tenth floor.

Bottomline

With the price of oil rising steadily, battery operated bikes and scooters have a future. No wonder the big guys of the two-wheeler industry are all also considering adding these vehicles to their portfolio.

But, ease of use, ease of charging, longer battery life and a higher riding range will most definitely add to the allure of low running costs that they essential propose to the Indian buyer.

It doesn’t hurt to point out that they are also the most environment-friendly, as long as the electricity that is consumed to charge the batteries comes from a nuclear power plant.

More Stories on : Two/Three Wheelers | New Products & Services | Auto Focus | Environment

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