INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Bengaluru-based startup Orxa Energies first showcased the Mantis electric bike in 2019 at India Bike Week (IBW)
The Mantis has been in development for over six years and the bike also set a 13,510km record for travelling around India
Now, the company has finally launched the Orxa Mantis electric bike at Rs 3.6 lakh (ex-showroom, Bengaluru)
The price and performance figures of the Orxa Mantisplace it in the same ballpark as the base variant of the Ultraviolette F77 priced at Rs
3.8 lakh.Now what is the Orxa Mantis all about, what are the features it gets, what are its pros and cons, how is it to ride and most
It features an angular design, a sculpted tank with multiple sharp cuts and creases
The headlamp design with its LED DRL is catchy and it gets twin projector lights at the front with DRLs below
The electric bike has some nice details like small wings on the sides, sharp graphics and a few other unique details that make it stand out
The charging port is placed on top of the tank and the lever for the front brake is mounted on the right handlebar and the lever for the
rear brake is mounted below
The seat height is quite tall at 815mm and it gets a split seat setup
The Mantis is undoubtedly a handsome, striking and sharp-looking motorcycle, but the general quality, paint job and fit and finish need
aerospace grade alloy frame and Orxa claims that the Mantis is the lightest in its segment with a kerb weight of 182kg
At the front, it gets 41 mm telescopic forks and an adjustable preload mono-shock at the rear and it offers a good balance between
In terms of features, the bike gets all LED lighting and a 5-inch TFT instrument cluster with a Linux-based Orxa operating system
The resolution and the graphics are pretty good but the visibility under direct sunlight leaves room for improvement
The bike also gets Bluetooth connectivity, a Mantis app with navigation, phone notifications, ride analytics and much more
As mentioned previously, the e-bike is based on an all-aluminium aerospace-grade alloy frame
The aluminium-cased battery pack is suspended on this frame and a liquid-cooled BLDC electric motor is mounted behind the battery
The Orxa Mantis has the first liquid-cooled motor on an electric two-wheeler in India and the company says that it has used liquid cooling
to aid packaging and make the motor compact and light.We only got to ride the bike on a go-kart track for around 15-20 minutes, so a full
review of the real-world range will have to wait until later
The Mantis gets an 8.9kWh battery pack and the company claims a real-world range of 221 km on a full charge
The battery can be charged from 0-80% in 5 hours using a standard 1.3 kW charger
The company is offering a blitz 3.3 kW charger which can be purchased separately at an additional price and this can juice up the battery
The motor has a peak power of 27.5 hp and 93 Nm torque
Post 30 kph, the acceleration is quite quick up to about 85-90 kph, after which it begins to trail off.Hitting speeds of up to 120 kph
should happen quite easily on the street with a claimed 93 nm of torque
Orxa claims the bike can sprint from 0-100 kph in 8.9 seconds and has a top speed of 135 kph
Refinement levels are decent, but one area that definitely needs improvement is the initial response when the rider pins the throttle
It has 17-inch wheels with 110/70 section tyre up front and 130/70 section at the rear, so the bike felt confident on the track
Braking duties are taken care of by a 320 mm disc with a four-piston fixed calliper at the front and a 230 mm disc with a single-piston
floating calliper at the rear
The braking performance is acceptable and it gets single-channel ABS, although, at this price point, the bike could have been better off
The bike feels stable and the behaviour around corners is natural and predictable.The riding position is slightly on the sporty side and the
handling is also good fun as the bike feels planted and confident
becoming too uncomfortable.The deliveries are slated to begin in April 2024 in a phased manner with Bengaluru being the first and launch in
other cities will be announced later
The bookings for the Mantis are now open for Rs 10,000 for the first 1000 customers, after which the booking amount will be increased to Rs
Orxa is offering a three-year, 30,000km warranty on the bike, battery and motor.In terms of design and looks, I think this is a handsome
e-bike with sharp and aggressive lines
The bike looks very unique, and sporty and definitely stands out from the crowd
bit of improvement that needs to happen in the mentioned areas.The performance and acceleration needs to be improved, the paint and plastics
needs better finishing and the digital dash needs better visibility
There are a few things such as range, connectivity features, performance at high speeds and more that I was not able to test out properly
and a complete verdict can only be given after that so stay tuned for real-world test review.
