Orxa Mantis Electric Bike First Ride Review

Calling an electric motorcycle Mantis, is quite a wild claim. Why? Because Mantises, in the insect kingdom, are famous as predators that feed on live prey. Pretty aggressive, wild and dominating.

So, whatever is named Mantis, should ideally possess the same ruthless nature, capable of taking on whatever might come its way, right? Well, then, does the Orxa Mantis, from Bengaluru-based EV startup Orxa Energies, possess the same wild traits in the bike kingdom, as the Mantis does out in the wild?

Design

With its unusual and predatory styling, the Orxa Mantis does stand out as one of the most eye-catching bikes on the market. Sure it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but I believe the aggressive design language, sharp tank extension and the Bumble Bee-like headlight, give the electric bike an edge over other two-wheelers. That is if you want to stand out from the crowd and be a bit quirky.

Performance

Now yes, the looks are super aggressive, but I can’t say the same thing about the performance. Sadly, the 89Nm does not deliver excitement from the get-go, and funnily, the ‘pull back acceleration’ is what makes an EV exciting. 

Even if we look past that, the motor starts heating up quickly. Hold on, before completing that thought, let me tell you that we only got to ride the bike for five laps on a go-kart track, which is approximately 10 minutes of saddle time (or less).

With that out of the way, the bike started heating up after just one lap, which changed the power delivery and throttle action significantly. Meaning, the performance kept varying, ensuring a confused and unexciting riding experience.

Handling

A Mantis in the wild is pretty agile and quick, ready to pounce on its prey at any given moment. And interestingly, the Orxa Mantis has the potential to do the same, to be quick and agile anda great handler. But as things stand now, there are some issues with it like being front heavy, an overheating and inconsistent performing motor, and regen braking issues. Overall, the problem with the Mantis is that it doesn’t feel very cohesive and well integrated. I am still unsure why, but the bike felt pretty wobbly and unstable at the front.

So while there is a great handling bike that lies somewhere underneath, on the surface, as of now, it doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in pushing the limits on corners, or twisties. That said, it can be REALLY fun if some improvements are made.

Comfort

With whatever time we spent riding the Mantis, the overall riding posture seemed to be a pretty healthy balance between sporty and comfortable. You see, it isn’t very committed, or completely upright like a commuter. Instead, it offers you a wide seat to move forward or backward and change the riding position depending on the way you would like to ride. 

Even the footpegs are not super rear-set and the leg area has enough room and does not make the rider feel cramped. Even a rider as tall (6”2’) and large as me was pretty comfy.

There is one thing though, at a standstill, the part of the frame wrapped around the battery pack obstructs the thighs, and might cause more hindrance for shorter and smaller riders. Other than that small thing, the comfort levels on the Mantis, while riding, are pretty good.

Features

On paper, the Mantis gets a five-inch TFT console, Bluetooth connectivity, navigation and ride analytics. On the ride, the console that we got on the test bikes felt rather basic. And on top of that, the consoles on some of the test bikes felt horribly laggy. But we would only be able to better comment on the features once we have tested the bike thoroughly, maybe once we get the bike for a road test, after it’s actually ready!

Verdict

Now one of the most surprising things about the Orxa Mantis is its Rs 3,60,000 (ex-showroom Bengaluru) price tag, which is a pretty hefty ask. For instance, the Tork Kratos R, a sporty yet commuter-oriented electric bike, is priced at Rs 1,67,499 (ex-showroom Bengaluru including subsidies). Now sure, the Mantis does claim to be more powerful, exciting and offer more range. But sadly, we haven’t been able to experience that yet.

There are a lot of things like the range, performance at high speeds, brakes, features and more that we haven’t been able to test out properly yet, and can only talk about the same after we do a road test.

That said, five laps and 10 minutes are nearly not enough to evaluate the practicality, performance, everyday usability and value for money quotient of any two-wheeler. So, at this point, we would say that the Orxa Mantis is definitely an ambitious electric motorcycle with a lot of potential underneath. However, it does require some significant improvements in its current condition and is not as aggressive as its namesake insect. 

Do note that Orxa Energies has mentioned that the bike we have ridden is a pre-production bike, so there’s a high possibility that all the issues that we faced might be addressed in the final product which will start delivering to the customers in April 2024.