Elespa Electric Scooter: The range of electric scooters keeps getting better and better. For example, when we recently hopped the Ola S1 Pro with the latest Move OS3 version, it had a range of about 148 km. Still, there will be times when you don’t have enough time to charge your electric scooter or bike and won’t have enough range.
With this goal in mind, Elespa, a company based in Pune, made a conversion kit for gasoline scooters. But this kit stands out because it can be used in ways other than the standard gasoline-only mode, such as electric-only or mixed (gasoline and electricity) modes.
Elespa says that the motor has an IP67 rating
The 10-inch hub-mounted motor, which was made in-house from CNC-machined parts and has a nominal power rating of 1.44kW and a peak power rating of 3.5kW, fits easily between the silencer and the tyre. Elespa says that the motor has an IP67 rating, which should let it work in most weather conditions. Also, its housing has fins to help it get rid of heat better, and it is said to be able to handle temperatures up to 80 degrees Celsius. Both of these are very important because it is so close to the exhaust.
Once the kit is installed and turned on with a standard MCB switch under the seat, the scooter starts in pure electric mode. In pure electric mode, the top speed is said to be 60 km/h for a single rider and about 55 km/h with a passenger.
Also, it has a “boost mode” that lets the motor work together with the gasoline engine, which can be turned on instantly by pressing the ignition button on the scooter. This makes it easier to go uphill or pass other scooters. And finally, if you only want to use petrol power, you can turn off the electric motor by pressing the blue-lit button on the front bumper.
The name Elespa is a combination of the words “electric” and “spark,”
At the moment, Elespa has put the kit on a standard TVS Jupiter (the name Elespa is a combination of the words “electric” and “spark,” like the spark plug in an ICE engine). The motor is powered by a 1.5 kWh lithium phosphate battery that can be taken off. The battery can fit in a specially made shell either under the seat or on top of the floorboard. Elespa says that the battery is more effective and reliable than a similar Lithium ion battery because it can work at a maximum temperature of 40 degrees Celsius and can handle heat well.
The range of the battery is said to be about 70 kilometres, and a full charge takes about four hours. Also, Elespa is working on a charging station that you can put in your parking spot and use to charge the battery wirelessly. The motor and battery, which weigh 8kg and 16kg, make the scooter’s kerb weight about 135kg. Elespa is now working on making the motor parts lighter and fine-tuning the suspension system. This is because the motor is bolted to the back tyre, which adds to the unsprung mass. Also, because the rear wheel has more torque, it needs more strength, so Elespa made a metal brace as a stopgap solution.
Elespa is working on making a battery housing that looks better
Putting the battery under the seat also takes away the scooter’s storage space under the seat. If you put it on a floorboard, it will do the same thing. As was said before, Elespa is working on making a battery housing that looks better, but that won’t be ready for a while. The price is the last and most important piece of the puzzle.
Elespa says that the donor scooter is not part of the Rs 60,000 price tag, which is not a cheap price by any means. Remember that this is the price for a single kit. When Elespa starts making them in large quantities for sale, which is likely to happen soon, they will be cheaper.
In the end, though, running a standard scooter is already pretty expensive because fuel prices are going up. In Maharashtra, a litre of gas costs about Rs 106 right now. The regular maintenance plan for an ICE scooter, which includes replacing parts and servicing the engine often, also adds a lot to the price. Now that we know this, it’s clear that whether an electric or gas-powered scooter is used, the suspension and brakes will wear out over time. Still, an EV has a much lower cost of fuel. Yet, the Elespa Hybrid Kit says it can go nearly 60 km on just 1.5 units of energy, which is much cheaper than gasoline.
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