Raptee.HV T30 review – India’s first high-voltage electric motorcycle | First Ride | Autocar India
India’s two-heer electric scene just got a voltage upgrade. This right here is the T30 from Rapi HV which is a Chennai based startup company. And the unique part about this product is that it uses high voltage architecture compared to all the other EV scooters and motorcycles in our market that use low voltage architecture. There are some electric motorcycles with high voltage architecture in international markets but they are very expensive. The T30 on the other hand is priced at rupees 2.40 lakh extra room. With the high voltage architecture, there are some key advantages like lower heat generation and less thermal stress on components. Additionally, this is the first electric motorcycle in India that can be charged using CCS2 car charging stations. For this first ride experience, we also got to visit the Rapi factory and get some insights from Dinesh Arjun who is the CEO of the company. So this is the first motorcycle uh from our HV stable uh here at Rapi. The fundamental benefit of high voltage is that the power train generates a lot less heat across the powertrain. Right? To be very specific, we’re pushing close about 5x the voltage, which means that the heat produced in the motorcycle is 25x lesser than in a low voltage vehicle with the same power. This means everything from the motor cables to the motor controller can be much smaller, much lighter, using a lot less metal while being more efficient than the same power at a higher voltage. This also means for the first time for EVs, we bring the same USBC level compatibility for charging. So you can use the same plug that goes into an electric car to charge here. The cable that comes with an Nexon or a Tesla can be used to charge a motorcycle in about 1 hour at home. And for the first time, a motorcycle that can use car fast charging stations where you charge for 20 to 80% in less than 36 minutes. So this is what we have today. That’s great. And can you tell me something about the safety of this motorcycle? Sure. So one of the key problems when you’re pushing a lot of power in something as you know closely packed as a motorcycle is heat. All of the all of the metal components right from your wires generate a lot more heat. So in fact if you’re on lower voltage for the same power you’re pushing tremendous amount of current which can actually cause burns to the customer. Because we’re at higher voltage we’re going to be a lot safer for the average user. There is a question about higher voltage but that’s why the entire vehicle the B the high voltage battery is isolated from the low voltage battery. What happens only when you’re in right the high voltage battery is connected otherwise only the low voltage battery runs through the vehicle and if there is the system detects any sort of a leak even before you can even feel it the vehicle cuts off completely. Now that you have a proper understanding of the T30, let us get into our first impressions of this electric bike and how it performs out in the real world. Now, in terms of styling, as you can see, this has sharp elements at the front, a few curvy elements at the rear. I would say that it’s a nice mix between a urban roadster and a sporty naked street fighter. And with a design like this, it will appeal to younger riders as much as it does to older riders. What you get is a LED headlight up front with unique DRLs that make this bike distinguish itself apart. You It rides on 17-in wheels. You have a split seat setup. You have large panels over here with sharp front end. And it also has grab rails to make it more practical. This is the first product from Rapi HV. So, the build quality is not the most premium, but it’s a decent job for a first product. Like for example, there are a few panel gaps visible over here in the charging port area. and the finishing of the rear grab rails. There are two variants of the bike, the T30 and the T30 Sport. Mechanically, they are the same, but the only distinguishing element is in the styling where at the rear, the T30 Sport misses out on this for a cleaner tail tidy look, and the indicators and the number plate are placed on this unit right here. Now, both variants get three color options. Both of them have black and white in common, but the T30 gets gray and the T30 Sport gets a red color option on offer. Now, in terms of ergonomics, I’m 5′ 7 in. And as you can see, I can easily flat foot to the ground, but I’m placed just there’s a slight reach forward to the handlebars. I’m not completely upright. Taller riders than me will be completely upright on this motorcycle. The seat was comfortable throughout my ride. I mean I did around 55 to 60 km today and there was no strain on my butt but my upper back did face a slight strain towards the end of the ride. Additionally the foot pegs they are placed slightly towards the rear in a sporty fashion. This has a 5.4 kWh battery pack and the motor makes around 29.5 horsepower and the torque is rated at 70 mm. Now this has three riding modes comfort, power and sprint. Now comfort is like an eco mode where it can basically do a top speed of around 65 km per hour. But the acceleration in this mode is really slow. So I feel it’s not really usable unless you are in stopgo traffic. Uh the next mode power and sprint. They are the more potent modes which are very usable. You can actually stay in power all day long and have a good have good fun on this motorcycle. uh power gets to around 100 km per hour and the claimed top speed of um sprint mode is 135 km/h. When I tried to test the top speed in sprint mode, I got to an indicated 133 km/h today. So the acceleration in those two modes is really nice and the calibration of how power is delivered is also really good. Coming to riding range, this delivers around 150 km of riding range in comfort mode, around 100 km in power mode, and around 80 km in sprint mode. But what I noticed today is that if you really want to extract all of the range from this, you are going to have to be in comfort mode, which is not fast and not really usable. Now, when I was riding around in power mode and sprint mode, I used a mix of both for most of my time spent with the motorcycle and did around, as I said, 55 60 km. I realized that the rain started dropping drastically and when this motorcycle gets to 25% of battery charge, it directly drops into comfort mode and that is the mode that you will have to use after that until you find a charger. The T30 is the first Indian motorcycle to be compatible with CCS2 car charging stations and has a claim charging time of 36 minutes to get from 20 to 80%. The onboard charger in comparison is set to take 1 hour to charge from 20 to 80%. The T30 has a curb weight of around 177 kg which doesn’t make it that heavy but when you sit on it you do feel the weight. The teal trellis frame it has been made in such a way that the motorcycle feels really really stable going in a straight line and it feels like it has just been built for a straight line. Now let me explain what I mean by that is when you try to corner on this motorcycle a lot of effort is required and it’s not a very natural feeling. So you have to put in some effort to steer this motorcycle put it into corners and it’s not the most confidence inspiring feeling but once you do get used to it it’s something that is manageable. If you talk about the tires these are MRF tires and they do offer decent grip for the levels of performance that this bike offers. The bike gets an upside down fork at the front and a monoshock unit at the rear. In terms of ride quality, the suspension feels like it is trying to cope with the very heavy motorcycle and is slightly on the stiffer side. It can handle small undulations, but you will have to slow down for bad potholes and speed breakers. So, in terms of braking performance, this gets disc brakes at both ends and both the brake levers are on the handlebars. The braking performance is decent for the level of performance, but the modulation of the brakes is something that you will have to get used to. I mean, when you start braking, it feels like there’s nothing and everything comes in all at once. And additionally, if you try to break really hard in case of an emergency, there is some intrusion from the ABS. The T30 gets a 7-in TFT touchscreen unit, which displays a ton of information and works quite well. The text on the display could have been larger for better readability, but overall it works smoothly. It also gets turnbyturn navigation with open- source maps integrated with Rapty’s own layer of UI. Additionally, the bike gets a keyless ignition system and it is part of the standard package. There was also a cruise control button on the switch gear, but currently this feature is still under development. The Rapti T30 has been in the making for around 7 years now and it’s nice to see this technology finally make its way to Indian electric motorcycles. Now, the things I like are the motor that offers potent performance in the power and sprint modes and the 7-in TFT touchscreen that offers good functionality and works really well. I feel that the build quality and fit and finish can be improved and the handling of this motorcycle can also be worked upon. Currently, this electric motorcycle can be booked in Chennai and Bangalore and the brand is planning on expanding to cities like Mumbai, Pune and Delhi in the future. Rapi HV T30 is priced at rupees 2.39 lakh extra room for both the variants and that makes it cheaper than any other international electric motorcycle with similar technology. But in a price conscious market like our Indian market, it’s going to be hard to justify that price tag especially considering the riding range that this delivers. But overall it is promising for a first product. Do let us know what you guys think of the T30 in the comment section below.
Raptee.HV is a Chennai-based startup company that has incorporated high-voltage technology into its first electric motorcycle. We got to spend a day with the T30, covering around 60 kilometres and Azaman brings you our first impressions.
Cameraperson – Abhijeet Kamane
Editor – Rohit Kesarkar/Siddhesh Bhogale
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