Nice to see various suggestions and ideas to improve the bike’s features. @Shreyas
It is really great that you are considering customer’s suggestions and trying to incorporate it if feasible.
I am sure this is the right approach any company should consider.
After I test drove Ather450 i was convinced this is going to be a great bike to own. Had a good time at the showroom.
General points I felt:
Indicator position as some had already mentioned was a bit far to reach.
I had mentioned in tbhp that a feature can be added to automate trigger indicators On and Off as the bike uses gps all the time and if the destination is set, it knows when and where to switch on Indicators!!
To ensure safety brake lever lock will be helpful.
Since there is no engine running when ignition is on. A small motor to add a tiny vibration (like that of mobiles ) will help remind the ignition status. Which can be off during acceleration
Indicator integrated helmet connection. Most bikes indicators are not really visible for people who r driving suv when the bikes are very near to the bonnet in tight traffic. So helmet with indicators will be helpful in future and syncing the helmet to the bike need to be planned.
Mobile charging point is a value addition, it is very handy (the reason that since gps is inbuilt in the bike and hence charging point not required is not right) i have a gps integrated car and I still have to use the car mobile charger.
Additional Battery for range extention. Which can be plugged into the bike under the seat (even though helmet is kept under the seat rember the helmet has enough volume where the head fits as empty space. This space can be used to create a cylindrical extended battery accessory which may be useful for additional range.
Charging stations may have huge que in future (assuming Ather is a huge success) as time to charge is more thn the time to re fuel in case of petrol engines. So u need to plan how much time to allocate to charge if there r cases where more people r waiting to charge.
Some intelligent ticketing system and cut off after few minutes.
We dont need people fighting in the charging stations. “ Im first and u r next “ or “ how much more time u need to charge and I have urgent work “
Any smarter plans to get the chargers installed in apartments. Have already heard permissions were denied to set up charging points by the associations etc.
Coming to the point on Subscription i feel 8400 plus gst will be closer to 9 k which i feel is too expensive. Since I own a SuV (Tata safari Storme )and my maintenance per yr in the last 5 yrs including cluth replacements brake pads and consumables is around 10k.Includes free pickup drop.
Is there any ways that customers can visit ur factory.(a tour into Ather ) I am very much interested
All the Best to Ur team Wish u make Better And Better bikes and Cars too in future
The whole idea of electric powered vehicles is to cancel vibrations. Better solution is to change the whole screen color (which is white) to maybe a yellow when the motor is off.
@Ather.Team - Can a sound be introduced when the motor is switched on / bike start? In the current design, once the ignition is turned to ON, the display unit lights up along with a sound. Maybe this can be changed to:
When ignition is turned ON : only light up the display unit - this is enough as the dashboard light & information would be sufficient for the user to know that the bike is now ready to be started.
When the brake & start switch is pressed - start the motor and play a sound - An audio-visual alert is always better than a tiny notification (current design).
Great suggestions Avanish, have discussed a few of these on the same thread above, some new ones. Addressing all of them below:
I’ve had a similar question come up at Ather Space. We can do this very easily, much less effort required than turning the indicator off. We don’t do it as it’s a big safety hazard. In a lot of instances, riders choose to override the route suggested by the navigation, of the indicators, turn on, and the rider does not make a turn, it can cause accidents.
No argument here. As communicated over our mail too, the current design of the braking system does not allow for it.
We’ve tried multiple ways of letting the user know the vehicle is on. All of them over time become an annoyance. Even in higher end cars today, the engine noise and vibration are imperceptible. Ather vehicles surely have a learning curve when coming from ICE vehicles, but in real world usage, you won’t feel the need for knowing the ignition status through physical means.
Need to have a local connection with the helmet, using wifi or Bluetooth. Since both are not present on the current version, this cannot be implemented for the current version even if we develop a new helmet for this.
Agreed, and we are considering adding it to future vehicles. Can’t commit to it at this point though, as all our focus is on ramping up production.
Considered adding an auxiliary battery, but did not find enough need or takers for the same, given the range was enough for most users daily usage. We also increased the range and battery capacity on the 450 for this range anxiety.
Also, AtherGrid is setup for topping off the vehicle quickly whenever the range goes down.
An addtional battery in itself is a complicated product, if there isn’t a strong need or use case for it, the R&D time and money spent on it will not be justified.
Valid apprehensions, and we will work on these things going forward. Lots of learning on user behaviour to be done on our part in the coming few months
While we are doing all we can to ensure smooth installations at our end, there are a lot of factors come into play while installing charging points at home.
There was a time people were apprehensive about the installation of satellite TV dishes and air conditioners too. With more and more people getting electric vehicles, the friction to get charging points will reduce.
Subscription costs include service but are not limited to it. It also includes all electricity costs, data costs, roadside assistance, consumable parts, etc. That said, we are working on plans that can be opted for if someone chooses not to opt for the full Ather One.
Would love to do that, maybe once the production stabilizes enough and we have the bandwidth to arrange visits, we’ll have them. Not sure how soon that can be done though.
Hello @Shreyas and Ather team.
Have the expected upgrades to the switch gear and plastics around the dashboard been implemented in the production vehicles.
Even after commencing deliveries of the first 450’s … I was pleasantly surprised to see Team Ather still testing their vehicle … Spotted two Ather 450’s out on the Hosur highway today less than 5 kms from the Hosur Attibele Toll Plaza … Both were maintaining a good speed of about 65-70km/hr constantly which was very reassuring. Appreciate the Teams constant efforts to improve an already brilliant vehicle
Too high or too far?
There is no side step to climb on to the scooter…so there is no question of it being too high. After climbing up, the side foot rest is easily accessible to almost every adult
Hello Ather Team,
I would like to seek clarification on the belt drive system. On the rear sprocket of the test ride vehicle (and on the images available on the website), one of the side walls (inside one) was missing. I am wondering if the engineering team has an explanation for this? Usually the sprockets have sidewalls on both ends to avoid belt slippage.
Have you ever noticed a belt in a front load washing machine, the drum pulley has no side wall at all, even though the drum shakes a lot, only the motor side pulley has side walls on both sides. If the drive train is well designed with the right amount of tension, the belt will never slip. Ather also uses teethed belt, which makes it even more unlikely to slip.
A washing machine pulley is of a different design. They are called grooved pulleys and the belts will have grooves which will prevent it from slipping off the pulley. You would probably see them in your cars too as the alternator or aircon drives.
I should also clarify myself that when I meant by slipping, I meant the belt slipping off the sprocket and not slipping on the sprocket (like a slippage due to a loose belt).
I am sure Ather have an explanation for their design, let’s wait for it .
When it comes to timing belt drive design, you have multiple options of both sides flanged vs no flange vs either side flange depending on multiple factors dependent on application and loads and cost effectiveness.
At the very min, you can have any one pulley with flanges on both sides while having the other pulley with no flanges at all! However, in this case, the width of the pulley without any flanges tends to be much higher -> weight -> raw material cost.
The type used in Ather with flanges on either side is the most compromise of cost, weight and functionality.
Having flanges on both sides is cost intensive and also adds complexity in manufacturing/ assembly. If you notice in your second image, the flange is bolted, So you have an extra component plus 4 more fasteners and hence more things that can fail
If you need flanges on both sides of both pulleys, then that tells you that there is “mostly” scope for further improvement in drive design.
2G, 3G, 4G network here in India is highly unreliable. Display console must have GPS sensor and must have facility to upload off line maps like Google or MapmyIndia maps. Bluetooth connectivity is a must. Software updates to the scooter can be done through Bluetooth after receiving notification from Ather about the release of new software. No need for a built in SIM in the scooter. Adding Bluetooth connectivity will reduce the ownership maintenance cost. In my opinion ₹ 7000/- to ₹8000/- per annum annual maintenance cost will be very high for occasional weekend scooter user. The concept of Simple, moderately cheap and reliability is the only mantra for the product to survive in the market and this should be the long term goal for the Ather team.
I see in the picture of the Ather scooter that the pillion rider’s seat is elevated which means that the pillion rider will be seated at a higher level than the rider and in that sitting position he doesn’t have adequate buttock support. A speed jump over the road hump will throw the pillion off the scooter and pillion rider will flip and fall on his back. This is extremely dangerous. Head and spinal cord injuries are very common in such fall. Pillion rider must have adequate support for him to sit comfortably. If the pillion rider is uncomfortable he constantly shifts his weight to make himself comfortable and this is very dangerous for the rider as he may lose his balance. Safety and ergonomics should never be sacrificed for appearance.
Why is Ather so fussy and paranoid about charging stations? Can Ather scooter be charged without having a eternal charging rig ? Does Ather scooter have a built in charger? Their are thousands and thousands of REVA Cars, electric scooters, electric three wheeler all with built in chargers. One just need a 220 Volt power socket to charge the vehicle. Only a connective cable is provided with the vehicle to connect between vehicle and the power point. Why so much of hype about the charging stations. Build your scooter from users point. Keep it simple, sturdy and reliable.
Conventional scooters / bikes have steel chassis. Ather is built on aluminium chassis. Steel chassis even though it is slightly heavier than aluminium chassis it strong and easily repairable. Bend, twists or distortions can be easily rectified in steel chassis. The same cannot be said about aluminium chassis and on that count alone Ather may not be service friendly. In my opinion, I may be wrong also, small damage to the chassis may require a complete replacement of it which may be expensive. Hope Ather is aware of it. Ather team should not expect Ather scooter owners to have deep pockets.
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