Bike Reviews
Ultraviolette X47 Crossover first ride review: the perfect everyday electric motorcycle?
With the X47 Crossover, Ultraviolette promises a bike that can do it all, handle the worst surprises our roads can throw at us and still retain the core DNA of what made the F77 special. Does it?
Choices in the electric motorcycle space in India are few and far between. When it comes to the enthusiast, the only real torchbearer in the segment is Ultraviolette with the F77. Taking the responsibility seriously and to provide buyers with an EV motorcycle that has the capability to handle the worst that our roads have to offer while still being fun. To make things more interesting, Ultraviollette has also engineered some more appeal into the X47 Crossover by way of an onboard charger and radar based safety features. Is the X47 Crossover, then, the perfect everyday electric motorcycle?
Ultraviolette X47 Crossover design
The F77 with all the fighter jet inspiration and styling cues looks seriously cool and the X47 Crossover follows suit. The core styling ethos remains unchanged and you do see a lot of the F77 in the X47. The headlight, the instrument cluster, the tail light and the way all the sharp lines, cuts and creases that form the motorcycle give it a distinct Ultraviolette identity. This being a crossover, it gets a short beak under the headlight, a windscreen, a completely reprofiled tank (if you still call it that on an EV), a significantly taller and wider single piece handlebar than even the F77 Super Street, a fully exposed battery and a single piece seat. Like the F77, the X47 also comes in three avatars – Shadow, Laser and Airstrike. On the styling front, the designers have done a very good job in styling the X47 Crossover to look sharp, aggressive and purposeful. Fit and finish levels are on the better side as well.
Ultraviolette X47 Crossover motor, battery and performance
Powering the X47 Crossover is the same motor and battery setup that does duties in the F77. There are two variants to choose from the ‘Original’ variant with the smaller 7.1kWh battery pack variant that is good for a claimed 211km of range on the IDC cycle. The one we rode was the Recon variant with the larger 10.3kWh battery pack that can eke out as much as 323km (claimed) on the IDC cycle. Power and torque stand at the same 39.45bhp and 100Nm, but Ultraviolette claims that courtesy of a larger rear sprocket, the torque at the rear wheel is a whopping 610Nm.
The X47 gets two battery sizes such as a 7.1kWh pack and 10.3kWh pack offering 211km and 323km of claimed IDC range respectively — Shot by Rohit G Mane for evo India
On the performance front, everything does feel largely similar to the F77 and that is because it mostly is. 0-60kmph comes in 2.7 seconds, that is 0.1 seconds faster than the F77 while 0-100kmph comes in 0.4 seconds slower than the F77 at 8.1 seconds. Top speed is also 10kmph lesser at 145kmph and this is courtesy of the fact that it has shorter gearing than the F77. The bigger sprocket somehow makes the X47 seem even snappier than the F77 and the Ballistic+ software means that all three ride modes feel properly usable. While the range is something that we couldn’t properly test in the amount of time that we rode for, it would be safe to assume that the figures should be largely similar to that of the F77.
It makes 39.45bhp and 100Nm, a larger rear sprocket allows for a snappier power delivery than the F77 — Shot by Rohit G Mane for evo India
Ultraviolette X47 Crossover chassis, ride and handling
Underpinning the X47 Crossover is the same main frame as on the F77 but most everything else is different. There’s a new rear subframe made from an aluminium alloy. The suspension at both ends now has more travel. 170mm to be precise, up from 110mm at the front and roughly 135mm at the rear. With that, the ground clearance has gone up from 160mm to 200mm. The seat height has also gone up to 820mm. The rake angle has gone up from 23.5 degrees to 24.5 degrees. The aluminium swingarm has made way for a longer box-type steel swingarm and with that and the changes to the steering geometry, the wheelbase has gone up from 1340mm to 1385mm. The wheels are the same 17-inch units but they now wear bespoke MRF dual-purpose tyres. Despite losing the fairing, all these other changes made to the chassis has resulted in the weight of the X47 being net-net, the same as the F77. meaning that the 10.3kWh battery pack, the Recon variant I rode, tipped the scales at 208kg, fully, erm, charged.
The 17-inch wheels are the same as the F77 but shod in bespoke MRF dual-purpose tyres offering a comfortable ride and ample grip — Shot by Rohit G Mane for evo India
How does all this affect the ride and handling? Right off the bat, you’re greeted by a rider’s triangle that’s far more upright and immediately, more comfortable than the F77. The footpegs are in a more relaxed position and the tall-wide handlebar ensures that you’re sat in a more commanding position. The suspension setup not only has more travel, but is also tuned to be more softer and compliant with a slower rebound. This translates to a significantly plusher ride than the F77. The kind that happily soaks up most of the surprises that our roads can throw at you with ease. The X47 is not an ADV and it isn’t trying to be. Ultraviolette is marketing it as the perfect inbetween that blends the best qualities of both categories into one competent motorcycle. Credit where it is due, I feel Ultraviolette has struck that balance very well. Would I recommend that you go trail hunting with the X47? Well not really. But would I dissuade you from straying off the beaten path to get to a beautiful spot? Not one bit.
The X47 is an ADV-style bike and not a thoroughbred ADV bike; it can handle the odd rough surfaces, but isn't meant to be used for off-roading — Shot by Rohit G Mane for evo India
The added comfort, thankfully, doesn't come at the cost of handling on good tarmac. A portion of our ride was at a karting track and that revealed that despite the lazier rake and dual-purpose tyres, the X47 still loves to salsa around a set of corners. Braking hardware remains the same and as was the case with the F77, the sheer weight of the motorcycle means that brake fade sets in rather quickly when you start hauling. The ABS also seems to intervene a little earlier than I would like and one reason I could think of for this are the new dual-purpose tyres. Apart from these two minor niggles, the X47 Crossover delivers exactly what the company promises.
It can hold its own in the bends despite its ADV-esque traits; the ABS needs calibration as it engages earlier than needed — Shot by Rohit G Mane for evo India
Ultraviolette X47 Crossover features
The X47 Crossover comes with all the features that the F77 does and I’m not going to waste your time with a recap. What I will talk about are the new additions. The X47 Crossover gets a radar module as standard across variants and that enables features like blind spot detection, lane change assist, overtaking warning and rear collision impact warning. As the names suggest all these features work as advertised as conformed by tests setup at the track. The radar based information is conveyed to you by lights on the mirrors and dedicated warning on the instrument cluster. Then there’s the optional dashcam fitment which adds a front and rear camera and a second screen above the instrument cluster to show you a live feed of the front or rear.
The feature that I’m most excited by however is the addition of an onboard charger. This is baked into the rear subframe and it essentially eliminates the need for you to carry a big charger box. All you need is a cable and you’re golden. UV claims that the onboard charger is the most power dense charger in the world with that small box being a 1.6kWh unit. For reference a similarly sized charger box form other manufactures will be only of up to 600-800W in capacity. Meaning UV has accomplished more than double the charging capacity in the same form factor. This also means that the boost charger is significantly smaller and makes use of both the onboard charger and the boost charger to charge the bike. Allowing it to be a much smaller physical unit. The one thing that I’m not too happy about is the fact that this onboard charger is not standard and will be something you will have to option when you buy the X47.
Ultraviolette X47 Crossover verdict
As of writing this review the price of all the variants and of the optional kit like the onboard charger and the dash cams have not been revealed. What we do know is that the base variant will cost ₹2.74 lakh, ex-showroom). At this price it is a bit more affordable than the F77, but what remains to be seen is what the cost shoots up to when you add all the new kit, especially the onboard charger, that makes the X47 a very interesting proposition. As a motorcycle, the X47 Crossover is a very competent motorcycle, one that actually does what it sets out to do. It offers a distinct experience, one that does differ from the F77. If Ultraviolette manages to price the X47 Crossover within a close margin to the F77 (battery-wise) with the onboard charger built-in, it will be very easy to suggest the motorcycle to anyone seeking a do-it-all EV.
