[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by amey027

Its insane for a scooter. No matter how much performance you fill it with, its still a scooter. Like I mentioned, outside the warp mode, it felt similar to TVS which costs couple of tens of thousands lesser. Obviously TVS has the advantage of pricing it low because they are making money elsewhere, but a customer doesn't really care about that.

When an Activa which has been in mass production since more than 2 decades now, still retails at 1Lakh, Ather or Chetak or iQube costing 1.8 to 2Lakhs is not insane.

Of course, buyers don't care who absorbs the cost and the final price tag is what matters to him. That's where I definitely agree with the OP that a cheaper barebone model of the Ather should be made.

Outside the warp mode, outside the other tech, Ather feels like the iQube and costs less. if that's what you're looking at, that's what you've to buy.

ORR has a top speed limit of 50kmph. I own a Duke 390 and I don't cross that speed limit, never been hit by a truck.

Going at 50kmph you won't come under a truck, but the eco mode is best to cruise at around 20-25kmph. For anything beyond, it takes ages to gain speed and that's where it's dangerous. Specific to ORR in Bengaluru, with left most lane for buses, right most lane for fast moving vehicles, two wheelers are stuck in the middle. Any 2-wheeler is dangerous there, a struggling Ather in ECO mode is more dangerous. ECO mode is like the Yulu bikes we see in Bengaluru

As for dangerous, I test rode a scooter and it fishtailed every single time I accelerated in warp mode. No one needs it. It's a scooter for ****'s sake. And the acceleration is too overwhelming, one mistake and you could end up hitting someone.

I'm not sure on what surface you test rode it, but I've had the 450x for 2 full days and I did not experience fishtailing during acceleration even once. Yes the Acceleration is overwhelming, but I wouldn't term it dangerous. A mistake in any powerful vehicle including your 390 is dangerous, once you understand it (instant torque in this case), you can control it. This reminds me of the many comments that my father's friends old him when I got a Pulsar 150 in 2003.

Every single owner I know mostly rides in Eco mode, otherwise the drop in range can be significant.

The range drop is not very significant. Trust me, you can get same if not better range in Ride mode. I've got 80-100kms range in RIDE mode with still some 10% battery to go. This I've got with an avg speed of 30-35kmph. to get the same range, I've to have an avg speed of 20-25kmph. If I try to maintain an avg of 35kmph in ECO mode, it won't give any better range.

You can't just switch to warp mode for an overtake. You need to come to a standstill for that.

Incorrect. You need not come to a standstill to switch between modes. Just let go of the accelerator, switch and go...it can be done in a fraction of a second.

[am1m]

The Ather's an awesome scooter, no doubt. But to my mind, it's still a scooter. An exciting, great looking scooter is always welcome, but personally, I'm not going to pay a lot more for one. To me a scooter is for the city commute, that's it. If I want exciting, I'll go for a bike and right now, IMHO, ANY 150-200cc ICE bike seems more exciting than even the Ather. That might change with better electric bikes coming out, but till then.

On the speed issue, perhaps I'm not a great rider or maybe I've just gotten old, but when I'm doing 80kmph on a proper bike I feel a whole lot safer than when I'm doing 60 on a scooter with those smaller wheels. (Yeah I know a lot of younger folk just rip around on scoots, I wouldn't, I ride a scooter a lot more conservatively than I do a bike.)

In short, I'd rather enjoy an Ather as a rental, would never buy one at this price point. I love Ather and what they've done, not easy at all to come up with a great bike ground up. But they need some competition now.

(Come on Bajaj, TVS, Hero, OLA where are the cheaper escoots?! The ones made here I mean, not sourced from China and assembled!)

[amey027]

Originally Posted by am1m

The Ather's an awesome scooter, no doubt. But to my mind, it's still a scooter. An exciting, great looking scooter is always welcome, but personally, I'm not going to pay a lot more for one. To me a scooter is for the city commute, that's it. If I want exciting, I'll go for a bike and right now, IMHO, ANY 150-200cc ICE bike seems more exciting than even the Ather. That might change with better electric bikes coming out, but till then.

On the speed issue, perhaps I'm not a great rider or maybe I've just gotten old, but when I'm doing 80kmph on a proper bike I feel a whole lot safer than when I'm doing 60 on a scooter with those smaller wheels. (Yeah I know a lot of younger folk just rip around on scoots, I wouldn't, I ride a scooter a lot more conservatively than I do a bike.)

In short, I'd rather enjoy an Ather as a rental, would never buy one at this price point. I love Ather and what they've done, not easy at all to come up with a great bike ground up. But they need some competition now.

(Come on Bajaj, TVS, Hero, OLA where are the cheaper escoots?! The ones made here I mean, not sourced from China and assembled!)

Feel the same. I just don't feel confident riding a scooter anything above 60kmph. I can do 120kmph on my motorcycle all day long confidently, but the scooters scare me. Ather takes that couple of steps further.

As for ownership, I guess it just boils down to heart vs mind. Practically, Ather makes zero sense. People generally buy scooters for commute, going from point A to point B and nothing more. Yes, I would love if my scooter had a great design and cool features, but overall it's not really important. If you have money to spare and tired of putting in an FD, sure go ahead, buy one.

Although I do wish, they would sell a non-smart version of their 450 plus, may be call it 450 lite. It would help get rid of those ridiculous subscriptions and also bring down cost by around 10k or so, thus gtaking away sales/potential sales from TVS. Moreover, it would definitely attract more buyers. A visit to the Ather showroom is enough to understand most people don't care about that dashboard or even sport/warp modes.

[shortbread]

Takes a market disruptor to initiate some rivalry into the market. Ather now thinking of a sub lac scooter.

Ather Energy to rival Ola S1, Simple One with new sub-Rs 1 lakh electric scooter: Report

New Delhi: In a bid to rival newly launched Ola S1 and Simple One, Ather Energy is now planning to launch out new electric scooter in the lineup. The Bangalore-based electric vehicle manufacturer currently sells two bikes in India: Ather 450 Plus and Ather 450X.

Both the electric vehicles had remained one of the best selling electric two-wheelers in the Indian market. However, in comparison with the Ola S1, Ather Energy’s lineup appear to lag behind in terms of range and top speed.

Moreover, Ather’s current lineup is also priced higher than Ola S1 and Simple One electric scooters, with ex-showroom prices of 450 Plus and 450X standing at about Rs 113,000 and Rs 132,000, respectively. On the other hand, Simple One is priced at Rs 1,09,999 and Ola S1 is availing Rs 99,999.

Chief business officer of Ather Energy Ravneet Phokela told Autocar Professional that the electric two-vehicle maker is not worried. He pointed out that TVS NTorq scored over the Honda Activa if better specs ensured more sales. “But the sales numbers reflect a different picture.”

During the interview, he also revealed that a third product is in the advanced stages of development. The upcoming electric bike that is based on Ather’s 450 platform is expected to be launched in the Q1 of FY2023.

https://zeenews.india.com/automobile...t-2390771.html

[shortbread]

Still waiting Ather.

It's sad, between all this innovation and tech overdo, companies have forgotten how simplicity sells.