The World is evolving since the beginning of mankind. We humans found better simpler solutions to whatever problems we faced from time to time. By the 19 th century, we were full throttle in terms of energy use & population, automobiles were invented, and we had trains going through the stretch of the country to transport people and goods place to place. Soon, the world realized that our reliance on crude oil & other non-renewable sources of energy like coal, wood isn’t going to last a lifetime, and soon began the green evolution that led to the green revolution.
In India too, we began with electrification of railways by late 1990’s, to cut down our dependence on coal & its rising prices. So did the automotive industry, with Indias first ever electric car being launched in 1993. The Reva was launched in 1999, which today we know as Mahindra’s E2O. The electric revolution in Indian Automotive industry has been On & Off as per changing governments & the changing subsidies. Petrol prices have touched prices as high as Rs.75-85 per litre in the recent times, accelerating the demand for EV’s to all time high supported by conducive government policies. Team motorworldindia was invited by one such Electric scooter manufacturer to test & review their latest offering.
The Mumbai headquartered BGAUSS electric scooters have recently launched the A2 and the B8 electric scooters, these are made in India, made for India by an Indian electric conglomerate, RR global, which has its roots deeply engraved in the Indian electric space since 1986. We rode the BGAUSS B8, to see if this E-scooter delivers on the promises it makes to make commute cheap, easy & convenient by replacing my bike with the B8 for all my daily work; what I can tell you is I simply saved around 1000/-rs worth petrol while I covered around 320kms in & around Pune with in a weeks period
Speaking about this scooter, The BGAUSS B8 comes ahead as a modern futuristic premium scooter, made for the urban market. The overall design is simple & clean, with a wide flat apron covering its front, with LED Indicators flushed within the apron. Over it sits a 20-watt LED headlamp unit and those Best-in-class designed mirrors, these are one of the best designed RVM’s we have seen on any scooter in the market yet. Behind these mirrors sits the ALL LED console setup that gives you a feel of sitting in a modern cockpit, with 12 different buttons to control the various features of the BGAUSS B8. The Rear section carries forward the
design elements & lines, the front fendor and the apron creates, if you see it from a side profile. The B8 also gets this modern & unique looking Tail lamp, with integrated indicators, which surely makes the B8 stand out of crowd where ever you go. The B8 comes equipped with Twin-pod-shock-absorbers on the Rear, while the front comes with telescopic forks, which provide good feedback &comfort to the rider while riding the B8.
Though, some might say, the overall the body design could have been better, if compared with the likes of Aether or Bajaj’s E-Chetak. But both these offerings come with a price tag plus of 1 lac rupees, much higher than what the BGAUSS B8 demands. The entry level model of B8 with Lead acid battery starts at Rs.52000/-, while the one we were riding with the Lithium- ion battery retails at Rs.82000. And the top variant, with Internet connectivity & map integration features retails at Rs.87000/-. Also style as a whole is very subjective, so lets leave it there. The overall build quality is top-notch & premium. The pillion footrests come
neatly hidden in the body panel lines. It gets this long & wide seat, to accommodate 2 easily. On the front, the B8 gets a 10-spoked – 10-inch alloy wheel, while on the rear, the 1900-watt BOSCH Hub-motor sits on the 10-inch wheel. Fun fact- this 1.9kW motor produces a torque output of 94.8 Nm.
Coming to the heart of this scooter, it’s a 1900-watt BOSCH manufactured electric Hub motor that produces 94.8 Nm of Torque as soon as you twist the throttle. This torque is enough to propel you out of traffic swiftly, without making any noise about it. Yeah, the B8 being electric does not come with any exhaust note, or engine sound. Gives you a feeling of being a silent Ninja while I overtook others through my city commutes. The motor comes with 3 power delivery modes, low, medium &; high. The low mode restricts the top-speed to 30kmph, but will cover a distance of 75kms, the medium mode allows the B8 to touch 39- 40kmph, with the range degrading to 70kms, while on the top-most mode, the scooter can touch a top speed of 50-55kmph, but will cover a distance only of 58-60kms. During our week-long tests, the scooter delivered daily travel of 50+kms on single charge.
Speaking of the charging, the Lithium-ion Battery model gets fully charged with 2-3hours, which we must say is great. The battery for the B8 is removable, and one can carry this 13kg battery home daily post commute, and charge the scooter from any basic 5-amp power plug with the charger the B8 comes with. The battery can also be directly charged inside the scooter itself, if you have a basic 5-amp plug in your parking lot, saving you from the hassle of carrying around that weight. The battery comes with 5-LED indicators on it, to give us an idea of how much charge it has stored. Full battery is indicated by all 5 lights ON , while fully drained battery shows no LED glowing. You can change the modes on-the-go with the MODE button on the right hand console. The console shows information like battery level, speedometer, trip meter, mode indicator and has warning lights for indicators, regenerative braking, battery low, high beam.
The BGAUSS B8 delivers a very peppy & agile ride with ultimate refinements levels till its top speed in that mode, and can do it all day as long as the battery lasts. The ride offered is pretty comfortable for rider as well as the pillion. Riding the B8 will take some time for you to adjust, adjust to no engine sound, adjust to the dual disk brakes and get used to the sudden trust of power this motor delivers. Another interesting feature the B8 comes equipped with is the Reverse gear, to make the lives easy for customers. By just holding the Reverse button and twisting the throttle, the motor runs in reverse direction, moving the scooter backwards. The B8 also comes equipped with key-less entry, also gets an engine immobilizer & Tamper-alert to protect against theft or any mischief. Its get this USB mobile charger in the front apron, and a holder pocket, to keep your mobiles safely there. It also gets a holder, to hang your daily purchases for groceries & other, in addition to this, it gets a 18-litre boot space to safely store your belongings; you can even carry the charger everywhere you go.
Taking about the things where B8 could have been better, there’s branding on the footboard, front apron, rear body panels, but the Key to the B8 misses out on having any branding as such. The LED headlamp does not provide enough illumination at night, while the meter’s visibility during sunny days becomes a task. Also, getting a hold on-to these 12-different buttons on the switch clusters will become a task. These buttons aren’t even backlit and during evenings & night travel, it becomes pretty difficult to find the right button at the right time. Also, the warning sounds the B8 makes, every time you lock-unlock the B8 with remote seem a bit too out-dated, and sound like a Chinese rip-off. Leaving these issues, the B8 delivers a pretty engaging ride, and comes very handy & useful while performing daily chores & commute. With a warranty of 3 years, the B8 guarantees performance & cheap no-nonsense commute no matter what season it is. Yes, it’s completely waterproof and comes with an IP67 rating, and can take upto 120mm of water wading before any issue crops up.
If you ask me, I’d definitely replace my bike with the B8 for my daily commute chores. Saves money & the environment in one go. At an average of Rs.50 daily fuel expense, I would end up saving atleast Rs.18000 per year, and around Rs.54000 within 3 years, without any additional expense for servicing, changing oils & other service parts which is the case with any petrol powered scooter. I am definitely joining the Green revolution, when are you joining me? Do let us know what your thoughts are down in the comments section .