Revolt RV BlazeX

Revolt is known for being the first electric bike maker and its great affordability too. Now the EV maker has launched a new bike, the Blaze X. The design looks identical to the RV1 and RV1+ but it comes with few hardware updates. It gets a new 4kW motor from 2.8kW motor, goes 0-40kmph in 5.2 seconds and has a top speed of 85kmph. Its payload capacity has increased to 250kg which is the highest in its segment, it gets a swappable battery, 6-inch LCD screen, but does this upgrade improve its ride quality?

Revolt blaze X is completely identical to its predecessor RV1 and RV1+ in terms of its design. These bikes look similar apart from a few cosmetic add-ons. Center stand, rim stickers and crash bars are add-on accessories. The overall design is like any other commuter bike with a hint of neo-retro styling. But the thing which is not upto the mark is the quality of its elements. Design and body elements like the tank cap, small wind deflector, buttons were rather flimsy, not to forget that the bike costs 1.15 lakh (ex-showroom). If we talk about competitor bikes in the same price range like Hero or Ola, they still hold their standards in terms of quality. 

While the design remains the same, the internals take a step ahead. While the RV1 and the RV1+ share the same 2.8 kW motor, the BlazeX gets a new 4kW motor which has improved its performance as well. The payload capacity is 250 kg which is the highest in the segment.  Claimed top speed of the BlazeX is 85kmph, which we couldn't test due to slow acceleration of the bike on a go-karting track. But it felt sufficient for daily city commute. The issue which bothered me the most was its throttle calibration. Sometimes the bike was being extra jumpy and responsive while pulling the throttle a little bit but sometimes no matter how much throttle I was giving to it, it just didn't want to respond, while it was in momentum. 

BlazeX comes with front telescopic forks and twin rear suspension setup which is same as on RV1 and RV1+. The suspension is set to be a bit on the firmer side. The BlazeX weighs 118kg, which is quite heavy when you compare it with other commuters but you won't feel this weight while riding it. This bike gets fairly high center of gravity because the battery is mounted quite high up, under the tank lid. So while doing corners, the bike leans easily. I rode this bike on a go-karting track, but we don't think you'll find such tight corners in the city.

Another big issue I faced, after throttle calibration is that the moment you even touch the brakes, motor completely cuts off. Now Revolt says that they've added this feature from a safety perspective. But while making a u-turn or riding in bumper to bumper traffic you fiddle between throttle and brakes. But on this bike if you pull the throttle while making a u-turn, you might not get sufficient response and might tip over, which makes the feature unsafe as well.

A commuter bike needs to have a good riding stance and comfortable seat so a rider can easily commute on it and Revolt has done it. BlazeX comes with a flat seat with good cushioning that makes it comfortable not only for rider but for pillion as well. 

When it comes to storage, you don't expect much from a bike but BlazeX comes with 2 storage compartments. These are not as big as any scooter’s storage but these are decently sized. One small compartment is under the tank lid. It is convenient to keep keys, documents or money for easy access. But the lid is a bit flimsy and doesn't look sturdy which gives rise to suspicion if that pocket is water proof or not. Another is the underseat storage which is specifically designed to accommodate bike’s charger only, which also requires a good amount of brain-storming to figure out how to fit it.

BlazeX gets all the generic features like, all LED lighting, 6-inch monochrome instrument cluster that comes with smart phone connectivity, turn-by-turn navigation and more. And these features work well but one thing which is not so good is the quality of plastic and switchgear, that doesn't feel up to the mark.

If you look for electric motorcycles in the market, you won't come across many options. You will find range and variety in electric scooter segment but electric motorcycles are a bit okay-ish, they still lack the wow factor. But BlazeX offers an interesting feature which is its massive payload capacity of 250kg, which is the highest in its segment.  The bike looks like every other commuter and at the price tag of 1.15 lakh (ex-showroom) and not to forget it is just Rs. 5,000 cheaper than RV400, which looks better and handles well than BlazeX.

Now if you have to carry a heavy load on your bike or maybe use it for local delivery purpose then BlazeX might make sense to you. But, if you want an electric motorcycle just for commuting then Revolt RV 400 makes much more sense.