Adventure with your dad… That’s something and rare…
Enjoyed reading your experience
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Sir, enjoyed reading through your adventure. Great effort.
By now you must have invested in an good high quality extension cord(I built 11m one with 2.5mm 3 core wire by myself).
By going through all the experiences of @Abhishek and people who have done similar long trips like you, it is very clear that we have a long way to go in terms of Charging Infrastructure and as usual Govt has done very little about it.
But at the same time if more and more vehicles sport 200+ km range then all the highway restaurants and bunks will setup charging, its just a matter of what is capable today.
Once again a great read, really enjoyed reading it.
Wishing the best!
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Thanks a lot, sir☺. Regarding the extension chord, I just carried a usual one available in the market during the trip. Since the scooter is mostly used in city, we dont need the extension chord anymore. It will be charged at home or at the office. Since, it is used by my dad now, he wont even take it on long rides.
Regarding the grounding, you can try connecting a 2000 ohm resistance between the ground and neutral pins. The charging point at office did not have a proper ground. So I tried this method and it worked. The resistance was heating a bit. Later, I got a proper ground connection there. So yea, try it at your own risk😁
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Ur trips are awesome , I like it .
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Wonderful. Adopting an EV is one thing, then using it in a town where it is not even sold is another thing. Hats off to you for doing that. With your father with you, the adventure is so much more special 
I was surprised you had to charge so many times and you ran out of power before Tumkuru and again near Tipturu. From my experience of a trip to Mysuru, I could easily ride 90-100kms with the speeds you’ve mentioned (around 40kmph).
What do you think is the reason for this? Were you not riding in RIDE mode? were you not coasting? were you not using Regen?
Similarly had you other work at Bhadravathi or was it only for charging? because again Kadur to Bhadravathi is ~70kms only which must’ve been easily doable.
My next question, how do you plan to deal with the service and RSA part of the ownership?
Also can you please share your registration (permanent) experience at Shivamogga RTO?
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Thank You 
.
Regarding charging, to begin with, I am a heavy person 
. Also we rode doubles. Maybe they are some of the reasons we got less range. We rode in the ride mode itself and used regen after the charge fell below 85%. Before Tumkur, since it was our first ride on the highway, we did not know much on the scooter. I had ridden it only in the city traffic. I cruised at a speed of around 60 kmph on the journey to Tumkuru. Since the road also consists of series of elevated stretches, it might have affected the efficiency a bit. Then I realised that I needed to slow up a bit, which I did later on. Probably, my riding was not so efficient yet. I am thinking of riding to Thirthahalli, which is about 60 km from Shivamogga and if possible, furthur to Agumbe, (25 km from Thirthahalli). Another trip on the list is to Sagara ( 70 km from Shivamogga) and if possible to Jog falls ( 30 km from Sagara). Will test the mileage again during that. I have relatives house at Thirthahalli, Agumbe, and Sagara where I am planning to charge it. If possible I could also get some fresh and green electricity generated at Jog 
The only problem is the time we have to wait while it charges, which is nearly 2.5 to 3 hours.Have to see how it goes.
Regarding charging in Bhadravathi, there were two reasons. One was that , though we had just enough charge to reach Shivamogga, we did not want to take a risk. First of all, I had the task to change my mom’s perception regarding electric scooter. We did not want to reach home pushing the scooter, in case we ran out of charge. This would have created a bad first impression regarding Ather in her mind 
. The second thing was that we also thought of visiting my dad’s cousin’s house. So it served both the purposes. Moreover, we just charged for about 45 minutes.
Regarding service, since its first service is for 5000 km, it will probably take an year or more to reach there. Also there wont be much to service in between. When we reach 5000 km, probably we would ship it to Bengaluru by train, get it serviced and ship it back.
Coming to registration, it was a very bitter experience. Since ours was the first electric scooter to be registered in Shivamogga, I had to fight with the RTO people to get it registered. I have visited the RTO continuously for a week, leaving all my work only to wait there and fight. Before buying the scooter, I had enquired with the local RTO regarding the registration. They ensured me that they will follow the same procedure as followed in Bengaluru. But later it was a complete U turn. Even though, all electric two wheeler are exempted from road tax, they were forcing me to pay tax at 4% of the vehicle value, which would be around Rs 5000. I even showed them the notification about the tax exemption being put up on the RTO Karnataka website and the Karnataka Electric Vehicle Policy.
I tried to convince them that the vehicle is exempted from tax in Bengaluru itself. Yet, they would not agree. Especially, the accounts superintend, Mr. Bhosle acted as the main villain 
. He was very rude and arrogant with us. He treated us as if we are desperately trying to evade tax. I repeatedly told him I did not have any problem with paying the tax, but my argument was why should I when the legislation clearly exempts it? They themselves were not updated. Upon that they would blame me for producing outdated documents. They said that the government has amended the bill and the new rule is to collect 4% tax. We were so fed up with them, that we even thought of approaching the local news paper to publicise the harassment done by the RTO officials. The other option for us was to bring it to Bengaluru, get it registered and take it back. Again, all this was frustrating. Fortunately, there was one officer, who was very friendly. He understood our problem and assured that he would help us. He contacted the Indranagara RTO, enquired about the procedure to register an electric vehicle. With his help, finally we got it registered. Mr.Bhosle was still reluctant to carry on with the registeration process. He reluctantly signed it, stating that one day we would be caught by the police for not paying the tax and that we had to face the consequence. Since the job was done, I did not care much about him and his words. After a month, I visited the RTO and found out that Mr.Bhosle was transferred else where. Probably, he was posted in Shivamogga only to trouble us. 
In the mean time, I had given many demos about the Ather to the curious people in and around the RTO . I had become quite famous among the RTO agents as “BATTERY GAADI AVARU” meaning the BATTERY VEHICLE FELLOW . Once I had gone to a furniture shop. I was shocked when the owner there suddenly asked me whether the RTO people registered my electric scooter. Upon asking how did he come to know about that, he told that he had seen me arguing with the RTO officials, when he had come there on some work. 
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Thank you so much for your reply. The efficiency related to the fact that it was a new vehicle makes sense.
This was the exact reason why I asked about the experience. Sad that it was not smooth but then it’s not surprising too. If they had collected tax and then you had publicised it, they would’ve been in trouble. Anyway, hogli bidi all is well that ends well.
Now that the vehicle is in Shivamogga, I expect you to treat us with beautiful pictures of Ather in front of beautiful backdrops of Malenadu.
Wish you a long fuss-free ownership 
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Indeed I am happy to read all your details. Proud of you on registration aspect. Good that you did not give up. Wish you safe and happy ride on 450.
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Loved the travelogue and its heartening to see tier 2 & 3 city dwellers are showing so much interest in EVs. So, if I am right, we have an Ather in Shivamogga, another in Dharward and 3-4 in Mysore…
@Ather.Team are you listening??
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I think, Ather Team is aware and listening. These vehicles went there on TMP registration and got it registered in local RTO. It is not just in these cities alone, I have seen 450s in Mangaluru, Puttur. We have heard in the forum that people are using 450 in Goa, Auroville too. And one guy has booked to take it to Vijayawada and he is waiting for the delivery.
For sure there is interest in other parts. However serving in all parts of state and others is not an easy task for a start up company. Also Ather has different approach on sales/service, and does not work with dealership network.
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Sir,
I am perfectly aware of Ather’s approach of providing an end to end product and service experience.
However, considering the product has reached a certain level of maturity and their expansion plans in terms of production, I think its time they also think of Geographical expansion, not just in cities where there is technology concentration, but also to nearby towns, as these tech strong cities attract lot of people from nearby towns, who gain lot of knowledge on latest tech and turn tech savvy themselves. Every state has some tier 2 or 3 city that is the knowledge/education center (eg. Mysore, Hubli-Dharwad, Mangalore in Karnataka), where younger generation get ample exposure and develop interest in latest tech that they can get their hands on.
About the service experience and Ather’s approach to not going for Dealership network, I have one suggestion. we dont have to open an Ather Space in every town. The main concern is availability of Service. Even, if Ather employs resident service professionals in small towns, who are thoroughly trained by them and provide doorstep service (considering minimal service of only mechanical parts), I don’t think anybody would mind travelling to Bangalore for delivery of their Ather. So, Ather can continue to have Ather Space in metros and state capitals, which just expanding its service network in an economical way.
As far as Ather being a startup is concerned, I think most EV players in India are startups, but are moving faster with their products, which are just assembly of Chinese parts.
My reply may sound a bit over passionate, but its just that, I do not want Ather to end up like Ford, where Ford’s comment of “You can buy a ford car in any colour as long as it is black” cost it dearly in terms of loss of market share, when other Auto giants pushed their products in different colours.
I am not a product or business specialist… Just putting my thoughts.
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Sure. I already have a few pics which I would like to share with you all. Just after getting a permanent registration number, I had taken it to Purdal Dam, which is a small check dam situated in the Shettyhalli Wildlife Sanctuary area. Its about 15 km from the city.
NOTE :My entry to the sanctuary area is not illegal. There are villages and settlements around the dam and also down the road. People travel frequently along this route. Also a handful of tourists visit this dam for the peace and tranquil experience it offers. . It can also be confirmed in this website. http://discovershimoga.weebly.com/purdal.html
So a sort of disclaimer to begin with
The reservoir
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If Ather comes up with a less expensive model, I guarantee there will be many buyers in the tier 2 and 3 cities. I have experienced it, when I was stopped by a random person on a bullet . He enquired everything about the scooter and was interested in it. He said that he was fed up with filling his bullet and would consider buying one if it launched in Shivamogga. Smaller cities dont even need many charging points. Just one or two will be sufficient.
Regarding my city, I can help Ather set up a fast charging point, if they are in any plans to launch the scooter in the city in future. We own an industry in the city, where Ather can easily use the three phase power supply to set up fast charging points. Its better Ather launches its product in other smaller cities well before the sub par Chinese scooters occupy the market.
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liked it
it’s on my list now
I’ll meet you if you are ok
not very soon though
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Sure. You are always welcome, sir. Just let me know before, so that I can make the required arrangements for you. I actually am a student, persuing my final year BE in Mysuru. I did all these tours during my 2 months vacation. Now my dad uses it in Shivamogga to commute to the factory. So if I know beforehand, I can plan and meet you there.
Also consider other places around Shivamogga in the list. Coming all the way to Shivamogga to visit Purdal dam might disappoint you. Its just a small check dam for that matter.
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Really great to hear about your adventures i want to do till jog falls it will be thrilling. I think we need to log places like shops that are friendly and can charge so that it can be shared also we need a device that shows how much power we are consuming so that we can pay. Just a thought but kudos to you.
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Ah… the greenery in these pictures is just so refreshing. Thanks for posting.
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its not dam am excited about
your enthusiasm and most importantly your dad supporting you
i shall do a ride to nearby places with your dad when am there
also just to let you know
we (@pkg7723 , @hunt4dj and @chethan.bn) are coming to mysuru this weekend
hope you are not busy!?
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Sure sir. You are always welcome. I dont know if my dad would come on a trip alone. But If I come, he will definitely join in . So please let me know when you plan.
Also,we can have a meet this weekend at Mysuru. Please let me know the time and the location. I will be there.
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regarding mysuru trip…
time probably around 12pm
and place you should give us choices as none of us are from mysuru, also let me know if you know any ather owners in mysuru
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