At the moment, there aren’t many petrol heads in Nepal who haven’t heard of Yatri Motorcycles, which is ironically the first electric motorcycle to be produced in Nepal. However, five years ago, tell anyone that a Nepali company would manufacture a premium electric motorcycle with a 110km range, a futuristic interface, 30-minute DC fast charging capabilities, and more… and they would probably laugh at your face.

Yatri Motorcycles flipped the script. They defied expectations and put Nepal on the electric mobility map. And, for this reason alone, Yatri already sits highly in our books. Now, that does not mean Yatri gets an easy pass on our review of the P1. On the contrary, we made a conscious effort to refrain from being swept off our feet and turn this review into an ode to the Yatri.

DESIGN AND FEATURES

For instance, while the P1 is distinctive, opinions on its dual-sport-like styling have been polarising. Nevertheless, you can tell this is a modern machine, but those with a keen eye will also definitely notice hints of the Yamaha TW 200 somewhere in there.

Yatri has managed to keep a clean design with its uninterrupted, single-panel bodywork. The battery, which could have easily been an eye sore, has been nicely integrated into the chassis. The rear is minimal, with a slim LED tail light and sleek sequential LED indicators. Since there is very little going on in the rear, the fat tyres and monoshock suspension get all the visibility. Funny enough, the front gets the same sized tyres as the rear. While this does give it a large, burly appeal it makes the motorcycle very heavy to manoeuvre. Also adding to the beefiness quotient are the USD forks up front.

Because this is a new-age motorcycle, you get a new-age 4.3” Colour TFT LCD Dashboard. This unit displays the speed you’re travelling at, the mode you have selected, how much power you are draining from the battery (WH/KM), and how much juice it has left. It is also equipped with an onboard 4G network and Bluetooth. This unit is also connected to your mobile app, which is android and iOS compatible.

In addition to this, buyers and users of the P1 can do several things through their app such as tracking the availability of chargers (which we will get to later), route planning, and charging through various membership plans that allow you to have cashless transactions through their prepaid billing systems. Neato.

Another neat trick up its sleeve comes in the form of its key, or the lack thereof. You start the Yatri P1 with a card, which you simply tap on a spot under the neck stem. While this is a definite cool factor, having to slot it into our wallets and take it out every time was a bore. In hindsight, we could have just put it in our pockets, but oh well.

Ground clearance is a towering 320mm; for reference, the Honda CRF 300L has a ground clearance of 285mm. Thankfully, the seat height isn’t too high and it is manageable for people of average Nepali height.

PERFORMANCE

Riding this thing… is an experience. Electric motors are notoriously hyperactive, with no combustion lag to weigh you down. Twist the throttle and you are immediately moving. We’ve ridden plenty of electric two-wheelers to help prepare us for these tests. Yet, the Yatri P1 managed to surprise us.

You get three modes to choose from Suste (Economy), Thikka (Normal), and Babbal (Sport). We dialled it up to Babbal Mode, as you would expect, and let the throttle rip, giving it hell. Lo and behold, it reciprocated in kind. It exploded violently off the line, taking off like a stabbed rat with no sign of stopping. On a straight line, the Yatri P1 was emanating ferocity, relentlessly propelling itself and us toward the horizon.

Riding the Yatri P1 on the straights was exhilarating, and the experienced performance belies the mediocre 19BHP of peak power that is shown on the spec sheet. This is thanks to the instant torque from the motor that expends 480NM of peak wheel torque. It just enhances the riding joy that you get from the Yatri P1.

Alas, you can’t always chase sunsets on the straight tarmac, can you? On the corners the Yatri P1 is reluctant. The speed and vigour it is capable of producing are difficult to use on the corners. It feels rigid. Braking could also do with some improvement. The levers are rigid and provide very little play, and despite two massive rotors on both wheels, braking does not feel adequate. It doesn’t have ABS either.

CHARGING

So, up till now, we have established how great the Yatri P1 is to look at, to ride, and how it could do a better job of bringing you to a halt. Now, to address another important factor, the charging. The Yatri P1 houses a 3.0 k.w.h battery that takes 2 hours to be fully charged at home.

At a fast charger, it takes 40 minutes to reach 80%. We did our first fast DC charge at Cafe Evoke in Jhamsikhel, which charged our test unit to full charge by the time we finished our cup of coffee. There are several other DC chargers throughout the country. There are 9 charging hosts (DC chargers) in and around Kathmandu at the moment with 25 others scattered throughout popular and frequently travelled routes throughout the country. Yatri DC Fast Charger is a premium service that is only available to Yatri owners. This service will be available to the first series of customers for the rest of their lives, free.

The user experience is not significantly different for the second series, since the station will automatically authenticate the vehicle, check the user’s Yatri balance, and commence the charge. All of this happens without any user intervention; you simply plug in your bike. If you run out of balance, there will be two courtesy charges applied before you can replenish your Yatri balance.

Charging at home is also pretty simple, plug in your P1 to the closest direct line available at your house. While the luxury of charging your vehicle at home is amazing, the short charging cord didn’t make life easy for us. We didn’t have an outlet at home where we could safely charge it (we were told not to use a multi-plug), which is why we had to head out to Cafe Evoke to use their DC charger in the first place.

Long story short, it gets the job done, but we wish it were a little longer… the cord, we wish it were a little longer. Nevertheless, we did manage to charge the P1 at our office where we had a more accessible electrical outlet. It took a lot longer, but it still got the job done.

VERDICT

Despite trying our best to be carping critics of the Yatri P1, it is very difficult to not be impressed with the P1. There is room for improvement, but there is no denying that the P1 demands and deserves your attention and appreciation.

We put the Yatri P-1 through its paces, and boy oh boy was it up for the task. It’s not always that you’re happy about something between your legs that gets you to the finish line fast. Real fast. As much fun as this was, riding the Yatri P-1 hard puts a significant dent in its range.

There were times when we got a little too trigger-happy with the accelerator and encountered some range anxiety. However, ride it like a commuter motorcycle with sparsely distributed flashes of hooliganism and you should get a range of 80-100kms on a full charge. Which is more than enough for city riding.

We will have to reserve our judgement on its capabilities on longer journeys since we haven’t had a chance to test it out on longer rides, Yatri’s focus on infrastructural development through their DC chargers is encouraging. Maybe there is a longer test ride in the books very soon (nudging and winking at the folks at Yatri).

There are a few niggles that we encountered with the P1. The kickstand needs better placement; we were struggling to find it with our feet almost every time. A better-constructed and aesthetically appealing swing arm would look amazing. Then there is the lack of ABS, which is a safety hazard, and an overall improvement in braking which feels essential.

Despite all of this, we couldn’t help but fall in love with the Yatri P1. It’s got character, aggression, and an air of sophistication. Then there is the fact that this product is homegrown in Nepal, which is the cherry on top. The more time you spend with the P1, you begin to love it, so much so that you begin to forget the price tag it carries, Rs. 5,65,000.