OKINAWA DUAL Dual Purpose E-Vehicle

The Dual will be offered with a choice of 28Ah, 35Ah and 55Ah lithium-ion battery.  The prices of these models will be Rs 58998, Rs 69,999 and Rs 79,998 respectively (all ex showroom). Unfortunately, this e-scooter does not qualify for incentives under the Government’s FAME II scheme (which in force from April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2022) despite the fact it has an advanced lithium ion battery because it does not meet the condition of “registered vehicles”.

The e-scooter comes in fire red and sunshine yellow colours. We got a sunshine yellow coloured vehicle for review with a 55Ah lithium-ion battery..

Let me come straight to the product. If you see its side profile, you will get to see a wide u shaped kind of metal frame. This frame is rock solid. It is like the chassis of the vehicle. The real purpose of making such a strong vehicle is to ensure that it is able to carry out the functions that it is built for in the B2B segment.

And to make things easier for those operating in the last mile delivery business, the company is also offering a whole host of accessories for carrying goods of various nature. These include strong metal delivery box carriers for the front and rear, delivery boxes of different sizes, stackable crates carrier, water bottle carrier, gas cylinder carrier, food delivery box with carrier, medical diagnosis box with carrier, etc.

We got our Okinawa Dual electric scooter with two large boxes made of thermocol material with a lock and key in one. Each of the accessories we got was of top notch quality and was quite impressive. While this small sized machine is able to carry a lot of load and do some remarkable work in the B2B segment, it’s a smart looking two-wheeler for the personal segment too.

Once you remove the rear carrier, you can attach a pillion seat. The rear carrier is attached to the scooter with the help of three nuts while the one in front is attached with the help of four nuts. All these can be removed with considerable ease with the help of a spanner.  For attaching the pillion seat only the rear carrier needs to be removed. The rear seat comes with a decent back rest.

So what makes the Okinawa Dual a great product for both the segments? It’s because of the large number of utilities it offers for both these segments.

Design, Styling & Features

The Okinawa Dual is not an embarrassingly low scooter like the Yulu product. It’s a lot bigger and riding it will not make you feel uncomfortable. I am 5 10 in height and I found it very comfortable riding it.  It has a long foot board where you can keep some of your stuff and ensure their safety with the help of hooks on either side, one under the seat and one below the handlebar. The best part is, unlike narrow electric scooter with narrow footboards, the Dual comes with foot pegs for the rider. This is something very unique and will be a rider’s delight.

The rider has other reasons to cheer too. He or she gets a very durable mobile holder which is operated manually for safety reasons. Once you unlock a small clip behind the mobile holder, you can start adjusting the thin rotary knobs to fit in your mobile phone perfectly. Once your rotary knob adjustments are completed to your satisfaction, you can push down the clip at the rear and ensure that the rotary knobs do not move. The mobile phone is now safe in its position. The rider also has access to a USB slot to keep the phone on charge when he is on the move. A small cavity on one side is where you can place the mobile phone.

The Okinawa Dual gets other features like an all LED lights. The headlight is LED with DRL, while the remaining tail light, and the front and rear winkers are LED too. The lights, I must say are very bright. The Dual also gets a very comfortable and cushiony seat. Then it has a main stand as well as a side stand. The side stand comes with a sensor. It gets stylish aluminium wheels, while the brake lever is aluminium alloy. It gets 3.00-10 tubeless tyres for front and rear.

The Okinawa Dual gets a bright LCD instrument panel with all information in digital form. The screen displays the charging level in bars, while it is also shown digitally in numerical form. You also get an odometer display and vertical slide showing the Mode. Since the H mode is not activated in this e-scooter, there is no further information about the same. We shall talk about this mode a little later. Then there is a large ‘P’ sign displayed on the screen which you get to see the moment you start the scooter with the key.  

The ‘P’ is a very good safety feature, since it ensures that the vehicle does not move even when you tug at the throttle. It is the Parking mode. It’s only when you press the red button with a letter P on it, which is on the right hand side of the handlebar that the ‘P’ vanishes and you are able to move forward.

Coming to the buttons and switches on the handlebar, on the right it gets L/H switch. Since this e-scooter is meant for a max speed of 25 kmph, the H is not applicable. It only rides on L mode. In future, the company plans to introduce a high speed variant of this model. Then the H switch will come in operation. For the time being you can simply ignore this H switch. On the right you also have the switch for the DRL and the main headlight.  The role of the red button with the letter ‘P’ written on it has already been explained. The left side of the handlebar has switches for high and low beam, indicators and horn.

Now before we get into riding this e-scooter, let us see what is under its floor board. That’s the area where the lithium ion batteries are parked.  The Okinawa Dual is offered with two battery options, a 48V 28 Ah and 55Ah battery. We got the latter inside our e-scooter.  The floor board is made up of very good material and in order to open it, there is a key slot with a plastic cover on it. Once you slide this cover to one side, the key slot is exposed. The key opens a horizontal bar kind of lock which once raised will allow you to open the cover of the floor board. It’s easy to do that. Under the floor board is kept the battery which can be taken out by pulling its handle. The battery handle thankfully has a rubber surface and your hand does not hurt when you pick up the heavy battery.  In this floor area also lies the MCB or the miniature circuit breaker which can be switched off and on as you desire. Thus, when you leave the e-scooter to go somewhere you can always switch off this MCB.

The only hitch to this entire floor design is the horizontal bar which we found was not staying put at a 90 deg position. If that was possible, taking out the battery and placing it back would have been a lot easier. The company has already assured us that this anomaly would be fine tuned in the production model.

While the 28 Ah battery gives a range of around 60km plus, the 55Ah battery can give a range of 130km plus. It takes 2 to 3 hours to fully charge the 28AH battery while it takes 4 to 5 hours to fully charge the 55Ah battery. The former, when fitted in the scooter, can carry a total load of 150 kg, while the latter can carry up to 200 kg+.  The batteries can be taken out and charged in office or home with the help of a charger, plugged in at one end to the battery and the other to a 6 amp socket  on the wall. Or you can directly plug the charger to the battery and the other end to the wall socket.  The vehicle has a micro charger feature with auto cut.

RIDE & PERFORMANCE

The Okinawa Dual has a 250W motor and has a length of 1770mm, a width of 800mm and a height of 1075mm. The wheelbase is 1290mm. It has a ground clearance of 150mm. The vehicle comes with electronic assisted braking system with regenerative braking.  In front you have telescopic suspension, while at the rear you have dual tube spring type hydraulic shockers.

You get two sets keys with the e-scooter. One set is for starting the scooter and riding it, the other is a remote lock with features of its own. The ride quality of the Okinawa Dual is surprisingly very good. It seems that the company has worked a lot on the suspension. Even though the speed is at 25 kmph, it does not feel uncomfortable even on some badly built roads. The acceleration too is very impressive. What makes this electric scooter very appealing is that it is a good looker and is backed by great quality and performance.

The Dual brakes are also adequate with disc in front and drum at the rear. These brakes will come a lot handy when people begin to carry heavy products like gas cylinders and stacks of water bottles on them.

VERDICT

Since storage comes easy for the e-scooter, even in the B2C segment, one can make use of the huge carrier in front. And with the ease of riding this bike offers, it is surely a great buy.  Smart switches, foot pegs for the rider and the pillion and a smart mobile stand, all add up to making the Okinawa Dual an attractive proposition. I would say that Okinawa has raised the bar in the electric scooter segment in areas of design, styling, features and performance with their new product, the Okinawa Dual.