Ultraviolette F77 Recon First Ride Review - Electric Perception Changer

It was six years ago that a startup in Bengaluru started work on its vision for an electric performance motorcycle. Two years later, Ultraviolette gave us our first glimpse at the F77, its jet fighter-inspired all-electric motorcycle that at that time looked racy and felt just a few steps away from liftoff.

Unfortunately for those of us who wanted to get on it and ride away immediately, the damned COVID pandemic got in the way. However, instead of sitting back and twiddling its thumbs, the team at Ultraviolette decided to continue developing the F77 changing the EV from its avatar we saw back in 2019.

So now in 2023, still reeling due to the rather northerly price tag (announced last December) of the F77 (this Recon version costs Rs 4.5 lakh, ex-showroom), we finally got the chance to hop into the saddle of this electric upstart.

We decided to put any wallet glitches aside and approach the Ultraviolette F77 Recon with a clear mind (boy did that take some time) and hit the track and the roads of Bengaluru to see what this Ultraviolette F77 Recon is all about. The results (damn), well, you can read on and find out...

Ultraviolette F77 Recon Design & Features - Supersonic Jet For The Road

The team at Ultraviolette consider themselves to be proper bike guys who are a little (in reality, very) obsessed with the deadliest birds in the sky, the jet fighter. This can quite easily be seen in the design of the F77 which has been designed to cut through the air smoothly for maximum efficiency and performance.

At the front, the angular headlight looks more like a faceplate out of a transformers movie and its dual-pod lighting config looks rather sharp as do the three LED daytime running lights.

The upside-down forks with their aero covers add to the angular front design of the F77 while the front fender looks like it would cut through the air like a hot knife through butter and the 17-inch wheel is shod with newly designed MRF rubber.

When viewed from the side, the F77's sports bike and fighter jet inspirations combine to form an elegant yet rather powerful-looking bike. Also, you won't see a nut or a bolt on the bike's body as every panel is press fit like those on the jet fighters that this EV is inspired by.

Both from and functionality meld together with the faux fuel tank section hosting the charging point while the fairing looks rather nice with its contours and bulges. This hides the massive battery pack while also ensuring that the rider has enough places to grip the bike when enjoying a bit of spirited riding. Also seen is a small aero winglet that also acts as a functional crash guard.

The two-step seat ensures that the rider is kept in place to enjoy the bike to the fullest while the pillion rider enjoys the roads going by from a slightly higher perspective. The tail section of the bike is also where you'll get to see the name of the bike with the colour option chosen.

The rear lighting is once again a full LED affair and the F77 lacks a rear tyre hugger, which isn't that much of a pain as it allows you to focus on the rear wheel and tyre which is quite a sight to see if you opt for the aero disc wheel.

The F77 and its rider interact through the TFT display that sits atop the handlebars. The unit is thankfully not a touchscreen and you can interact with it using some rather tactile switches and buttons on the left side. This allows you to connect the F77 to your phone allowing for navigation and other goodies along with the readouts for the speed, riding mode and everything else you'll need on the go. Our only peeve is the fact that it looks tiny thanks to the chunky bezel all around it.

Ultraviolette F77 Powertrain & Specs - The Biggest Battery Pack Ever Fitted On An Indian Electric Two-Wheeler

Let's get a few facts out of the way, shall we? The largest and second-largest battery packs ever fitted to an Indian electric two-wheeler are both found on the F77 lineup.

The 'smaller' of these two is the 7.1kWh pack fitted to the regular variant simply dubbed the F77. The F77's battery pack delivers an IDC range of 206 which Ultraviolette claims will result in an estimated real-world range of 176km (in glide mode) on a charge.

The F77's battery pack is paired with a mid-mounted electric motor that produces 36.2bhp and 85Nm of peak torque. Ultraviolette claims that the F77 can sprint from 0-60km/h in 3.4 seconds, hit 100km/h in 8.3 seconds from a standstill and hit a top speed of 140km/h.

The F77 Recon, on the other hand, gets the larger 10.3kWh battery pack, the largest fitted to an Indian two-wheeler to date. This allows for an IDC range of 307km which Ultravioltte estimates will translate to around 261km (in Glide mode) in the real world.

The F77 Recon's big battery pack is connected to a more powerful electric motor that sends power to the rear wheel via chain drive. The motor is rated at 38.8bhp and 95Nm of peak torque and this propels the F77 Recon from 0-60km/h in 3.1 seconds. 0-100km/h is a claimed 8 seconds flat and the top speed is limited to 147km/h.

Both the F77 and F77 Recon come with the standard charger which adds 35kms of range for every hour of charge and is only worth plugging into if you want to charge the bike overnight.

The optional fast charger more than doubles the charging speed to 75km per hour of charge and is the one to get despite the extra cost. Ultraviolette is working on even faster charging stations that will make the charging experience an even faster one. The bike also sports three levels of regen though this is soon to be upgraded to a 10-level setup via an OTA update.

All that battery pack also means that the F77 and the F77 Recon are quite big chunguses on the scales. The F77 weighs 197kg while the Recon is bulkier at 207kg. The wheelbase of the F77 Recon is 1,340mm and the bike offers 160mm of ground clearance while the seat height is 800mm.

The Ultraviolette F77 Recon features a steel trellis frame with an aluminium bulkhead. To take care of the rough stuff Ultraviolette went to Gabriel, the inventor of the automotive shock absorber. The F77 comes fitted with a 41mm upside-down front fork and a monoshock at the rear with both offerings preload adjustment. Also at the rear is an aluminium swingarm.

The F77 rides on 17-inch wheels that are shod with new MRF tyres developed for the ike that measure - 110/70 R17 front and 150/60 R17 (rear). Braking duties are handled by Bybre disc brakes with dual-channel switchable ABS from Bosch. The front disc measures 320mm and gets fixed 4-radial piston callipers while the rear wheel is stopped by a 230mm unit clamped down by a single piston floating calliper.

Ultraviolette F77 Recon Riding Impressions - Surprisingly Buzzworthy

While all the numbers may tell a story, it is how any bike rides that determines if you should get on the saddle and the way the F77 rides will make you change whatever perceptions you have about it due to its price tag.

The F77 is offered with three riding modes - Glide, Combat and Ballistic. While the difference between Glide and Combat isn't really that big in terms of roll-on acceleration, we found Glide to be the best way to get used to the bike. Combat slightly ups the performance and is the best riding mode in our opinion for the city streets.

Ballistic, though is best kept for the track or for those that prefer to ride with the seats of their pants on the streets. In Ballistic mode, the F77 Recon unleashes its full potential on the tarmac and belies its 207kg weight to push your head back as you blitz the streets. Be it from a standstill or in roll-on acceleration, this mode lives up to its name and then some.

The suspension setup on the F77 Recon is on the stiffer side to deal with the weight of the bike. However, once on the move, this setup allows you to cut up corners with ease despite the 207kg heft.

You barely feel the weight of the F77 Recon on the move as the brilliant suspension setup and the forward-leaning sports bike riding position with the rear-set footpegs and supportive fairing and fuel tank pads allow you to push the bike in and out of corners with ease.

And don't let that stiff suspension fool you into thinking that the F77 cannot behave in the city. The bike is more than able to handle the typically crazy Bangalored roads with ease negotiating potholes ruts and bumps with ease provided you kept your speeds on the saner side.

The brakes on the Ultraviolette F77 are rather nice provided you use the load and squeeze technique as the initial bite isn't that great. The rear wheel can lift under aggressive braking and you can switch off the ABS for the rear for some shenanigans, though we would advise you not to unless you're a trained stunt rider on a closed track with permission to go wild.

Final Thoughts On The Ultraviolette F77 - Changing The Way We View EVs

The Ultraviolette F77 on paper is not the best bang for your buck. But getting onto the saddle of this bike and riding it tells a whole different story. It's time we stop viewing the F77 as an alternative to ICE vehicles like the KTM RC390 and other entry-level faired sport bikes and instead look at it for what it really is - a pioneer in the Indian EV industry that could shape the way we ride in the future. Cos, if this is the future, we're all for it.