Ather 450 Model S P100D in Udupi - Review by Hrithik

Ather vehicle reviews
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Ather 450 Model S P100D in Udupi district:

The ongoing pandemic had forced me to leave Bangalore and come back to my hometown (Koteshwar-Kundapur) in Udupi district with my 450, in the month of March. I just didn’t know back then that the pandemic would last for so long, and tbh I had brought my 450 just to show it off to people around. Three months in, and my 450 is so famous out here right now that some people, not knowing what company produces such a fast-moving green plate ka vehicle, had approached some Honda showrooms around the place asking for the 450 xD!

There are even instances of some people following me from behind just to catch up to me and ask for the details of the vehicle showroom’s address in the district; I get freaked out whenever someone follows me on the road, so whenever that happened, I would just rev up and take off into uncharted territory! But whoever did manage to get to me while parking the vehicle someplace, asked me where the showroom of Ather is, in Udupi district.

Also, six months ago, a local newspaper had advertised about the 450 alongside other EVs; if Ather comes to Udupi, it is indeed going to be a game-changer!

I admit that, along the way, it had been a little rough, as at one point, I had to send the 450 back to Bangalore to get it repaired, as it had a faulty on-board converter/charger that wouldn’t let the vehicle commence charging.

Sending it back and forth was definitely not comfortable, but hey, in a way, it was worth it, as it helps me save a lot and get things done effectively in the longer term. Aand riding on it is a free bliss!

Just wheeing along the beach (Arabian Sea) into nowhere is like a dream come true!

Ather 450 Model S P100D
Ather 450 Model S P100D1156×867 219 KB

People around keep looking out for my 450; some of them, including employees of Maruti Suzuki, even managed to get a test-ride from me and they were immediately sold on it!

I keep waiting for the day when Ather will finally be here in Udupi district, because, let’s face it, the ongoing pandemic is never gonna end anytime soon. Any folks from Udupi or around in the district, help me spread the word!

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+1!

I personally know a few dozen people at least who have really shown a lot of interest here in my hometown of Mangalore.

Ather, please do keep Mangaluru-Udupi in mind when you explore expanding in Karnataka :wink:

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+1 I had discussed with few friends in Hubli- Dharwad and even their feeling is same.

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How did you manage to tranport the scooter to bangalore? was it managed by Ather or you have to travel with it? Did you have to receive the scooter yourself in Bangalore and take it to showroom or the whole process was managed by them (Ather service station)?

For some one like me who is from Mangalore. Do you recommend buying in Bangalore and shipping myself to Mangalore and use or you think its not worth the pain…and wait for Ather to come to mangalore… @Hrithik_Hegde

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Ather is going to be in Mysore soon too. I think by next year Ather might even be in Mangalore.

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Ah, good to see a fellow Mangalorean here. Welcome :slight_smile:

From what I understand through some conversations with folks, Mangalore isn’t on the immediate roadmap of Ather, so your decision to ship largely depends on how immediate your need is. If you are looking to buy a 2W in the next couple of quarters or so, then you’ll need to get it from Bengaluru or Mysore if you are keen on Ather. In such a case, know that the entire process of shipping is on you and Ather is not liable for any support unless you bring it back to B’luru / Mysore when needed. If you are willing to wait for a year or so, then fingers crossed Mangaluru will hopefully be on the list by 2022! :crossed_fingers:

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Hey, so I had made use of the Durgamba Cargo services to get my 450 transported to Udupi, way back in March last year. It has been out there at home ever since (12 months and counting); I had been riding on it right until January this year. Now that I’m back to Bangalore and my parents apparently need it more than I do (:disappointed_relieved:), I see that the 450 continues to wheee with the same performance.

Of course, we did take a leap of faith in getting the 450 way outside Ather’s serviceable area. Apart from a one-time issue/anomaly mentioned in the beginning of this thread (because of which I had to get it transported to Bangalore to get the problem rectified, and then get it shipped back to Udupi, via the cargo services provider), it has all been fine with us for the past one year.

Everything else that I wanted to answer right here has been answered by @harshithbhat

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thanks you to both @Hrithik_Hegde and @harshithbhat

I like the idea of Mysore too as suggested by @Suraj_madhu. Its near but I wont have documents for Register (need to find out RTO stuff). If I can get a motorcycle towing service may be a one time investment may be safer to transport to Mangalore…

I am duel minded about taking to leap, I know its a bit of Risk. I had bad experience with Aggarwal packers with my motorcycle (broken side stand) so I am reluctant. Let me wait for couple of months and make a call. If I buy a new ICE scooter then it wont make sense to change in a year to Ather 450x… @Hrithik_Hegde’s words have given me some confidence :slight_smile:

btw I noticed a Ather ride in Mangalore; once near Lalbag and again near Padil … next time I will stop by to say Hi… I was in a cycle so its impossible to catch the wheee :wink:

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You won’t have to once Ather is in Mysore.

You can always take the adventurous route, like what @georgekuruppan did. You could ride it from Mysore to Mangalore. But considering that you didn’t ride your KTM, don’t know it’s an option for you. It would be fun though. Probably a 2 day ride from Mysore with 2-3 charges in the middle. Absolutely doable.

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The biggest challenge would be the formidable Western Ghats (Shiradi, Charmadi, etc.) in between! A long stretch of high gradient climbing and dropping roads (that will suck the juice out of the battery royally) with very limited townships along the way. It might be necessary to do this trip once on an ICE vehicle beforehand just to talk to some of the small shops dotting the stretch to see if they are willing to let EVs charge up using their electric outlets.

EDIT: By my estimates, if you are traveling via Shiradi, as far as the Ghats section is concerned, you’ll need to make arrangements at Hassan, Sakleshpur, Gundya and Uppinangady and you should be fine.

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From Mysuru if anybody really wants to ride their Ather to Mangaluru, its better to take the Kodagu route.

Start from Ather showroom in Hinkal, recharge at Kushalnagar and then at Sullia.

Not only is this a shorter route, there are continuous small towns all along.

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Yup, from Mysuru, the route is via Kodagu :slight_smile:

But if we are talking of traveling from Bengaluru, then the Shiradi route (via Hassan) will be shorter of the two (by about 30 km / 1.5 hours) so I guess when deciding via Hassan or via Mysuru, it is a matter of shorter route versus route with more towns!

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