Nearly six years after first announcing its plans for an electric bike, Tork Motors has finally launched not one, but two e-bikes – the Kratos and Kratos R. The Kratos is priced at Rs 1,92,499, while the R version retails for Rs 2,07,499 (ex-showroom, Pune). FAME-II subsidies knock a significant Rs 60,000 off these prices, bringing the effective ex-showroom prices down to Rs 1,32,499 and Rs 1,47,499.
Tork says it will roll out the bikes in a phased manner across India, with phase 1 cities comprising Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Delhi. In phase 2, it will target 100 cities.
In states where a state subsidy for EVs is applicable, there are further benefits on purchasing the bikes -- in Pune, state subsidies bring effective ex-showroom prices down to Rs 1,07,999 and Rs 1,22,999, while in Delhi, the Kratos' ex-showroom price is as low as Rs 1,02,499.
The Kratos is powered by a 7.5kW, 28Nm motor, while the R gets a 9kW, 38Nm unit. This is good enough for a 0-40kph sprint in 4sec for the Kratos and 3.5sec for the R, and a top speed of 100kph and 105kph, respectively, as per Tork. For reference, something like the Revolt RV400 uses an 3kW motor, while the Ather 450X gets an 6kW unit. Both bikes get three riding modes – Eco, City and Sports – as well as a reverse mode, and the motors are mid-mounted, sending drive to the rear wheel via a chain.
The 4kWh Li-ion battery pack is common between the two bikes and is housed in an aluminium casing, giving it an IP67 weather protection rating. Claimed range is the same for both bikes – 180km under test conditions in the Indian Drive Cycle, and 120km in the real world, which is nearly on-par with the claimed real-world range of something like the Ola S1 Pro (135km).
The battery pack is managed by a proprietary battery management system that constantly monitors its various parameters and also sends this data to the cloud for analytics. Charging options include home charging (at a rate of 25 percent per hour), as well as fast charging (exclusive to the R) which Tork says can take the Kratos to 80 percent charge in less than one hour.
This substantial battery pack is placed in the belly of the motorcycle and held in place by the Kratos' steel trellis frame. It is a structural member of the frame and aids overall stiffness. Suspension comprises a telescopic fork and monoshock, and the Kratos gets a disc brake at both ends, with CBS as standard. Considering the performance-oriented placement of this motorcycle, it would've been nice to see ABS on offer.
While they are offered at quite an attractive price point, the Kratos bikes seem to be let down a little by their spec sheet. Tork's build-up had us expecting a far more performance-oriented machine, and the claimed acceleration and top speed numbers of even the Kratos R fail to live up to those expectations.
What do you think of the Kratos? Will it make electric two-wheelers exciting and desirable? Tell us in the comments below.
Azaman Chothia
Vishal Venugopal
