Joy E-Bikes Thunderbolt vs Kabira Mobility KM 3000: Photo Comparison

Can the Thunderbolt justify the Rs 1 lakh difference over the KM 3000?

The new player in the electric mobility market is Joy E-Bikes, which launched four motorcycles,including the Thunderbolt which is priced at Rs 2.33 lakh. Earlier this year, Goa-based Kabira Mobility launched its KM 3000 priced at Rs 1.27 lakh. Does it really make sense to splurge over lakh more on the Joy E-Bike Thunderbolt or could you be better off with the KM 3000 (or should you just skip both)?

Both the bikes do not have an original design. While Kabira Mobility’s KM 3000 is a complete rip-off of the Kawasaki Ninja 300, the Joy Thunderbolt’s fascia is slightly different. That said, the Thunderbolt’s tail light is straight off the baby Ninja too.

The Joy Thunderbolt and the Kabira KM 3000 not only share the same rear end, but also the frame. Look closely, and you’ll notice the bikes share the same diamond frame, likely to be one from Yamaha R3. In fact, even the exhaust mount on the footpeg of the Yammie, still exists on these bikes.

The Thunderbolt is powered by a 5kW BLDC hub motor capable of propelling the bike to a top speed of 90kmph. The KM 3000’s 6kW BLDC hub motor produces a continuous power of 3.5kW and has a claimed top speed of 100kmph.

Both the bikes come equipped with lithium-ion battery packs. Joy E-Bike hasn’t specified the battery capacity, but has a claimed range of 110km. On the other hand, the Kabira Mobility bike sports a 4kWh battery with a claimed range of 120km (in Eco mode).

The suspension setup on both the bikes seem to be similar as well. A telescopic fork at the front and a monoshock with linkage at the rear handle the suspension duties. To know how the Kabira KM 3000’s ride quality fared, read our first ride review.

This is where the Thunderbolt has an edge over the KM 3000 (at least in theory). While the latter uses a single rotor at the front, Joy E-Bike has equipped its bike with dual discs. Both the bikes get a disc brake at the rear too, with eerily similar brake calipers.

In spite of the Rs 1 lakh difference in the pricing, the Joy E-Bike doesn’t offer anything that would justify the premium over the Kabira Mobility KM 3000. Also, despite both the companies' claim of being completely indegenious products, these bikes can be purchased at as low as USD840 or Rs 63,000 from a popular Chinese website. So, we recommend you to wait for the Ultraviolette F77 or even the Emflux if a performance electric motorcycle is what you desire.