The Rizta sails past the 1,000km mark and proves to be a trouble-free commuting companion.
In the build-up to the Rizta’s launch, Ather had released some very bold advertisements showcasing how big the scooter’s seat would be, featuring a prominent Indian professional wrestler. Naturally, I initially took all of that with a grain of salt, but now that I’ve actually used the Rizta extensively with a pillion aboard, I can confirm this is a really spacious and comfortable seat. Pillions of all shapes and sizes have sat behind me, and even the taller and heftier ones were comfortable. The backrest (standard on the Z variants) also goes some way in keeping the passenger comfortable.
The well-padded seat is one of the most spacious units around, backrest keeps the pillion comfy.
With just the rider aboard, the Rizta’s ride can feel a little stiff, although it’s never uncomfortable. However, when you’re carrying a passenger, this setup pays dividends and shields you from all but the worst bumps Mumbai has to offer. That said, the Rizta’s suspension is a bit of a double-edged sword, but we’ll come to the bad bits later on.
As anyone who has ever ridden with a pillion will tell you, if your vehicle has a less-than-ideal throttle response, it’s going to be unpleasant, especially in stop-and-go traffic, where you need to give minute inputs almost constantly. What I absolutely love about the Rizta is its crisp and direct throttle response, which allows you to modulate the throttle very precisely in stop-and-go traffic without causing any unwanted herky-jerkiness.
Accelerator response feels well-tuned in both modes, is precise and direct.
What isn’t nice in our pothole-littered city, though, is the stiff front fork. It thuds over every single bump, and the big ones, especially, make their presence felt with a rather rude jolt to the rider’s hands.
The 450X-derived front fork is too stiff, which hampers overall comfort over bumps.
Another problem is that when you’re making a lock-to-lock U-turn, the Rizta’s handlebar fouls your knees. On a scooter with so much space in most other regards, the lack of it in this area stands out like a sore thumb. Ather has repurposed a lot of what was on the sporty 450 here, which is why these downsides have also transferred over to the Rizta.
Lock-to-lock U-turns require taller riders to move their knees out of the way.
But in the grand scheme of things, these are two issues I can look past, given how light the Rizta is on my pocket and, otherwise, how well it handles the daily grind in general. And since the Rizta and the 450 are quite closely related under their distinctly different skins, there are also some strong points – like the crisp handling – that I’m thoroughly enjoying.
