[raghu67]

Hello everyone,

I have received my Ola S1 Pro on 23rd December 2021 and have clocked 4590KMs on the ODO.
My scooter was delivered with version 1.0.4 which was very stable and did not have any issues like battery range drop, unable to charge and all.
In these 6 months of usage there are 2 issues that I have faced.
1. Clicking sound below the touchscreen if ridden at speed over bad roads. This sound would automatically go away after a few kilometers.
2. OTA updates were never shown on my scooter, after 1.0.4 (initial software version installed on my scooter from factory) there were 1.0.8, 1.0.16. As there were no OTAs, I made a complaint to customer care and a technician came to my place to manually trigger the update. Once 1.0.16 is installed, I got 1.0.30 as OTA. But no OTA for 2.0.

While checking OLA S1 groups in telegram, a group member from AP said that he has seen many customers coming to Vijayawada service center just to get their scooter updated to 2.0. I also wanted to give it a try and went to the service center at Hyderabad and requested them to manually initiate the 2.0 update as JIO signal in my area is very weak and that could be a reason for not getting any OTA notifications. They have asked me to wait for 10minutes in the customer waiting area and assured me that the technician would trigger the update for me.
I came out of customer area after 20min to see that my scooter is being updated to 2.0 and felt happy as I can now access all the new features like cruise control, navigation and most importantly locking and unlocking the scooter using the app instead of typing the password every time. Update took around 30minutes for installation.
After installing the update, the technician took the scooter for a short ride to check if navigation was working fine or not. He has to check that because some OLA S1's VCU (Vehicle Control Unit - which is the brain of the scooter) has issues with the GPS antenna and navigation would not work. (Initially OLA said for all the 1st batch scooters delivered till March 2022, VCU change is needed. Later OLA said they have worked out the issue and there is no need of VCU change for everyone and VCU change will be made if navigation doesn't work).
The technician returned after the test ride and said navigation is not working and they will change VCU. They asked me to wait for 1hr and they changed the VCU and installed 2.0 software. He has taken another short test ride and confirmed that navigation is working fine, and I can take my scooter. No charges for VCU change. Not even chai paisa.

Today I used the new ECO mode in MoveOS 2.0 while going to the office (Pragathi Nagar to Ameerpet - 13KM distance). My observations so far are

1. ECO mode in MoveOS 2.0 is the same as in 1.0.x in terms of acceleration. We just got an option to trigger it manually in 2.0.

2. Initial acceleration till 20kmph is pathetic. Even an old chetak with 2 people and a gas cylinder on it can overtake ola and go easily. After 20kmph, things start moving. After 30kmph acceleration is good, by ECO
mode standards.

3. Top speed in ECO mode is 40kmph, the moment we hit 41kmph, there is a strong resistance from the motor. Leave the accelerator, everything becomes smooth.

4. If you happen to stop at a speed breaker, even giving full throttle is of no use, we must use our leg also to push scooter, especially if the speed breaker is the small cement type ones.

5. Cruise control doesn't work in ECO mode.

6. Battery consumption is as below in my ride
3% for 4KM
6% for 9KM
9% for 13KM

7. Remaining range reading is spot on as of now. I have travelled 13KM and now the range is shown as 157KM on screen.

8. Changing mode from ECO to Normal gives a good boost, as if changing from sport to hyper mode in 1.0.x.

9. The fan in charger now starts immediately after we power ON the switch. In 1.0.30 there used to be 3 to 4 sec delay for me.

10. Locking the scooter using the power button is working fine but in app, it shows scooter partially locked. Unlocking it and locking from app shows scooter is locked and safe.

[Pigcee]

Finally got the Move OS 2 update !

clocked 1200+ km and the update just completed the vehicle as a product.

Tried cruise control, works as advertised but not useful in bangalore traffic. Will be good in long drives.

Eco mode is too sluggish for my liking, always prefer sport mode, it's balanced . Hyper mode is just crazy fast for a scooter and easy to lose track of speed limits.

The app integration is neat and the lock/unlock features work great, but i find the screen lock better to use. And the whole no key feature has grown on me and would prefer my future vehicles this way. Btw my dad who is in his late fifties uses the vehicle more and finds it intuitive to use, so no problems there too.

Now the feature I really liked is the music player, I tried it for laughs and gags but I find myself using it regularly. Especially in late night rides, not choc a bloc traffic. Again something I never expected that I'd like but good to have.

My only worry is the reports about front suspension, so I'm being extra careful about speed breakers and potholes.

So as long as it works ,I'm super happy with my scooter.

[pjbiju]

Originally Posted by raghu67

Hello everyone,

I have received my Ola S1 Pro on 23rd December 2021 and have clocked 4590KMs on the ODO.
...
4. If you happen to stop at a speed breaker, even giving full throttle is of no use, we must use our leg also to push scooter, especially if the speed breaker is the small cement type ones.
...

After reading your above post and also referring to your post here (Ola's first electric car for India teased), I witnessed what I would call a coincidence of sorts.

There is a ramp to my apartment society's ground floor which has an inclination of around 12 degrees and is rougly 10 meters long. Yesterday while I was walking, a couple (slightly on the heavier side) was riding up the ramp on an Ola S1 scooter and it stopped after climbing more than half way. First the pillion rider got down and the rider tried to accelerate and nothing happened. He then got down from the scooter and pushed it up the ramp.

I think it may have climbed if there was enough momentum before reaching the slope. Out of curiosity I watched this video that explains the different behavior pattern in different riding modes while climbing slopes. The audio is in Malayalam but is good with subtitles turned on for non-Malayalam speaking public. So for people living in the hilly regions or if you are driving up the ramp of a multi-story parking lot and have to stop in the middle and start from standstill, this could be an issue. I think it should be possible for them to detect that the scooter is on a slope and then provide the needed torque until the slope has been climbed.

Youtube video link

[Pigcee]

Originally Posted by pjbiju

After reading your above post and also referring to your post here (Ola's first electric car for India teased), I witnessed what I would call a coincidence of sorts.

There is a ramp to my apartment society's ground floor which has an inclination of around 12 degrees and is rougly 10 meters long. Yesterday while I was walking, a couple (slightly on the heavier side) was riding up the ramp on an Ola S1 scooter and it stopped after climbing more than half way. First the pillion rider got down and the rider tried to accelerate and nothing happened. He then got down from the scooter and pushed it up the ramp.

I think it may have climbed if there was enough momentum before reaching the slope. Out of curiosity I watched this video that explains the different behavior pattern in different riding modes while climbing slopes. The audio is in Malayalam but is good with subtitles turned on for non-Malayalam speaking public. So for people living in the hilly regions or if you are driving up the ramp of a multi-story parking lot and have to stop in the middle and start from standstill, this could be an issue. I think it should be possible for them to detect that the scooter is on a slope and then provide the needed torque until the slope has been climbed.

Yes I've faced this issue too in parking ramps, the only way to tackle steep inclines is Hyper mode, I've tested in many scenarios and hyper mode easily overcomes inclines even in start stop conditions. But this is for steep inclines only, with enough momentum it clears inclines pretty easily in other modes too. Hill hold would be helpful in such scenarios but again that's due in another update.

[pjbiju]

Originally Posted by Pigcee

Yes I've faced this issue too in parking ramps, the only way to tackle steep inclines is Hyper mode, I've tested in many scenarios and hyper mode easily overcomes inclines even in start stop conditions. But this is for steep inclines only, with enough momentum it clears inclines pretty easily in other modes too. Hill hold would be helpful in such scenarios but again that's due in another update.

Can the ride modes be changed on the fly? I think this is where they should create a smart system to detect the slope and adjust the torque internally without the rider having to do anything. We already have such intelligence in vehicles e.g., hazard lamps coming on when emergency brakes are applied, an automatic transmission downshifting when the driver pushes the accelerator pedal aggressively or when the vehicle is struggling to pull etc. And if the S1has enough torque in hyper mode, it is just a question of programming it properly for such situations.

And yes, hill hold would be really useful. Otherwise unsuspecting users could easily lose control of the vehicle and have a fall when they have stopped on a steep slope.

[Pigcee]

Originally Posted by pjbiju

Can the ride modes be changed on the fly? I think this is where they should create a smart system to detect the slope and adjust the torque internally without the rider having to do anything. We already have such intelligence in vehicles e.g., hazard lamps coming on when emergency brakes are applied, an automatic transmission downshifting when the driver pushes the accelerator pedal aggressively or when the vehicle is struggling to pull etc. And if the S1has enough torque in hyper mode, it is just a question of programming it properly for such situations.

And yes, hill hold would be really useful. Otherwise unsuspecting users could easily lose control of the vehicle and have a fall when they have stopped on a steep slope.

Yes it can be changed on the fly. It's seamless and non fussy. The real culprit is the motor cutoff when braking, makes uphill starts very difficult. Hill hold was promised, but not expecting it anytime soon.

It requires some technical wizardry for such situations but too many loose ends for Ola right now to make that happen.

Overall, I think the Move OS 2 ends the beta phase for owners (fingers crossed).

[SKC-auto]

Without hill hold, auto cut off when brakes pressed is a problem on ramps. I believe hill hold on a scooter is unnecessary, just give us normal brakes.

The above video is very informative, with no nonsense talk, offcourse beautiful Kerala.

[ambandla]

Originally Posted by pjbiju

Can the ride modes be changed on the fly? I think this is where they should create a smart system to detect the slope and adjust the torque internally without the rider having to do anything. We already have such intelligence in vehicles e.g., hazard lamps coming on when emergency brakes are applied, an automatic transmission downshifting when the driver pushes the accelerator pedal aggressively or when the vehicle is struggling to pull etc. And if the S1has enough torque in hyper mode, it is just a question of programming it properly for such situations.

And yes, hill hold would be really useful. Otherwise unsuspecting users could easily lose control of the vehicle and have a fall when they have stopped on a steep slope.

In Ather, you have to clear accelerator and then switch the mode. This I believe is to avoid sudden rush of power. Imagine you are at 70% throttle in Eco mode and then switch to Hyper on the fly while throttle is at 70%. That will be a disaster for many. Well, unless the software brings the throttle down to 20 percent or so and gradually increases as per your throttle input (even this can be a problem as the scooter will suddenly slow down and accelerate). I believe leaving the throttle control to rider by reducing the throttle and changing mode is better.

[Rajeev1]

Originally Posted by Pigcee

Yes it can be changed on the fly. It's seamless and non fussy. The real culprit is the motor cutoff when braking, makes uphill starts very difficult. Hill hold was promised, but not expecting it anytime soon.

It requires some technical wizardry for such situations but too many loose ends for Ola right now to make that happen.

Overall, I think the Move OS 2 ends the beta phase for owners (fingers crossed).

You are 100% right regarding the 'real culprit'. There is enough and more pickup / torque to start pulling from standstill on a decent gradient (like apartment complex parking exits) with even 2 people on board, especially when the S1 Pro is in 'Sport' or 'Hyper' mode.

The brake plays spoilsport as invariably the rider holds the brake at some point thereby cutting off power to the motor.

I rode a test bike where the rear brake switch was not working (possibly a malfunction) but due to this, the brake-motor nexus was not present on this scooter as the brake switch also consists of the sensor which send signals to cut the motor when the brake is activated. This scooter rode without any hesitation on gradients as depressing the brake did not cut the motor.

[Vikram9193]

I took a test ride today. Had the overheating issue and the ola guy had to push me up a steep slope

A pity because the performance and handling is great for an entertaining hill ride. I rode in hyper mode on a small uphill stretch and overtook a few cars very fluently. The scooter corners beautifully, stable and solid like a good bike.

I then rode gently to a spot with an exceptionally steep slope. The sort that you do in first gear I think. It refused to switch to hyper mode. After a restart it obliged, and we climbed smoothly up in hyper. At the top it went back into eco.

This happened a couple of times. Since we had another super steep slope to clear on the way back we attempted it with a bit of momentum in normal mode. Not happening. Nearly made it to the top and stopped. Ola guy got off. In the meanwhile the scooter went into Eco mode. Now power wasn’t enough for even one person to climb the slope. So he pushed me the remaining few metres to the top.

After that we did another restart and managed to get into normal mode. Rode back to the starting point in normal mode with no further drama. In total we must have done around 6 km (sorry I didn’t check the odo), during which the battery managed to drop a good 12%, from 56% to 44%. Seems excessive by any standard, since most of the test ride was done in normal mode in thick traffic.

Battery temps were stable throughout at 38-39 C. Perhaps it is the motor or controller or something else that overheats.

It’s inexcusable how Ola has continued to sell this scooter without AFAIK acknowledging or fixing this issue. That said the ola guy told me he and a friend had done Mussoorie two up in sport mode, riding gently, and had no problems. I think that’s believable. Maybe the probably only arises in hyper. He did say that every test ride today entailed riding in hyper mode so maybe the scooter was already warm. Since my intended use case would be riding up to Mussoorie in hyper mode, I wouldn’t risk it. Imagine trying to drag this thing up Landour bazaar.. Then again I didn’t try out sport mode, it might be quick enough as well and it’s possible the issue wouldn’t arise then.

I think the least Ola could do would be to specify that hyper mode, like ludicrous mode, is meant for short durations and will disable itself from time to time. Whereupon the scooter should switch to Sport mode. Not to #$## Eco mode where you can’t even get up a slope or keep up with traffic.

Other small observations:

(1) there were vibrations to do with the motor coming through the handlebars and footboard. Quite substantial. I don’t ride a two wheeler everyday but I think its more than or similar to what a new Activa would have.

(2) the play in the grab handles that people have remarked on, was indeed present in this vehicle. I could live with it I think.

(3) the scooter was dirty, paint looked dull. We’ve had wet weather.

(4) The lack of sound is a safety issue as well as problematic for the enthusiast who wants a bit of engine character and exhaust note for their money. The horn button was a bit difficult to reach I thought, and one might want to use it liberally.

(5) easy to balance in a traffic jam but yes it is heavy and tall like an Aprilia. More sporty than commuter focused so there’s a trade off there.

TL;DR: the heating issue still exists, don’t buy this to ride hard two-up.

[Everlearner]

Originally Posted by Everlearner

This will be the most sought after feature and we can see roads becoming a music festival with budding DJs

https://www.cartoq.com/college-stude...vish-aggarwal/

College students in Karnataka were seen dancing around an Ola S1 Pro electric scooter, whose speakers were playing a popular dance number. The video went viral on Twitter, following which a netizen tagged Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal

[Everlearner]

Really?



Mods: sorry for back to back posts. please merge

[Gansan]

^^ I didn't know they designed the scooter! I thought it was a straight lift from Netherlands after they bought the company!

[neil.jericho]

These last few posts perfectly encapsulate why enthusiasts are so frustrated with Ola. On one hand, the serious issue of overheating and performance drop are still not being acknowledged or fixed. On the other hand, their leadership is celebrating victories that they may not have been a part of.

Imagine going somewhere with your better half and then finding that the scooter is limping around in Eco mode. Will anyone ask their wife to get off and push the scooter up a slope? If it happens even once, that very same evening, the Ola scooter will be on Olx and the next day a new NTorq or Jupiter will be booked!

[Aakash118]

Hi all, I’m thinking of replacing my 4 year old troublesome maestro (it had two breakdowns in last 10 days) with a S1. My usage is purely inside the town, for kids’ school duties or for going to market. Do you guys think S1 can be a good option or should I look at something like Suzuki Access? I live in a remote area and I’m not sure of Ola’s service compatibility in my area.