Introduction
Orxa Energies, A Bengaluru based Electric vehicle startup recently launched the much awaited electric motorcycle called the Mantis. We had an opportunity to ride their beautiful , sleek and aggressive looking electric motorcycle for the very first time on a race track. What follows below is the detailed review of all new Orxa Mantis.
Design and Styling Elements
In the flesh, the motorcycle is a looker – it is sleek, sporty, stylish, aggressive and it makes you feel like riding. The design team has done a great job. The motorcycle feels very premium and aspiring to own one. The bike features a twin projector LED headlamp which is inspired by eyes of Mantis insect. You can see lot of design elements and graphics of Mantis from the side view., The 17 inch alloy wheels with radial tyres by CEAT, 41mm telescopic fork suspension in the front, all LED DRLs, LED Tail lamps and LED indicators further enhances the overall looks . The engine area of a typical petrol motorcycle is replaced by the batteries that are housed inside an IP67 rated hybrid aluminium case.
Mantis-inspired twin projector LED is very bright – offers very good illumination and spread at the night. Talking about the rear side, you can notice the exposed belt connected to rear wheel, the mono-shock suspension setup, and as you move upwards, you see the split seats and a stylish extended element holding the LED tailamps, indicators and number plate intact – indeed, it looks fancy and nice.
Digital Instrument Cluster
The all new Orxa Mantis electric motorcycle features a 5 inch TFT color non-touch display and the graphics are laid out well. The fonts are well illuminated and readable in both day and night conditions. You will see Remaining charge on SoC, Range in Kms along with a prominent speedometer on the display. There is no touch screen on offer and operations can be handled through joystick which is present on the left side of the handle bar. The Joystick responsiveness does not seem to be seamlessly syncing with the display as of now – there is a little delay, Orxa mentions in their tech specs that they have built their own proprietary Linux based Orxa Operating system.
Power Figures and Dimensions
It is an electric motorcycle and the wheels are powered by electric motor whose power is delivered via belt. The spec sheet claims 27.5 bhp of peak power and 93 Nm of maximum torque. The battery – its a fixed type of battery – (Proprietary Orxa 5145) which is rated at 8.9 kWh. Regarding the safety of battery packs, Orxa claims it has got Five layers of in-built safety with double redundant thermal runway protection. The batteries are housed inside a Hybrid aluminium case with IP67-rated protection.
Coming to the dimensions of all new Orxa Mantis – This electric motorcycle weighs in about 182 kgs and has a large wheelbase of 1450mm. The seat height of Orxa Mantis is 815mm which is good even for short riders. The ground clearance is 180mm, so you need not worry too much on floor or battery brushing the road.
Charger, Charging Types and Range (Mileage) of Mantis
Orxa Energies is offering two types of chargers currently – the one is 1.3 kW standard on-board charger. Charging the motorcycle via standard charger takes about 5 hours to charge from 0-80%. There is also a fast charger on offer which Orxa calls it as Blitz Charger which has a rating of 3.3 kW and charges the motorcycle from 0-80% in under 2.5 hours. Which is pretty decent and practical.
The company currently claims a range of 221 Kms when the motorcycle is fully charged (IDC).
Ride, Handling – Brakes and Suspension
Moving to the most important section – How does it ride? The motorcycle frame is made of All-aluminium aerospace-grade alloy frame and subframe – so it gives you that initial confidence to get started and going on this bike. There is no problem in ingress or egress ergonomics or riding position ergonomics – You may ride comfortably both with the face up riding position and also back bent, face down position. There is no clutch or gears to change from your left leg and the rear brake can be operated from your right foot – just like you use rear brakes in typical petrol bikes.
There is a kill switch and start button towards your right on handlebar – once the key is in and you turn the button on, it takes upto 5 seconds to boot and motorcycle’s motor turns on and is ready to roll. As you provide the throttle input, the motorcycle gets into motion real quick. On a flat straight track surface which we rode, the bike reached a top speed of 70 Kmph at one go when the remaining battery charged percentage indicated under 20% . The motorcycle made no mistake during turnings, cornering or while stopping. It was fun to ride.
The 320 mm disc brake with four-piston fixed caliper setup in the front wheel along with the 230 mm disc brake setup with single-piston floating caliper did a good job to bring the motorcycle to hault at a very quick interval whenever you needed it – Pretty responsive. The 41mm telescopic forks in the front and hydraulic mono-shock with preload in the rear took. all the impact and absorbed the shocks well and supported well during the braking on a flat tarmac surface of a race track.
We were not able to experience the claimed Top Speed of 135 km/h on this motorcycle in this short race track. The bike was quick, and had a good torque and kept us in action through out the 4-lap journey of 4 Kms. The motorcycle is Belt Driven gets. a ride-by-wire throttle and a High power density liquid cooled BLDC Motor at the heart.
What we missed
Coming from a background of riding lot of petrol motorcycles – we missed the thump and real power and sound coming from engine and exhaust that made our hearts sing every single time while throttling up. We understand its an electric motorcycle and we would love to hear some sort of feedback as the machine gets to motion. The Mantis EV in motion feels little dull, empty and voiceless and doesn’t add up to riding fun which you always experienced in petrol bikes. Why not add some sound to make people wake up and make your presence felt while you are riding? What is the real value add for people buying an electric motorcycle who craves nothing but Thrill of riding – Is that just top speed(on paper) and ability to overtake?
Colors on offer
The all new Orxa Mantis is currently offered in only two color options namely: Urban Black and Jungle Grey.
Price
The all new Orxa Mantis electric motorcycle is priced at Rs 3.6 lakhs (Ex-showroom Bengaluru). The deliveries of Mantis shall begin from April 2024 onwards. The deliveries are done in phases, starting from Bangalore.
Verdict – Should you buy it?
At Rs 3.6 lakhs including a standard charger (Ex-showroom Bengaluru), the Mantis does really get attention because of the way it looks and how quick it is. Is this price justifiable against the likes of Hondas or REs or Yamahas who offers nearly 10 year warranties and country-wide service network and fuel availability? Could this become a hot favourite among first time two-wheeler riders who wants to go electric first and doesn’t crave for the “thrill of riding” – it remains to be seen…
You can order your Mantis starting today at Rs 10,000 for limited time on their website across India and expect delivery next year onwards – April 2024 in Bengaluru. https://mantis.orxaenergies.com/
