- Ola Electric has issued a suspension replacement recall for the Ola S1 electric scooter due to reports of front suspension breaking while riding.
- Ola Electric CEO Bhavish Agarwal attempted to showcase the strength of the Ola S1 by posting a picture of six individuals riding on it, but it is not an official or appropriate method of testing the scooter’s suspension.
The Ola S1 electric scooter has been criticised for a number of quality faults since its launch in India. Several reports of the front suspension breaking while riding have recently surfaced on the internet. As a result, Ola Electric issued a suspension replacement recall. Ola Electric CEO Bhavish Agarwal attempted to demonstrate the strength of the Ola S1 in a recent Twitter post.
Agarwal shared a photo of six individuals riding on an Ola S1 electric scooter. Aside from the rider, five other people were either clinging onto the seat or standing, with one perched dangerously on the foot-board. The six people on the moving scooter were all wearing helmets and doing the stunt in a contained enclosure. This act was also documented on YouTube with the hashtag “#BuiltToPerfection.” Agarwal described the picture as the harshest stress test he had ever seen on any scooter, and the Ola S1 was dubbed a beast in the strength test.
Agarwal’s goal with the video was to highlight the Ola S1’s construction quality, which has recently been extensively criticised for questionable build quality issues. While the video shows that the scooter can take the weight of six people, it is not an official or correct method of testing the Ola S1’s suspension. Ola Electric might have conducted a more appropriate and acceptable comparison of the old and new front forks with a number of tests, such as load stress, bend, twist, and compression tests, which are normally performed as industry norms.
Ola taking steps to solve front suspension issue
The Ola S1 Pro electric scooter features a unique centrally positioned front fork that has yet to be seen on any other scooter. However, its distinctive front suspension has come under fire after many reports of it failing while individuals were riding their S1 electric scooters. Ola Electric issued a recall to replace the defective front suspensions, which is a costly upgrade for customers rather than a free replacement.
Ola Electric recalled around 1,441 scooters last year as a remedial step in response to an incident in Pune in which an S1 Pro caught fire. Ola Electric has yet to issue an official statement about the incident. Aside from that, various incidences involving technical, software, and quality difficulties with the Ola S1 Pro have surfaced on social media. Serious software difficulties, such as scooters turning into reverse at high speeds and remaining range suddenly reducing, have been observed in several regions of the country.
The Ola S1 Pro is driven by an 8.5 kW electric motor that delivers 58 Nm of torque and has a sprint time of 5 seconds from 0 to 60 km/h. The scooter can attain a top speed of 115 km/h while in Hyper mode. The scooter has a 3.97 kWh battery on board that takes 6 hours and 30 minutes to fully charge using standard household power.