Q.Is an Electric Bike Really Cheaper to Run than a Petrol Bike?

[USER="9977"]krupal_satghar[/USER] according to Tork's FB post, the test rides will begin mid-2017. We'll have to wait till then to have a word on how it really is. Yes, it should come with a reliable water-resistant interface since it's going to be exposed to the elements. I don't think the company is planning to launch any portable battery pack as it will only add weight. Instead, replacing the existing battery with a higher capacity one makes sense. I feel electric two-wheelers are still a long way from being capable of highway jaunts. For this, hybridization would work in extending the range. Hero made a hybrid two-wheeler prototype called 'Leap'. I think this setup has a potential of working really well in India. if only Hero or anyone makes an affordable hybrid two-wheeler for India! Here's how the scooter looks: [ATTACH=CONFIG]n20376[/ATTACH] By the way, I think it would be a great idea if Tork and Ather tie up with a few IT companies and set up charging points there. They can also do business with those companies by providing electric vehicles in bulk for their employees through an amicable scheme. That way, the commute from home to work is sorted. What do you think? [USER="11"]kaiserketkar[/USER] [USER="21"]JijoMalayil[/USER]

Plus, if you want to compare more comparable options then you can compare the Hero Electric Photon to the Honda Activa 125. The Photon comes with a 1.5kW DC motor and a 33 Ah battery that will go 80km on a single charge [Eco mode]. With features like front disc brakes, front telescopic suspension, it comes with a price tag of ~INR 50k. Compare that to the Activa 125 which also comes with telescopic suspension & front discs, and costs ~INR 70k. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n20040[/ATTACH] Here's some snippets from a review of the Photon I found online: >0 - 20 Km/hr great pickup. Torque 2.6 Nm @ 1 rpm compared to Activa’s 8.74 Nm @ 5500 rpm. Can definitely take a lead at signals. >We rode 80 Kms to a charge in mixed mode city driving. So if we take the cost of full charge at 1 unit of electricity to be INR 5, the fuel economy is 6.25 Paise per Km. >Long Term Ownership [LIST] [*]Battery Charging: 350 - 400 charge cycles of approx. 65 - 80 Kms ride. [*]After 2 - 3 Yrs battery replacement cost = ₹ 15,000/- to ₹ 18,000/- approx. [*]Service charges including battery rotation every three months = ₹ 500/- [/LIST] >3 year ownership cost: [LIST] [*]₹ 52,490/- + ₹ 2,362/- (octroi) + ₹ 1,500/- (insurance) + ₹ 1,500/- (registration) + ₹ 6,000/- (service charges) + ₹ 2,800/- (Electricity cost ₹ 5/- - ₹ 7/- per unit) [*][B]₹ 66,652/- for 3 years. No extra petrol and oil costs![/B] [*]Only if the usage is greater than 28,000 Km will the batteries need replacement (350 charge cycles with 80 Km per charge). This will add another ₹ 18,000/- to the cost bringing it up to ₹ 84,652/- [/LIST] [URL="http://www.pluginindia.com/herophoton-review.html"][[I]Link[/I]][/URL]

You can run the figures anyway you are inclined and prove that electric bikes/cars are either worth it or not worth it. But ultimately electric powered mobility is still in it's early stages, and [probably due to the powerfull lobbies] it hasn't received the kind of support that it should have received. As a result, it is costly. It will evolve, and become more and more economical as the volumes build up. And when it does, the IC engines may not be able to keep up. Right now, the biggest hurdles are the batteries- cost and lack of universal charging stations. I'm sure eventually Mahindra, Tata along with Hero and Tork [maybe even Tesla] will find it convenient if they collaborate on these issues and set up infrastructure for this. For now these bikes can be seen as strictly commuter bikes, but with a novelty factor- and you can't put a price on novelty. Plus with all the features the T-6X offers, it makes a very strong case for itself.

[URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/profile/10031"]Madavoor_Ran[/URL] [QUOTE_NODE]"[B]Originally posted by Madavoor_Ran"[/B] I am planning to buy this bike because of the fact that I already fixed a 1000w solar pannel in my house, so my electric bill will be zero. [/QUOTE_NODE] That is simply fantastic. Not only will your electricity bill be zero, but this is what authentic eco-friendly power is about. Charging your bike or car through a regular household socket is not so green because, electricity that comes from the grid could have come from a thermal power plant somewhere - just shifting the source of the pollution to another point. I really appreciate your concern for the environment and I would love for you to give us more inputs on the green initiatives you are taking. By the way, have you checked out the Mahindra E2O Plus as well?

[QUOTE=Siddhanta_Somvanshee;n19699][URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/profile/40"]Praveen[/URL] You didn't consider the aspect regarding ride quality and comfort. I think Splendor + is not the right choice to be compared with Tork. It should be compared to the likes of Honda Shine, TVS Phoenix, or any other 125 cc bike.[/QUOTE] Yes, if you compare it with a 125 cc bike, then the efficiency will go down a bit and the maintenance will go slightly up. Thus, the difference in expenses will go down, as the total cost of owning the 125cc bike will go up. :)

[USER="9881"]Koshy_Abraham_Kaithackal[/USER] Please check out the whole thread and you'll understand why I have compared it to the Splendor. :) There's anther prototype Tork has built, over the Yamaha FZ Platform. That bike is more comparable to the Duke 390 than the T6X. Even its 0-100 kph timing is less than ten seconds! But then, that's just a prototype for now.

[URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/profile/9579"]Sunil_Kumar[/URL] The reason I'm comparing it with the Splendor is because electric bikes are primarily meant to be cost efficient commuters, at least as of now. The heavy torque output is just a byproduct. People would not buy the T6X as a performance bike because of its obvious limitations. The point I'm trying to make here is, even if Tork is meant to have lower running costs, it's still more expensive than the Splendor and for a discerning buyer, it doesn't justify financially. The running costs will increase proportionately when compared with performance oriented bikes like the Duke. Unless we have proper power and torque figures on a graph, we can't really compare which one is better in terms of pure performance. Although, I feel the Duke will be faster on track because of its higher power. I don't think people will go for Tork over Duke if they wanted performance because the power figure is very limited and so is the range. Torque can only get you so far. Although, it'd be really interesting to see how the Tork bike actually fares against the Duke if a real-time test is done! :)

[URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/profile/40"]Praveen[/URL] You can't compare 27NM Torq bike with splendor, This Bike is equivalent to Duke 200, This Bike battery lasts 1 lakh KMS + and upto 1000 cycles it is tested to deliver 100km/ch range, Lets calculate the cost factor. Duke Mileage 35km @ 69rs Petrol/ltr that costs an average of 2 rs per km + Maintenance of .50paisa/km (2000rs service charge for every 5000 kms Service interval), to drive 1lakh kms you are spending 2.5 lakh Rupees + Bike cost 1.7 Lakh, total comes around 4.2 lakh. On the other hand Torq Running cost is 0.30paisa/km and considering battery cost of 60000 lasting about 1lakh KMS, your running cost comes to 1 Rupee/km for 1lac kms, + cost of Bike 65000/- Excluding battery so you will be spending total 1.65lac for the first 1lakh KMS compared to 4.2 lac spent on Duke. For next 1lakh kms all you need to change is battery considering it to be around 60000 - 70000 you will be spending another 1lac where as you will be spending around 3.0lac for the Duke 200 for 2lac kms it would come to 7.2 lac.. 27NM torque at 0rpm which bikes gives that Thrill in City traffic, you need to rev up to 6000rpm to get that amount of torque.

[QUOTE_NODE]"[B]Originally posted by maheshy1"[/B] Praveen Great point. But I feel that comparing Splendor that has 8Nm with a bike that has 27Nm is unfair. A comparison with an FZ or Gixxer would be more appropriate. The fuel efficiency on those bikes will be much less. Even in the performance department, the Tork is bound to be way more fun too around town than these bikes because of that extra "Tork". I'd happily plonk extra 35K to experience the future today. Reliability is the only thing that bothers me about electric vehicles as the weather here doesn't do the li-ion batteries any favours. [/QUOTE_NODE] The reason I compared the T6X with a commuter is because as of now, electric bikes are primarily meant for commuting and not exactly for the pleasure of riding. We're a long way to come to that, I feel. Yes, If i had compared it with FZ or any other bike, the difference could've been even more because the whole point of this article is to see how much of a difference does an electric bike make when it comes to running costs. I do hope the batteries come with proper heat shielding because the temperatures during summers can go up by quite a bit and I think it'll be detrimental to the batteries in the long run.

[URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/profile/40"]Praveen[/URL] Great point. But I feel that comparing Splendor that has 8Nm with a bike that has 27Nm is unfair. A comparison with an FZ or Gixxer would be more appropriate. The fuel efficiency on those bikes will be much less. Even in the performance department, the Tork is bound to be way more fun too around town than these bikes because of that extra "Tork". I'd happily plonk extra 35K to experience the future today. Reliability is the only thing that bothers me about electric vehicles as the weather here doesn't do the li-ion batteries any favours.

[USER="9346"]Nishant_Tyagi[/USER] It's a good angle you've observed. However, the problem is that manufacturers will hesitate to implement touch-screen features in commuter bikes. Currently, most of the budget commuters don't even get tachometers, let alone features for diagnostics. As far as I know, among the budget bikes, only KTM is (allegedly) coming up with a futuristic instrument console for its bike, complete with Bluetooth, GPS integration. I feel it'll take a really long time for technology to trickle down to commuters. Moreover, people buying budget commuters aren't normally keen to get more features as it will only increase the cost. There are a few who'd see this as a sensible option and I can only hope others are also like this. The real-time mileage makes sense, though. It's only a matter of time when the battery costs come down. [USER="9371"]Aditya_Deo[/USER] Yes, as of now, electric bikes are primarily designed for commuting and not long distance touring. That is why I have made the comparison with a petrol powered commuter.

[URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/profile/9346"]Nishant_Tyagi[/URL] That is an excellent observation - comparing real world mileage as well as the value that the additional features an electric bike provides. Sure, if you take that into account the payback period is much less. And things are only going to improve from here. Once battery technology improves further, range is going to improve. Fuel prices will likely go up even more, and then this relative gap will drop further between electric and petrol powered bikes.

[USER="21"]JijoMalayil[/USER] Yes, the maintenance cost of an electric bike would be very less, but the whole feeling of 'It's cheap to run' is offset by the exorbitant initial expenditure. Well, I guess that's the price we pay for being environment-friendly!

[URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/profile/40"]Praveen[/URL] So the more you ride your bike the lesser the time it requires to cover up the initial cost. Having said that, the manufacturer has claimed 1000 cycles as the battery life. That would be approximately 75-80,000 kilometers, the cost of the batteries would be about Rs 50,000. Add that to the EV cost! Another thing working in favour of EVs is the very little cost of maintenance, I believe. No oil changes, filters and other consumables! Is the company offering warranty for the electric motor, battery, and other electricals?

The problem of our planet’s dwindling natural resources is very real and we have an acute dependency on fossil fuels. We are reliant on them for various purposes but one of the biggest is transportation. This means, we will eventually run out of the black gold in the near future. So, now is the right time to explore alternative means of propulsion and electric vehicles seem to be quite promising for now. In a developing country like India, one of the cheapest means of personal transportation is a two wheeler. Recently, [URL="https://www.zigwheels.com/forum/posts/18816-tork-t6x-electric-bike-launched-in-india"]Tork Motors has launched its new Electric bike called the T6X[/URL] at an introductory price of Rs. 1.25 Lacs. Now, we already have fuel efficient petrol-burning commuters in the market available for a lot less money. So, how much of a difference does an electric bike make when compared to a conventional motorcycle when it comes to running cost? Does an electric bike make more sense than a IC engined fuel sipper? Let’s do a short comparison between the T6X and one of India’s best-selling commuters, the Hero Splendor Plus. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n18832[/ATTACH] So, the difference is approximately Rs.1000 per month. That means you are saving up Rs. 1,000 every month if you are using the T6X instead of the Splendor. The T6X costs Rs. 1,24,999 (selling price) and the Splendor costs Rs. 48,875 (ex-showroom) for the self start-drum brake-alloy wheel variant. The price difference is Rs. 76,124/- So, it takes 76.124 months (Rs. 76,124 divided by Rs. 1000 per month). Convert that into years, you get 6.34 years to break even your investment on Tork T6X compared to a brand new Splendor+. In a nutshell, even if your running costs per month are incredibly low with the T6X, it is expensive to buy compared to the Splendor Plus.