Revolt RV BlazeX First Ride Review

Revolt Motors is India’s leading electric motorcycle brand, with over 40,000 of the brand’s electric motorcycles on the roads, courtesy of Revolt’s debut entry into the Indian electric motorcycle segment back in 2019. The Revolt RV BlazeX is the company’s fifth product, priced at Rs. 1,14,990 (ex-showroom) and intends to expand Revolt’s customer base with an affordable commuter electric motorcycle which now promises more range and power than the brand’s entry-level RV1 and RV1+ models, even though all three share the same basic platform.

Also Read: Revolt RV BlazeX Electric Motorcycle Launched In India At Rs 1.15 Lakh

Design & Features

The Revolt RV BlazeX has that typical commuter motorcycle silhouette and stance.  There’s a round LED headlight with a DRL, LED indicators and LED taillight. The switches are from Uno Minda, and where a conventional petrol tank is on an internal combustion engine (ICE) motorcycle is where the 3.2 kWh removable battery pack is mounted, with a claimed 150 km maximum range. Revolt says the battery cells are from CATL, the world’s largest battery maker, which is also a major supplier to Tesla. Like other models, Revolt says most of the BlazeX is designed, developed and manufactured in India, with support from several domestic component manufacturers.

The rest of the RV BlazeX’s body panels look like Revolt’s other electric motorcycles, sharing many components, and perhaps using existing suppliers, including domestic component manufacturers like Rockman, Fiem and JBM. The bike runs on 17-inch alloy wheels with 240 mm brake discs at the front and rear. Up front is a 30 mm telescopic front fork from Munjal Showa, and rear suspension duties are handled by four-step adjustable twin shocks. The 4.1 kW mid-drive motor is from Sona Comstar and powers the rear wheel through a chain final drive, with an O-ring type chain, said to offer better reliability and performance. 

Also Read: Revolt RV1 Bags Over 16,000 Bookings Within A Week Of Launch

Performance & Dynamics

The Revolt RV BlazeX is designed as a commuter electric motorcycle, and to that end, the performance is quite acceptable. From our brief test ride in a controlled environment on a GoKart track, the overall dynamics, braking performance and overall ride quality are quite satisfactory and left nothing to complain about. These qualities should translate out on the street, where the BlazeX will be used by its customers. 

Tackling the corners of the track, the BlazeX felt stable, and even when leaned over at a relatively higher speed for an EV of this segment, there were no alarming moments or lack of grip from the tyres, or from the overall dynamics that left anything to nitpick about. The 4.1 kW motor offers decent acceleration and performance, and in Sports mode, it should be good for short bursts from 50 kmph to 70 kmph for overtakes or even a short highway stint. As for ride quality, a track is no replication for pothole-infested road surfaces, so we’ll reserve our verdict on that till we get to test the BlazeX out in the real world.

With three ride modes, the BlazeX offers sedate speed in Eco mode, with maximum speed limited to 40 kmph, and City mode restricting the maximum speed to 60 kmph. It’s only in Sports mode (or Mode 3 on the mode selector), where you can explore the motor’s full potential. On the tight track during our test ride, I saw a speedo-indicated maximum speed of 73-74 kmph, before it was time to hit the brakes and take the first corner at the end of the short straight. 

Riding the BlazeX in Sports mode all the time also resulted in a drop in battery range and subsequent performance. After around 35 km of riding constantly with the throttle mostly pinned open, the battery charge dropped below 50 per cent, and so did acceleration and top speed. But the drop in performance isn’t something which robs you of the riding experience. It’s the way power is cut off to the throttle when you operate the brake that takes you by surprise. Every time you pull the brakes, the BlazeX loses power and the throttle becomes dead, even if momentarily. And that results in a not-so-nice riding experience, when you have only inertia and no torque or performance on the throttle for a second or two.

Also Read: Revolt RV1 Launched At Rs 84,990

Battery & Range

The 3.24 kWh battery pack has a claimed range of 150 km on a single charge. According to Revolt, during tests, it has successfully clocked a range of over 130 km on regular use. As mentioned before, riding it in full performance mode isn’t quite efficient and you should see a drastic drop in range than the claimed numbers, although we have no way of ascertaining true range in any mode during our brief test ride. 

The battery pack can be charged either with a fast charger (with 0-80 per cent claimed charging time of 1 hour 20 minutes) and through a normal home charger, with 0-80 per cent claimed charging time in 3 hours 30 minutes. The removable battery pack offers the choice of anyone wanting to move the battery pack indoors for overnight charging. But the 19 kg weight of the battery pack isn’t really convenient, particularly for users who may need to walk some distance or climb a flight or two of stairs to reach home from the Blaze X’s parking spot.

Also Read: Revolt RV 400 First Ride Review

Price & Positioning

At Rs. 1,14,990 (Ex-showroom), the Revolt BlazeX not only offers more range and performance than its entry-level siblings but is also positioned to take on premium 125 cc petrol-powered motorcycles like the TVS Raider 125, Hero Xtreme 125 and even the CNG-powered Bajaj Freedom 125. After all, the basic premise of an electric commuter motorcycle is savings on fuel, which is where the Revolt BlazeX makes a solid promise – of more savings over a three-year or five-year period of ownership. How it’s received depends on perception, and Revolt already has established itself in this EV motorcycle segment, so getting consumers to sit up and note the BlazeX shouldn’t be a problem.

Verdict

The Revolt BlazeX is a promising electric motorcycle which seems to have a lot going for it. Good range, an acceptable sticker price with decent performance and a neutral design language should make it acceptable to consumers looking to buy an electric two-wheeler at its price range and segment. Overall fit and finish could have been better to take on established petrol-powered commuter rivals which offer better styling, features, build and quality. 

The brake and throttle modulation, with power cutting off abruptly every time you hit the brakes is something which Revolt says has been done deliberately, keeping safety in mind. This feature could be given as an option, instead of being default, and in fact, it is counter-productive and tends to take the rider by surprise and with the real risk of being rear-ended in traffic. Eventually, the Revolt BlazeX offers decent value as an electric motorcycle in its segment, and the fact that there are no direct rivals right now works in its favour. It is certainly a good electric motorcycle, but there’s still some scope left for improvement.