Tork Kratos Finally Launches on January 26

Five years after its unveiling, Tork Motors is finally ready to launch the Kratos electric motorcycle. From then to now, there have been quite a few changes we can notice.

The electric vehicle (EV) segment seems to be powering on India even as charging infrastructure lags behind. Manufacturers are scrambling to develop and bring their latest EVs to the market. Sales of electric cars are rising and in the two-wheeler segment, the scooter line-up is ever-expanding. But while some motorcycle-type electric two-wheelers have been launched, they are rare sightings on Indian roads. With this in mind, Tork Motors has decided on a launch date for its offering in this space.

The Pune-based company has been developing the Kratos or the T6X as it was codenamed earlier for the past six years. We have seen various iterations of the bike, with most of the bodywork from a donor Yamaha FZ. The new bike is decidedly different, somehow.

Design
Starting with the aesthetics of the Kratos, we do still get to see some hints of the FZ’s design, but then again, we get to see some hints of KTM as well. The “tank” is a bulky unit with a lid at the top which is expected to function as the bike’s charging port. The extensions on the front of the tank go all the way to the bottom in a zig-zag fashion. The seats feature a split design with a stubby pillion position with the licence plate holder extending well beyond that. The front of the bike gets an LED headlamp unit that sort of reminds us of the Bajaj Pulsar NS series. The bike rides on what looks like standard 17-inch alloys wrapped in normal road-going tyres.

Of these, we do not have the specifics yet. But from what Tork Motors has said, the Kratos will perform better than the T6X before it. The T6X was powered by an axial flux motor with a range of 100 km and having a top speed of 100 kmph. The motor on the T6X churned out 6 kW of peak power and 27 Nm of continuous torque.

The bike also uses the company’s proprietary TIROS or Tork Intuitive Response Operating System. It is capable of compiling data for every ride and manages power, real-time energy consumption and range forecasts.

Additionally, Tork also says there is a larger battery pack that will be used in the Kratos, enhancing its range. This battery also has quick-charging capability of 80 percent in an hour and is IP67-rated to protect it from water damage.

Other features
What you get with the Tork Kratos in terms of mechanical features are just like any other conventional motorcycle. You get alloy wheels, telescopic front suspension, rear monoshock, and disc brakes at both ends with either single-channel ABS or CBS (anti-lock and combi-brake systems). The instrument cluster will be a 4.3-inch TFT display complete with cloud and app connectivity and should get features like turn-by-turn navigation and geofencing, among others.

Launch and production
The Tork Kratos is set for launch on January 26 with bookings expected to begin in March. The bike is the fifth working prototype of the T6X and will be manufactured at the company’s Chakan facility. According to Tork Motors, the Kratos is the first indigenously developed electric bike and for now intentions are to sell from 5,000 to 10,000 units per year for the first three years.

Kapil Shelke, CEO and founder, Tork Motors, said, “After years of extensive research and iterations, we are all set to showcase India’s first electric motorcycle, Kratos. As the name indicates, Kratos is the personification of strength and power. It’s not only renamed as Kratos but developed entirely as a brand new motorcycle than T6X with a notable redesigned frame and styling achieved by rigorous testing with internal and external teams.”

Prices obviously haven’t been announced yet. However, when the T6X was first showcased, there were estimates of a price tag of Rs 1.25 lakh. Considering the rise in prices across the board since 2016 and the shortage in semiconductor chips, this could go higher to about Rs 1.5 lakh.

Here are some information about Tork Motors
The first Tork T6X was unveiled at the 2016 Auto Expo. However, various iterations of Tork bikes have been worked on for a while. The first bike to take to the roads, the T1X, was developed by Shelke and a team of engineers. The T1X also managed to place third at the Isle of Man Electric GP. Tork Motors has managed to receive funding from various sources including Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, co-founders of Ola, back in 2016. More recently, since 2018 Bharat Forge has been strategically investing in Tork Motors through Kalyani Powertrain Ltd. The company says it has filed patents for and claims intellectual property rights over 50 products and designs.