Ampere V60 Review by Saran

Hi friends! Hope you’ve read all the other reviews about bikes from an LML Vespa to a Yamaha R15 to a Royal Enfield Thunderbird. Okay. Now let me just take you on a different path altogether where you could know more that you’ve known till now. As you all know I am Saran residing in Coimbatore city.

Something About my City

Heavy traffic during peak hours and during other times, even the city road is a highway. Lots and lots of bikes than cars. Marketing and sales guys, cool girls, Handsome guys [like u & me], old aged, physically challenged. All in their own means of commute. Petrol price – Rs.63.20 avg.

Something About Me

  • MBA final trimester project.
  • Passionate biker.
  • Love reading bike reviews and posting comments.
  • Love writing boring reviews and making others read.
  • Always want to differentiate myself from the crowd (that’s why I bought a yellow RTR160 – regret now coz everywhere I see it).

Something About the Review

  • I wanted to keep the language simple for good understanding (False reason).
  • You probably might not have heard of this bike. (may be appealing only to a few)
  • This review contains more of informative stuffs than reviews (Sorry if it is boring)
  • This is not a review of my bike but it belongs to a friend of mine Vinoth. I’m writing on behalf of him.
  • The choice of this bike will say about his personality too.

 

No suspense anymore. The review is about an EV (Electric Vehicle) called “V60” from the house of “Ampere Electric Vehicles Pvt Ltd.” Without any further discussion let me discuss about the bike.

Design & Colours

Well, as you see, the design is so simple and plain (so do most other scootrets). These E-Bikes don’t concentrate more on the design part because plain sheets of fibre are light and cheap too. The body is all-plastic and the quality is not all that great. But it is not what they are built for right?

The design does look a bit odd and surely differentiates it from other scootrets but still it is not too bad. This bike is available in three colours: Red, Blue and Silver Metallic.

Loading Capacity

The bike is built on a steel frame same as that of other scootrets. The frame is designed in such a way that it has an optimum balance between light weight and strength. With a maximum loading capacity of 250Kg, it takes on two people with ease. I mean, that’s really cool! Even when loaded with 200 Kg of load, it reaches a top speed of 45kmph.

Suspension

In the front, it has standard telescopic suspension and in the rear, it has dual coil spring suspension. The suspension is really good and takes on rough roads very well even with two people on-board. But continuous exposure to such roads will test its limits.

Seating

The seats are comfortable for two. The quality (as usual) is not great but its comfortable for driving short distances. The front foot space is spacious with flat floor which can hold a full size gas cylinder.

It has a foldable foot rest in the left for ladies. Though there is no saree guard, there is a plastic cover that covers the wires running from the Controller to the Drive Motor. The Grab rails are practical.

Light & Indicators

It has two LED lights with reflectors which gives sufficient light. But most of the times when there is some light on the opposite side, it feels it is not sufficient. There are also those small blue and red LEDs near the headlamps for fancy lighting.

The indicators are really functional and there is also a buzzer accompanying it. The Horn sounds sound. The cool thing is that there is a separate dynamo and a battery to operate these electrical parts so no fear that we may loose battery power while the indicators and horn are operated.

Dials

The meter console is functional with power indicator, speedo meter, odo meter, fuel indicator and over rev indicator. The fuel indicator is more like the ones in other scootrets. But it would be nice if it had been a meter which can show how many kms can be covered with the available power. The speedo reads 60kmph but it would never cross 45kmph.

Performance & Braking

Performance? Okay. Let me make things clear again. I’m not gonna talk about any 0-60 times and stuffs (This bike will never reach 60kmph). But I could compete with a Scooty series bike up to 30kmph. It is really amazing that this battery operated scootret could do such things.

As I said earlier, it easily takes on two people and reaches 45kmph which is its top speed. The brakes are cable operated drum brakes at both the wheels. To stop, we should definitely engage both the brakes. Braking is good because of the low speed and light weight but its not precise.

Battery & Charging

The bike operates with a Lead-Acid sealed type battery (a Lithium-Iron battery would lead to increased cost) manufactured by Excide. So, no issues on the battery reliability part. The company gives one year replacement warranty for the battery, ECU and the Motor. The charger fits in at any power socket and designed to be used at 220-240V.

It takes 6 long hours to charge the battery from empty to full and the charging time depends on the power left in the battery before charging. For a full charge it takes only 2 units of power which means a maximum of 5 Rs.

Mileage & Economy

With a full charge and when ridden single, it easily covers 70kms before the battery empties. With a pillion it goes up to 65kms in full charge. So, with just two units of power, I could travel 65kms. If one unit of power is Rs.2.5, then I spend just 7-8 paise per kilometre. This is the cheapest mode of commute. If you think Busses are cheap, then I can prove you Wrong!

With Rs.38000, I could go for a Scooty too. It returns a fuel economy of 45kmpl. So, If I am riding 60kms per day, I spend Rs.2200 per month. But with my bike, I spend just Rs.120! I save Rs.2000 every month with which I get back my investment for the bike in 1.5 years.

Features

Apart from the standard features like LED lamps and stuffs, there are two more features that are the USP of my bike.

Ride Control

It is the same thing which is available in Bajaj Platina/Discover. The ride control is a small switch near the accelerator which when switched on will see to that the bike never crosses 35kmph. This helps you to save power and increase the mileage. With Ride control ON, the bike runs for extra 10kms.

Cruise Control

Yes. You read it right. My ride has a cruise control! To switch on Cruise Control, I just have to hold the throttle at a constant rev limit for 8 secs. The cruise control switches ON automatically and even if we take our hands off the accelerator, the bike cruises at the same speed. To switch OFF the cruise control, I just have to slightly twist the accelerator or slightly press the brakes.

Service

As far as the maintenance of the bike is concerned, there is no need of changing engine oil, chain lubricant, etc., So, I save about Rs.300 on every 2000kms on engine oil. There is a service centre in my city (Coimbatore). I could use it or I have the option of calling the service people for On-road service.

Safet:

Safety is one area where this bike has to improve. Some times, I do not check the battery level before I leave my place. As a result, I get stranded in the midway sometimes. No other go! I have to push it along. There is also an advantage with the batteries. Even after the battery is empty, if we switch off the key for ten minutes, the battery regains some power and takes me 5kms in which I can reach a power socket.

The brakes are not powerful, so for a sudden stop, I sometimes have to use my shoes. The key has a locking system that is available in Activa. After removing the key, we can use the lock to avoid others inserting their key, water getting in, etc., Under the seat, there is a MCB (Multiple Circuit Breaker). So, even if there is some problem in the electrical units, the electrical parts are not damaged.

Storage

As usual, there is an under seat storage that can accommodate a full size helmet and a lockable glove box in the front.

Advantages

  • No licence required.
  • No insurance required.
  • No pollution. (both air and noise)
  • Light weight design makes handling easier.
  • Very very economical.

Disadvantages

  • May get stranded in mid way.
  • Non availability of charging stations.
  • Improper battery maintenance leads to loss in battery life.
  • Replacing the battery costs close to Rs.5500/-
  • Forget travelling long distances.
  • Poor braking and bad quality of fibres.
  • Only one service station for the entire city.

Technical Specification

Motor : 250W
Top Speed : 45km/h
Range : 70km
Price : Rs 38,000 (approx)

Please leave your comment and queries below. Please rate my review on a scale of 10.

Regards,
Saran