[kozhissery]

Originally Posted by vivek_lo

I hope my scooter is still in their works and will return one day.

What is the update? I was thinking of upgrading my 14 year old Activa to EV version before the renewal. So these kinds of feedback is very important for me. Activa is running smoothly and has clocked just 50K in the last 14+ years.

[aston_martyr]

Originally Posted by hikozaru

River Indie for me. Great style, lots of fun, super comfy, super storage. My mother too had a lot of fun test riding it. I don't know about easy to learn on but if everyone in Bangalore rode it, we would have much less traffic and we'd all be having so much fun while we are at it.

How are you finding it on the bangalore roads?
I have a 50km commute everyday, have been considering it. But came out disappointed on the first TR with the front end being jarring. Although i did hear things have improved with the new chain drive update they launched.
What is your typical range estimate?

[hikozaru]

Originally Posted by aston_martyr

How are you finding it on the bangalore roads?
I have a 50km commute everyday, have been considering it. But came out disappointed on the first TR with the front end being jarring. Although i did hear things have improved with the new chain drive update they launched.
What is your typical range estimate?

I don't have one, just took a test ride. Post on the Indie thread. I also rode only on tar roads, not the pathetic white topped ones but I imagine the stability helps there even more. But like you said the front end is jarring enough to lift up and give you a nice twitch on the bars when riding like an absolute tit like me and this was the one with chain drive. The rear was soft enough to work with the really forward set footpegs and the brakes are great.

[shresan23]

I wouldnt recommend any of the usual brands. Go for the indie brands, or the ones that fly under the media radar. Reason? Cheaper and more VFM. I own a bgauss electric scooter that has been majorly hassle free for 3 years now. I have a daily run of maximum 15 kms and it works just fine. The same brand, or other smaller brands have scooters that work just as well, if not better than the major brands. Of course, reliability and long term implications are to be well thought out.

With that considered, yes, please do get an electric scooter. Traffic is always going to be bad and as long as you dont see yourself moving away from your usual spots (school, sports, etc.,) electric is the cheapest and no nonsense solution.

[pradeepkc]

Originally Posted by sridhga

Any idea when it is going to happen. Any leads for such companies? And will that not kill the existing ev business from the Government's point of view?

Apologies for not replying for almost two years. I wanted to share an update on the topic of converting old scooters to electric.

I occasionally consult for EV companies, and I came across one that aimed to convert existing ICE two-wheelers into EVs. They started with popular models like the Activa, Wego, and Jupiter, undergoing the process of getting the powertrain certified by ARAI for each model and model year. This took a while. Eventually, they launched their first showroom in Bangalore and operated for about a year before shutting down. I never asked why, but I assume it was due to a lack of funding and the high cost of conversion.

I had my wife's second-gen Activa converted, but to be honest, the ride quality wasn’t great and it felt crude overall.

There's several factors for the high cost. The R&D and manual labor required for retrofitting makes the initial investment steep. And they don't necessarily develop all of the required parts. If they had achieved higher volumes, costs could have been lower, but it's the classic chicken and egg problem. Investors don't see demand for such a thing and these companies can't scale up organically at this price point.

I see some companies that are still hanging in there. Not sure how they are financially placed. One of them in fact makes their own motor too. The other one is primarily focused on last mile delivery, where the savings are higher for the end user.

These are just my personal observations, feel free to disagree.

If anyone is interested in conversion, here are two companies working in this area:
https://greentiger.in/
https://www.starya.in/