Atom GP1 Minibike Ride Experience: A Promising Start

Minibikes have always intrigued me. As a proud 6-footer, I’ve always wondered if I would ever even fit on them well. And of course the fact that MotoGP riders like Valentino Rossi, Alex Rins, and Danilo Petrucci ride them to hone their racecraft. So it was amidst this mixture of ego and curiosity that I found myself in front of the Atom GP1, a newly launched made-in-India minibike. 

Pride Dismissed With Disdain

 

 

 

 

 

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I was smugly waiting for my *Oh I’m such a tall man, this will not fit me* moment but it never happened! The moment I sat on it, the Atom GP1 dismissed my six-foot ego. The footpegs somehow accommodated my long legs decently well and at no point did I find it cramped or uncomfortable. I was pleasantly surprised at how easily this race bike housed my lanky frame, better than a bunch of road bikes I’ve ridden. 

Track Time! 

Enough about the ergos though. How’s the GP1 in the real world on a tight go-kart track? Quite interesting! The 159.3cc air-cooled single-cylinder mill with 15.05PS and 13.85Nm (in the ballpark of the TVS Apache RTR 160) has just enough power to make the track’s straights fun and I’ve learnt that if a bike is peppy and light, it doesn’t need a lot of power to make it fun.  While I was a bit nervous about cornering a bike with 12-inch wheels on a wet track, the TVS Remora tyres did hold their own decently well. The front brake, though, was on the sharper side, so given the lack of any kind of electronics, I almost lost my front on one occasion.

While I would’ve loved to talk more about this fascinating bike, I could only learn so much about it in the generous two rounds that I got on the go-kart track. 

Pricey Much?

The near Rs 3.50 lakh effective price (Rs 2.75 lakh + GST) for the Atom GP1 isn’t cheap. Additionally, its fit and finish levels weren’t the greatest, the GP-style gearbox was clunky and my bike (at least), had its fair share of vibrations. Truth be told, I was a tad underwhelmed, pondering over the bike after my track session. 

And that’s when I saw this 11-year-old budding racer returning from his track time with a beaming smile on his face. I called out to him and asked him what he felt about the bike. “Fun!”, was his reply, with a big grin still on his face. Fun?? But it’s vibey, and the gearbox is a bit clunky… and what about the paint quality? But right before the auto journo in me could start a discussion about the GP1’s value-for-money proposition, I saw his face. He looked confused, but undeterred. “I don’t know,” he blurted out, before imitating what seemed like him cornering the bike, and then headed off to his parents. 

And that’s when it hit me. For these little kids, who can barely put their feelings down into words, nothing matters except having fun. No kid gets onto a motorcycle because it’s refined or has a smooth gearbox or is well built. The little rascals just want to have fun! So I sat there, trying to recall the 10-year-old me, who had just seen Dhoom and was drooling over bikes. Would he have liked to get on the Atom GP1? Yes. Would it have made him a much better rider 12 years later? Definitely! 

Overhearing some of the parents of the racers revealed how before the GP1, their only other minibike options were the Ohvales. Though they’re a lot more premium in almost every way, the Ohvales will also have parents shell out more than twice the cost of the GP1. That very money could now be put in additional track time, riding gear, or maybe even modifying the GP1. 

It took a paradigm shift in my thought process to appreciate what the Atom GP1 might bring. The product itself is a pretty decent first attempt. It can be better but it has promise. What I appreciate more is the idea. If, through some updates, it can be made into a more well-rounded bike, I’m hoping it’ll help a bunch of riders begin their motorcycling journeys a lot earlier than usual. So will that finally spawn a Valentino Patel or a Marc Malhotra? I don’t know. What I do hope is that the kids not only have loads of fun, but also that it makes them better riders as they mature, something India desperately needs.