Words : Chinmay Chaudhary
Okinawa has launched its flagship motorcycle today, christened as the Praise . Dealerships have been accepting bookings for the scooter since last few weeks. This is the second scooter from the home bred electric scooter manufacturer after the Ridge.
Praise is powered by 1000 watt, BLDC motor with the maximum power output of 2500 watt. The scooter is offered with two battery options; the 72V/45Ah VRLA battery with 6-8 hours of charging time and 72V/45Ah Lithium ion battery with just 1 hour of charging time. It is offered with a micro charger with an auto-cut feature. The scooter can provide with a magnanimous range of 170-200 kilometers on one full charge.
The claimed top speed is 75kmph which is the highest among any other electric scooter available in the country today. The scooter gets three riding modes; Economy mode with maximum speed of 35kmph, Sporty mode with maximum speed of 65kmph and Turbo mode with maximum speed of 75kmph. It runs at 10 Paisa/km compared to Rs 1.5-2/km for any conventional petrol scooter.
The Praise hosts plethora of featured like the low body mounted all LED headlamp with DRLs, an all LED taillamp unit, digital speedometer, central locking with anti-theft alarm, keyless entry, find my scooter feature and sensor enabled side stand (to prevent ignition when the stand is engaged). The scooter can climb a maximum gradient of 22 degrees and total loading capacity is 150kg.
The Praise gets a double disc brake setup at the front and a single disc unit at the rear assisted with electronic assisted braking system. Suspension duties are handled by the gas charged telescopic forks at the front and a gas charged double shocker with dual tube technology unit at the rear. The scooter is shod with 90/90- R12 tyres with alloy wheels both at the front and rear. Seat height at 774mm is good for shorter riders and ground clearance is 170mm. The Praise is surely the most loaded electric scooter available in the country today.
“With Praise, Okinawa’s years of painstaking research have finally found a tangible shape. Every feature in Praise has been added with careful consideration of the needs and preferences of riders which came after the rigorous screening of each components and day long endurance testing of around 25000 km in different parts of the country that immensely facilitate their commuting experience”, said Mr Jeetender Sharma, founder and managing director of Okinawa Scooters at the launch event.