So last weekend, I made a short trip to Chennai. Taking advantage of the low flight fares, I decided that this was the testing ground for taking the Ather to the airport, parking for a couple of days and back. Here’s what happened.
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My flight was early in the morning, so I ended up leaving an hour and a half earlier than I had to, to give me some buffer time.
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Starting with a full charge from Old Airport Road, the distance is about 43km one way. This meant I had to only drive in Ride mode, at moderate speeds of 40-50kmph
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I originally planned to make a stop at Torq92, but going by the battery drain, decided against it and drove more carefully. Torq92 is almost midway between Old Airport and the new airport, and hence would have been perfect.
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I ended up reaching the airport with 28km of range left. I parked at the two-wheeler parking and used the Bike Blazer to cover the vehicle, to prevent any damage and hiding it from curious onlookers. I shut down the vehicle, but didnt have the patience to wait for the sync to happen, so the ride data was lost.
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Landed this morning and headed straight to the parking. It’s an amazing experience when you dont have to be a slave to the taxis
The Ather was parked as expected and no damages. -
The parking fee for about 48-72hrs was about Rs. 280!
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My battery had drained about 3km over the weekend, which I expected even in shut down mode. So left with 25km range.
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I saw the electric charging points for cars, but these had the industrial socket and I had forgotten to carry the adapter. Besides, I didnt want to wait so long at the airport and decided to head out.
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Nearest fast charger was at Torq92, which was about 28km. With 25km range, I had to drive at around 45kmph to reach with about 1% left.
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The cafe at Torq92 was open and the scooter was charging as I finished my breakfast. With enough charge to get home, I headed out after around 40 mins.
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I still had to drive in Ride mode and it seemed a bit dangerous going at such low speeds on the approach roads to the airport. It started raining and I stopped for about 15 mins at Moto Store and Cafe, waiting for the rain to subside.
@AtherTeam it would be super useful to have a fast charging point at the Airport. I agree there would be issues with people leaving their vehicle plugged in, but surely there’s a way out? I would love to repeat this journey when I don’t have much luggage and the economics totally makes sense.
Last time I attempted this with my Vespa, I had to spend about an hour trying to start the vehicle aftter leaving it for 2 days.
My backup plan? Budget the 2k saved in cab rides for Roadside assitance if needed 
