Is The Best Naked Sports Motorcycle Now An Electric?

Ultraviolette has launched the F77 SuperStreet in India, the company's first motorcycle designed for comfortable street commuting. If you are unfamiliar with the brand, they are a Bangalore-based EV two-wheeler manufacturer known to produce motorcycles like the Ultraviolette F77, F99, etc. 

Last year, Royal Enfield also showcased the production-ready avatar of their first-ever electric two-wheeler, the Flying Flea C6. Most of the Indian two-wheeler majors already have electric scooters and they are also rumoured to be developing electric motorcycles.

This gives birth to a thought: are we moving towards electric performance motorcycles in the street naked category? Well, it is not that simple.

Our market has many value-for-money machines with exhilarating performance and the EV infrastructure is not that capable yet. However, the electric counterpart also offers very lucrative performance figures that are hard to find in any motorcycle in this price range. Hence, if you live in any of the metropolitan cities, it may turn out to be a sensible choice for you. 

If you are like us, who can imagine giving up the feel and connectivity with gas motorcycles easily, we have listed some of the best products around the same price range as the F77 SuperStreet.

What is the F77 SuperStreet?

Their previous motorcycles were heavily focused on performance but the SuperStreet has been designed to appeal to more conventional motorcycle buyers. The power figures of the Ultraviolette motorcycles have always been impressive and the F77 SuperStreet is no different.

It is available in two variants: F77 SuperStreet and F77 SuperStreet Recon. The base variant has a 7.1 kWh battery and the top-end Recon has a 10.3 kWh battery with a claimed range of 211 km and 323 km respectively. 

Exploring the competition

Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450

Royal Enfield surprised the world with the new Himalayan 450. Unlike its predecessors and peers, the Himalayan’s new Sherpa 450 engine is tuned to deliver performance in the higher revs. This same engine later found its way to the roadster avatar of the Himalayan, the Guerrilla 450. This motorcycle is a gem for quick city rides. It has the raw and retro charm of old Royal Enfield motorcycles but is loaded with modern features such as a display for instrumentation and so on.

The starting price of INR 2.34 lakh makes the Guerrilla’s deal a little sweeter.

Royal Enfield Bear 650

If you want the retro character with the power and rumble of a twin-cylinder engine, then the Royal Enfield Bear 650 might be the perfect bike for you. The Bear is the scrambler avatar of the Interceptor 650. It uses the tried and tested 648cc mill which churns out 46.7 hp and 56.5Nm of peak torque. These performance numbers are amongst the best in this price range. The character of the Bear 650 is something unique to its own.

At its ex-showroom price of INR 3.39 lakh the Bear 650 is definitely worth a test ride if you have the budget.

KTM 390 Duke

How can we talk about budget-performance motorcycles and miss the 390 Duke? Since its inception, the Austrian sports naked has redefined entry-level performance motorcycles. The 390 Duke offers aggressive power delivery that is thrilling for most and even scarily amazing for beginners. The joy of riding a motorcycle with this much performance in such a compact form factor is what makes the 390 Duke stellar. The 390 Duke gets a 398.6cc engine which churns out 45.3 hp and 39 Nm of peak torque. These figures may not seem that huge but the lightweight build and ballistic power delivery make the riding experience of 390 Duke distinct.

The ex-showroom price of INR 3.13 lakh makes the 390 Duke a no-brainer in the performance motorcycle market. 

Kawasaki Ninja 300

If you have been a fan of motorcycling, you must have considered buying a full-fairing motorcycle at some point. Well, as they say, better late than never. Before the world transforms its mobility solutions to all-electric, you can buy the Ninja 300 to fulfil your childhood dream.

It may be one of the most expensive 300cc motorcycles in the nation, but it offers a twin-cylinder liquid-cooled engine that churns out 38 hp of peak power and 26.1 Nm of peak torque. At its ex-showroom price of INR 3.34 lakh, the Ninja 300 is a little expensive but it offers a twin-cylinder setup and a distinct styling, which becomes its USP.

Conclusion

In the coming decade, a significant part of the transportation is expected to go electric. However, for now, we do not have the proper infrastructure to support electric vehicles.

Hence, the gas burners are here to stay for a long time and I do not feel any EVs taking over the market yet. Talking specifically about the Ultraviolette F77 SuperStreet, it seems like a very promising product on paper and a great product for the intracity commutes. However, we will have to test it out more to understand how will it perform against its combustion engine competitors.