Rajeshkav's Review of the Ather 450

Finally, I am the owner of flight 8761 (that’s what @Abhishek calls)

Excellent service from Ather on delivery. Offered me water, coffee made me relax first before explaining all the features. It was smooth.

I bought it through the lease. Uday and Julie of Autovert were warm, so friendly all the time (first photo). Who does not want to do business with such guys? Spent about an hour with these folks alone!

8761 was charged 100%, with 74km range when I left experience centre. I drove around 35Km today. Still, I have 65% charge and range says I can still commute another 64Km !! Awesome!

I was stopped by at least 10 people on my way back home. It was pleasant answering so many folks!

Order ID: 1409

Chronology of dates:

Order Date : 05 June 2018 Original Delivery Month: Nov 2018 Rescheduled Delivery month: Jan 2019 Assessment Date : 05 Jan 2019 Call for payment: 28 Jan 2019 Dashboard updated for payment: 29 Jan 2019 Lease application submitted : 29 Jan 2019 Lease approval : 30 Jan 2019 Payment made : 01 Feb 2019 Installation done: 09 Feb 2019 Insurance issued : 11 Feb 2019 Call for delivery : 13 Feb 2019 (ready by 15th Feb) Delivery date: 16 Feb 2019

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WARNING! This is an exhaustive review and bear with me. This review is based after the 200+km ride and I hope this serves as a good guide for the prospective/future Ather Owners. However, feel free to question me. First I will write good things, followed by improvement points and finally great misses of this current version/model. Well, these are my own review comments and I understand some of us might differ with what I have said below.

Many Good things:

  1. Eyeful: Catchy, Trendy, Innovative
    a. It is Indian, that too our own ‘namma Bengaluru’ make
    b. Green
  2. Riding quality/Handling: So far so good. Quite smooth. Gravitational (G) centre is very well designed hence riding and manoeuvring are so easy. Even with speed less than 5Km per hour, your leg can still be off from the road and still have good control (balance) of the vehicle. On acceleration and speed tthe oo, vehicle has superb control and it is really pleasant.
  3. Acceleration: Excellent acceleration and it really zooms… (however I lack punch of geared vehicle , say with half clutch)
  4. Range: 75+ Eco mode is guaranteed; For my riding style, I see 90km+ range after 4 charging cycle. (Today’s range is 94Km)
  5. Front Shock Absorber: Quite responsive. On humps and pot holes, it is very responsive you will cruise over them.
  6. Handle grip: Ergonomic design. Feel of the handle is nice. I do not think we need to look for extra cover over it.
  7. Buttons : Well designed. However, it may take a day or two to get used to it from your current vehicle.
  8. Mirrors: As buttons, you may take a day or two to get used to it from your older vehicle. I am quite comfortable now.
  9. Floor Grip: Well designed and has a very good grip with the shoe. Personally, I do not think, a mat is required over it. Cleaning the floor grips and in between are easy and I think good home work on these minute things.
  10. Seat: Good for short people and average up to 5’5". Front of the seat has a slope towards the front and which is good for short people.
  11. Brakes : Superb braking. CBS works beautifully and perfect.
  12. Lights: LED lighting is good even in pitch dark. I really liked the low beam.
  13. Storage space: Well designed. A big full face helmet can easily sit here. Good thinking to create small holes in the bottom which will help to drain the water.
  14. Dashboard: First Software driven, GPS enabled scooter.
  15. Excellent team members -Starting from Experience centre, Charging Assessment, Installation, Delivery. Calm and pleasant nature really wins the heart.
  16. Great Hearing Team: They have open ears to hear all our comments. Couple of my suggestions are already implemented.
  17. Customer Care: So far so good. When I call them they know who called and they address by my name. Feels good that my number/name is recognized.
  18. Forum: Guess Ather is the first company to come up with a forum where its customer can discuss openly.
  19. Good partner - Autovert for Lease.
  20. Home Charging Point: Though some of us(including me) argue why separate station is required/can’t we use normal 5A socket, I finally concur with Ather that charging station gives ease of use and its user experience is totally different.
  21. On Road Price: A complete number that is known to customer before ordering. Only Ather does.

Improvement points: (I am calling as improvement points because I feel these are implementable in the current version of Ather)

  1. Rear Shock Absorber: Compared with my Pulsar, my pillion rider said it is not as comfortable as the motorcycle. This is especially true in humps. Normally we tend to accelerate a little when the front tyre crosses the hump. If we do the same, pillion rider gets a massive kick from the rear mono shock.
    My Own Solution: Wait for the rear tyre to cross the hump and then accelerate.
  2. Headlight: I feel high beam is not that effective. Not sure whether it is due to alignment mismatch. As of today, it is pointing at the sky and I do not see any usage.
  3. Horn: Sometimes it sounds like BMTC bus’s horn!!! I am not a honker, however, for Indian roads, Horn is much needed. I feel it very feeble and cannot really make a real presence to alert.
  4. Dashboard Display Intensity: Too bright at night even with manual override. A black theme is much needed in the next OTA Update.
  5. FAN: TOOO NOISY !!!..
    a. Isn’t there a silent type of Fan?
    b. Not sure whether Fan turns ON based on the temperature.
    c. And I do not know why does FAN to be turned ON while charging. Should the fan be ON all the time while it is charging? Can’t it be turned on with duty cycle?
    d. Does trickle charging also require a fan to be ON? (I do have a 2KW inverter at home and its fan is absolute silent)

I am very sure, my next house neighbour will complain soon and he will say he cannot sleep at night :frowning:

Solution: If the fan cannot be silenced, can the charging be set for a certain duration and turned off completely by phone app?

  1. Brake Lock: Need brake lock badly.
    a. This will help me to park in slope
    b. Also, this will help accidental push that will be resulting in fall.
  2. Seat: Personally I prefer flat seat and not tapering down. It is tiring after a while if the seat is sloped.
  3. Dashboard: Lot of features are required (Probably Android like base and all option should be small apps so that OTA can be small and pushed at regular intervals like our phone apps today)
    a. At least 2 trip meters (Trip A, Trip B)
    b. Battery Percentage
    c. Regen % indication
    d. Different colour themes (black theme first priority)
    e. Maps: Clearing the recent places, Traffic condition, Alternate directions (fastest route, less traffic etc.) before I push go button
  4. Phone App: Following features are missing today
    a. Need Shutdown button in the app. I do not want to go to scooter again to shut down if I decide after walking into home. This will also help as a security feature in case of theft.
    b. Battery Health (Original Capacity, Current Capacity, No of Charge Cycles done)
    c. Trip Analytics - Trip details, Energy consumption for a ride, Electric Units consumed for every charge, Regen details, etc.
  5. Number Plate: There is a ruling from the Ministry of Transport (CMVR50) on this aspect. I remember reading that font height should be 35mm, the width should be 7mm and the distance between numbers also should be 5mm (IND embossed number plate are with this spec). Funda is that numbers should be readable from the distance of 20mtr (to be specific 20.5mtr, approx. 5 cars away). Guess today’s green plates are not complied (at least in my scooter). I prefer embossed IND plates.
  6. Home Delivery : When everything is through online, why not delivery to my doorstep? A option could have been nice.

Great Misses: (Probably points that make the vehicle even better)

  1. Centre Stand: I miss this very much. Why do I need the Centre stand?
    a. Space required to park the vehicle with side stand is more. More real estate is needed.
    b. With the centre stand, I can even park on the slope.
    c. Less chance of accidental fall.
    d. Cleaning the tyres and rim is not possible at one go with the side stand. I have to move the vehicle to reach the farther part of the tyres.
  2. Tyre Nozzle: Orientation of Air Nozzles are certainly NOT user-centric design. Ather should consider both nozzles should orient to only one side. In today’s design, one has to do a ‘pradakshina’ to fill the air.
  3. SIM Option: Option to switch to our own data provider
  4. USB Port - For charging phone + Software update (for those people who will not go for data package)
  5. Bluetooth - For the connection between phone and vehicle (for Caller Alert)
  6. Indicator: Side stand indicator
  7. Passkey (high beam passkey)
  8. Standalone GPS (not A-GPS)
  9. ABS
  10. Ambient Light Sensor
  11. Cruise control
  12. Side Foot Rest for ladies (I do not understand the logic of saree guard in the current version when there is no side footrest :smiley: )
  13. Colour Options
  14. Accessories

Overall, it is a great vehicle. I am proud of you Ather! A great product by our people!

44 Likes

Thanks for the detailed review including clear description of pros and cons.
I am not sure if anyone has mentioned about the ground clearance.

What would happen if we scrape the bottom on a unscientifically build speed bump ( majority are these in and around Bangalore). Will it damage the battery pack ?

1 Like

I am yet to be an owner of Ather 450… But to answer your question, From the looks of the naked bike at experience center, we can take it on any speed bump.
Because there is a steel casing that has the lowest point surrounding the battery, which will take the impact leaving the battery to happily stay:-)…
And apart from this there is a plastic underbody below the battery and the steel casing (To route airflow to cool the battery). That will take minor impacts and heavy impact will be taken care by the steel casing… So no worries:-)

3 Likes

There is no issue on ground clearance , hence there was no comment :smiley: There is plenty of gap (160mm) . In my last 6 months of riding I have not hit any humps so far.

On impact to battery pack @gokul.chinnasamy answered it … It is designed well and tested too.

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I have hit once when I was offroading!
Only once

Check this post by Shreyas on Battery Penetration test.

https://forum.atherenergy.com/t/battery-pack/297/44?u=rajeshkav

10K Service Experience

Serviced on 01 Sept, 2020

Recently I had given my 450 for 10K service and here are my review comments.

It was a generic 10K service which I got done when the odometer was 11.6K. Why didn’t I get done at 10K? Probably answer is due to COVID Shutdown and I was expecting Ather to summon for service rather than being logged by me.

Logged following complaints apart from the general check-up

  • Shock Absorber Improvements
  • Seat Latch
  • Noisy Motor Fan
  • Yellow Boot Light and
  • Noisy belt hum (at one torque)

All the above were fixed after service.

What I did not like?

  • Even though I logged the service ticket on 22nd Aug 2020, I got the first call from Customer Service on 26th or so. A delay of 4 days was not that I expected. I gave 3 stars for this (in Post Service Survey) and I got a prompt call from Customer Service for this feedback. They acknowledged this and agreed to improve in the future.

  • Wish I could have received a phone call from Ather Service before they begin servicing. Luckily, I had indicated all the points in the service request. A call before the beginning of the service would help in adding if any missing points.

  • Even though the vehicle was put on service mode, I lost my hard-earned Predicted Range number.

What I liked

  • Prompt, on-time runner: Even though it was raining and drenched he came to pick the vehicle on time. Pitied him, he did not have a rain jacket too.

  • Once the service is done, I got a call from Service Personnel on the points which I had mentioned and went through each point and additional service aspects. He suggested calling him back if any points are not up to my expectation. This kind of gesture helps a lot and liked it a lot.

  • Seat Latch, Shocks are as good as new or as good as 450x’s.

  • The vehicle was cleaned well. It pleases when it is returned like this.

  • Utmost care by runners. Both pickup and drop runner was armed with a sanitizer, gloves, and mask. They carried their own helmets too.

Final Note

After riding for 1.5 years this is what I have observed based on 10s of different 450 (and 450x) rides.

No two 450s are the same in terms of belt drive performance with respect to sound (whee sound), smoothness, and hum.

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A post was split to a new topic: Review of the 450

10K or 1.5 Years Review of Ownership

It is a year+ since I got this 450 and it is time to write my review as I completed 2 milestones. 1st one is the completion of 365 days (in fact, it is 608 days today) and 10,000+Km. What can I say… It is an amazing journey in this period and a memorable one too.

The following review is based on

  • first review posted on 21 Feb 2019 and in comparison, with the points mentioned in this post
  • various points mentioned by other forum users
  • based on various experience – say riding, service, accidents, etc… etc.

On another note, I used to ride Bajaj pulsar 150 earlier and some of the comparisons are also based on that.

Some of the vital statistics in this one year

  • Taken possession on – 16 Feb 2019
  • KM Driven – 12132.7Km (on 16th Oct 2020)
  • Fall/Accidents – 2 (1 skidding, 1 motorbike hit me from the side)
  • Tyre Punctures – 0
  • Best Efficiency – 20~22Wh/km (with 10+km minimum driving)
  • Average Efficiency – 24Wh/Km
  • Average Predicted Range – 100Km (in all modes)
  • Best Projected Range achieved – 120Km (in Ride)
  • Max Speed driven – 93Kmph
  • Services/Repair Count – 10 times
  • Major parts that had issues – Battery, BMS, Ignition Key, Wiring Harness, Charger Fan
  • Minor issues – Touch screen insensitiveness, Mirror, Seat Latch, Motor Fan Cover

Details of Issues/Service

  1. Battery – all of a sudden I used to lose a heavy % of battery while parked. Later it was attributed to a faulty connection within the battery pack. Solution–> Battery was replaced with a new one.
  2. BMS – This was due to repeat shutdown at higher SoC. Still, I am looking for a permanent solution. Temp Solution –> Shutdown at lower SoC
  3. Sudden Stopping while driving – While riding, the vehicle used to get turned off. Solution –> Faulty Ignition Key (initially wiring harness was suspected)
  4. Charger Fan – C014 issue – While charging, Charger Fan was not turning on, hence 450 was refusing to charge. Solution –> Replaced the Fan/Sensor (not applicable to gen 2 vehicle)
  5. Touch Screen issue – Solved after software update
  6. Mirror – Still an issue
  7. Seat Latch – Improved, but still not as good as 450x
  8. Motor Fan Cover – Came off, solved after fixing with glue. I still feel it is flimsy.

Good points which I had mentioned in my 200+Km review and I still standby those except

  1. Handle Grip – is showing little wear, need to see in another year
  2. Mirror – I can make use of only 25%, 75% goes waste
  3. Seats – gets tired after 30 min ride

Following ‘Improvement points’ which I had mentioned are sorted out

  1. Headlight – Beam is now adjusted
  2. Horn – not an issue anymore
  3. Dashboard Display Intensity – With Dark Mode, the issue is solved
  4. Dashboard Features - Trip Meter, Battery SoC %, Regen Indication, Dark Theme, Alternate routes
  5. Number Plate – with HSRP

Following ‘Improvement points’ which I had mentioned are still haunting me.

  1. FAN Noise - Charging Fan: with DC Charging this is gone (still I have an issue in my gen 1 vehicle; Motor Fan: behaves differently when dust accumulates there. No DIY measure to reduce fan noise.
  2. Rear Shock Absorber – Not so good still. However, in the recent 450x test ride, I see improvement. But what does that make it better?

I used to ride Pulsar before. Since it had big diameter wheels, I could cross humps much easier and a little faster. Since 450 has small-diameter wheels, I have learned to slow down even more to avoid jerks to my back.

  1. Dashboard – Missing Traffic Conditions
  2. Phone App Improvements – Timed Shutdown, Battery Health, Per Trip Analytics

‘Great Misses’ which are weaned now

  1. Tyre Nozzle Orientation
  2. SIM swap
  3. USB Port
  4. Bluetooth
  5. Passkey
  6. ABS
  7. ALS
  8. Cruise Control

‘Great Misses’ which are still GREAT MISS even today are

  1. Centre Stand
  2. Side Stand Indicator
  3. Brake Lock
  4. Shutdown feature (even at higher SoC)

My Remarks after a yearlong riding are

  1. On 450 – Well Engineered first Disruptive Engineering product in Indian Market.
  2. Customer Friendly, Ather listen to us and improve
  3. I am still figuring out the meaning of ‘Intelligent or Smart’ scooter. Till all the features are rolled out in the app and dashboard, I strongly feel today’s features are available in the ICE counterpart.
  4. Analytics – this should be made available per trip. Today’s monthly analytics are good to see only and it does not help to improve riding style.
  5. On Performance – I do not see any degradation in performance either in structure – say shock absorber or any other rattling noise nor battery. I still get a 100+ predicted range.
  6. Dashboard Colour change – I have not noticed any
  7. Boot light – Yes, it turned yellow.
  8. Colour – Shine of the scooter is still intact. Believe it or not, I have not washed my scooter even once at home. Only time it was washed/cleaned was when it went for service. Otherwise, I just wipe it with dry/wet cloth.
  9. Tyre Air Pressure – I had no issue at all. I do check pressure once a month or so at cold tyre condition. I usually lose 1 or 2 PSI per month
  10. Missing Centre Stand – I find it difficult to clean the left side of the vehicle. Even Tyre rim cannot be cleaned unless I move the vehicle.
  11. Battery Health – I am not sure there is a degradation in battery performance. However, I see a little less compared range from the initial range. I used to get nearly 116 to 120km projected range in the initial days, however, these days I get nearly 100km.
  12. Ride Logs – Disappointed till today with inaccurate data and does not make sense in paying the amount for a data plan
  13. Shutdown issue – Hardware fix for older BMS is still not available. Hope this will be available to all people soon so that Shutdown is not a Vacation Mode.

What is my wish in years to come for 450?

  1. Service Log – to be made available to the customer including parts that are changed and the cost incurred
  2. Service Alert – For every periodic service: Customer Service should alert users and get it serviced
  3. Service Alert – for any malfunctions: Since the scooter is smart, all malfunctions arising in the scooter can easily be pulled to Customer Service Dashboard and alert. This way Ather can be more intelligent.
  4. How Amazon guys deliver the items without a call asking about the address? Why not Ather runner’s same methodology? When the vehicle number or phone number is mentioned to Customer Service, they should understand the whole horoscope of the user including service history, parts that are changed.
  5. Timed Shut down (Auto Shut down)
  6. User settable SoC alert
  7. Battery Health Report
  8. Complete Ride History on mobile phone app – as of now, I do not feel it is worth paying data plan unless all this information is available to the end-user. I seriously doubt any user gets benefitted out of monthly analytics.
  9. Improved touch screen sensitivity and response. Today it is not par with any cheap mobile phone too :frowning:
  10. More accessories – if Ather cannot come up with accessories, then it should open-up by open-sourcing accessories from various accessory companies
  11. Charging conversion kit accessory – as of now Ather cannot be charged from Govt Charging stations. Ather should come up with the various type of conversion kits so that vehicle can be charged directly (not through portable chargers)

What is my wish list in years from Ather as a company?

  1. Ather to be a stable company
  2. Improve customer friendliness
  3. Be an example to Indian Automobile Industry
  4. Be more greener, in all walks of industry
  5. Come up with an affordable model so that India will become more green
  6. Improved coordination between Ather’s partners; say with finance or lease partner
  7. Change in Grid Set up model – as of now, Grid penetration is low

Above was written before 10K Service, however it was serviced later. Details of my 10K Serive Experience and issues that are sorted are written in this LINK

23 Likes

Thanks a lot of this review as a whole sir. It’s really good to see honest reviews which highlight everything about the scooter. And a lot of the points you pointed out I think majority of is owners feel the same way.

5 Likes

Wow :heart_eyes: You have mentioned every detail possible past, present and future :smiley:

Ather team will be very proud to have a honest and valuable customer like you @rajeshkav

I will be surprised if Ather team does not award you with 450X :heart_eyes:

You are a valuable assest :smiley: :+1:t2:

1 Like

Is this added in the update?

1 Like

Yes, it is already there in the present OTA update. I see that you are an Ather Owner.

2 Likes

As far as I checked couldn find this feature, can you pls guide me where in the dashboard I would get this ?

1 Like

Sorry, I take back my remark, it is not in option (got confused with energy consumption). Regen indication can be seen around the ‘Speed’ number in the dashboard ; seen as hue (and not in number) . Just observe around this when you twist throttle back next time.

As the regen today is very minimal, this feature may not be very useful from user perspective.

6 Likes

Not entirely sure about this, but here’s what I’ve learned about the energy consumption indicator:

  1. The red aura is based on the energy consumption averaged for the last 5/10 seconds.
  2. If it’s below a certain threshold, there will be no change in colour. As it crosses that number, there are different energy consumption slabs for the intensity and diameter of the ring.
  3. These thresholds and slabs are also different for each mode. For instance at 30 Wh/km, there may not be a ring in the Sport mode but it will appear in the Eco mode.
  4. When we go into regen, the average energy consumption suddenly drops, and within 5 seconds, it completely becomes negative, hence we see the colour disappear suddenly. However, the same can be achieved by simply coasting or braking. I don’t think there’s a definitive way to indicate regen today.
14 Likes

I think what @rajeshkav was referring to is the other halo around the speedometer and not the range to empty. That halo moves as if you’re accelerating when in fact you are regenerating and decelerating. ( Just for a split second though ) hardly noticeable unless you really were trying to notice it.

1 Like

Never observed this specifically, but I’ll have to check this on my next ride.

Review on 4G Dongle

Recently on July 10th, 2021 after second lockdown opening I went for 4G dongle upgrade. Here are my review comments

I stay in an individual house where there is no issue on mobile network. Since I had first version of Ather, my network switched to 2G since Vodafone turned off 3G network. I have driven several drives since upgrade and even 66 Km one stretch drive too last weekend.

After the upgrade,

  • I always get 4G symbol in my dashboard where I park.
  • When there is network, data is breeze. Map and other related items loads in a matter of second.
  • However, where there is no mobile network, 450 loses complete network, which is shown as not connected in the dashboard. If the dashboard loses signal, it never recovers even after waiting several minutes or hours. Only way it worked for me, is by soft rebooting the dashboard. I am not sure whether this is related to only my dongle or issue with entire community who went for upgrade. Is it a software issue or hardware dongle issue? I will be raising ticket for the same.
  • After returning from long ride on one of the weekend, which showed me odo distance as 66.0km, however my ride log in app shows me as I have ridden 62.7Km. So, which is correct?
2 Likes