Matter Aera Bike Review 2024 – New Electric Motorcycle Is It Worth It?

Matter Aera Bike Review

Modern day scooters and motorcycles very different types of two wheeler mobility solutions, right? Because on one hand you have, well, the automatic scooters that are spacious, convenient, and on the other hand, you have motorcycles which are, well, more engaging to ride because of their dynamics.

And of course, not as spacious and as convenient. But now, when you add electric mobility to the mixture, well, things are very different on that hand.

Or rather, they’re quite similar because Alexi scooters, they have their own charm to it.

But when it comes to electric motorcycles, well, although they resemble the silhouette of a motorcycle, in essence, they are still very scootery in terms of functionality because it’s all throttle and go.

Intro Of Matter Aera

Now, the motorcycle that we are talking about today is the matter Aera this is the 5000 plus. It is an electric motorcycle, but it has a four speed gearbox.

It’s the first of its kind in India, and we are here to tell you what riding it is all about.

The Aera definitely looks the part of a modern day electric motorcycle.

Design Matter Aera

Now, head to toe, it’s got the proportions of a proper 150 to 200 ICE bike with very little visual improvisations.

It’s got smart looking alloy wheels with disk brakes at both ends, a simple and decent suspension setup, neat lighting at the front and rear, and a pretty tidy and comfy step seat.

The best part is the brake and clutch levers are exactly where you’d find them on any conventional ICE bike, just like the radiator.

Unlike on other e-bikes out there, which have both brake levers on the handlebar, there’s also the rotor that spins in tandem with the motor when you’re on the go, located near the rear brake lever, which looks quite cool as well.

Matter Aera Features

In terms of features, the Aera 5000 gets a seven inch touch compatible display with optional bluetooth connectivity. And it’s one of the best screens that we’ve come across by far.

When it comes to resolution and responsiveness You have features like three drive modes, park assist feature, a proper map for navigation, and a whole bunch of vehicle data and settings for you to sift through.

It’s cool that you can easily navigate the touchscreen, even with your riding gloves on.

You also get keyless Operation OTA updates, progressive blinkers and welcome lights.

And you also get a nine axis IMU, which gives you lean, sensitive data along with other vehicle telemetry.

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And as of now, on this motorcycle, well, it’s just scratching the surface.

Over the standard Aera 5000 model the Aera 5000 plus version comes with Bluetooth connectivity as standard, along with the lifestyle and care package, which gives you access to a host of call management and other connected applications.

The fully connected package comes with a subscription plan that is yet to be finalized upon.

Overall, the bike feels quite well put together, which is great to see considering that the Ahmedabad startups taken just about five years to come up with the bikes from scratch.

There’s also a lot of thought that’s gone into making this one. And for most part, the build quality is visually striking and quite commendable to the touch.

A few misses

The Aera, very striking in terms of design. But there are a couple of issues that do need addresses.

For instance, the welds, not all that neat on this motorcycle, could have been done a little better in my opinion.

The wiring also could have been tucked away a little better. And of course, there are some flimsy plastic bits on here as well currently, because, for instance, charging port cover or the lid, not all that durable in my opinion it could be a lot better. And hopefully matter addresses these issues.

Battery pack In Matter Aera

Now, the matter Aera gets a fixed five kilowatt hour liquid cooled battery pack that’s paired with an electric motor that generates ten kilowatt of max power.

Now, driver sent to the rear wheel via a chain, and we had a rather elaborate and immersive tech session to understand the logic behind how and why things function the way they do with this motorcycle.

Gearbox

Now, yes, the Aera is obviously a very unique offering as far as electric motorcycles go out here in India, because firstly, it has a liquid cool system for the battery pack and the entire electrical management system. But more importantly, it has a four speed gearbox.

Now, what is the four speed gearbox even doing on an electric motorcycle like this one? Well, in essence, it does what it usually does on any conventional motorcycle in the first place, because it’s all about torque distribution at the end of the day.

So the lower you are in the gearbox, well, the more torque is distributed or sent to the rear wheel.

And the higher up you go in the cogs, well, the more distributed it gets and the less stressed your engine is, or in this case, the electric motor.

Ride modes & performance

You have three ride modes, Eco, city and Sport, which alter the way the bike responds to throttle.

In sport, the bike feels active and very lively. Start off in first gear, and that Tachometer reader shows that the motor spins to about 7000 revs, after which you’ll be prompted to shift up a cog through the four speeder.

Now, I managed to hit a top speed of an indicated 102 km/h in fourth, with the motor sounding at peace and not stressed at all, without any high pitch wine emanating from it.

You know, the kind that you will usually find on another electric vehicle at this particular pace.

Best part is that you can start off from a halt in any gear, depending on the urgency, and you only have to employ the clutch to change gears, and not when you come to a halt.

Acceleration feels quickest off the line in first gear, in sport drive mode, and the most relaxed in fourth gear in Eco.

The motor, in tandem with the gearbox, feels very engaging to employ on the go. it did feel slow, well, this is the first electric two wheeler that didn’t feel absolutely boring to ride in eco drive mode.

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The motor spins to around 3000 rpm in Eco, and your speed is limited to around 60 kmph. But the gearbox, well, it keeps things lively.

The motor spins to around four, four and a half thousand rpm in city drive mode, and you’ll be limited to around 80 kmph.

And if you’re feeling lazy about shifting gears and all that thing, well, this is the ride mode you’ll probably want to be in.

Yes, the gearbox doesn’t feel very crisp while shifting, but that’s something that you can choose to overlook.

Something that I couldn’t overlook on this ride, however, was the level of resistance that the energy regeneration system provides as soon as you shut throttle.

In all three ride modes, there was very little, let’s call it engine braking. And the bike continues to coast quite freely up until you hit the brakes.

And with the forward biased weight on the motorcycle, well, you’ll have to hit the brakes quite hard.

It’s a good thing that there’s single channel abs on there, then. But the system does need a bit of fine tuning, as although it functioned well on flat, well paved surfaces, well, I found it to lock up quite easily over some sand and gravel.

So there’s still some work to be done on that front.

Ride & handling dynamics

The ride and handling dynamics of this bike feel very neutral, with a comfortable, fairly upright rider triangle.

Even tall riders will easily manage to ride this bike on a daily basis in the city, using up a complete charge very comfortably.

The Aera feels well balanced at low speed, and things weigh up nicely once you pick up the pace as well.

Seating wise, the era is spacious for two up and there’s even a convenient three liter storage bay in the tank area to lug the charger cable around.

Conclusion

Overall, acceleration feels very respectable, with the Ahemdabad based manufacturer claiming a zero to 100 kilometer per hour sprint time of under 6 seconds, which feels about right.

So like with any modern day motorcycle, there are definitely a good number of hits and misses with the Aera as well.

But the best part about this motorcycle is that it opens the doorway to a new, fun and engaging way of seeing and experiencing the electric motorcycle. And that in my opinion is quite an exciting road to go down now.

As the Aera managed to bridge the gap between, well in terms of functionality between the conventional ice motorcycle and the modern day electric motorcycle. Well, in some way it has, but overall, not really.

But what it has done is definitely take a big step towards achieving that goal overall because, well, that four speed gearbox really does a lot as far as functionality goes, engagement goes, and it has also opened a whole new doveway to a trend of thought as far as electric motorcycles go in the country.