[gururaj r]

good review Mr Abhinav. I have a victor GL and a Apache 150 (the first of the series) and have no problem in mumbai traffic handling them. What engine oil do you use. Both my vehicles have done 40k and 38k respy but no big issues so far.A dependable service outlet is a grudge. You leave ur vehicle with 3l petrol in the tank and it will get returned with 100 ml. If u leave with reserve, then also 100 ml of petrol.

Except the jarring note at around 60kmph or 4k rev, it is a beauty.

[rdna]

@Porschefire, it's just 10,000 kms He will surely touch a lakh in less than 2 years probably

[Kimified]

Originally Posted by Porschefire

Am i seeing it right!!!???You've done a Lac kms in just 6 months and 10 days????? Where have you been riding man???To the moon???

I think there is a small dot before the last zero. Not clearly visible in the pic. Its 10000.0

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

Looks: Feels a bit skinny from rear at a distance ; coz its white?

Seating: OK with me. Took time to get used to since I was riding a Avenger.

Gearbox: whatever you said is

Brakes: Wow ! I feel this stops faster than most other bikes of this segment and in straight line whatever the road condition maybe thanks to ABS.

Headlight / Tail Lamp: Stupid lights IMHO. Avenger's was brilliant.

Tyres: MRF's pattern too looks same, very same. I was even wondering why TVS's one has to be crappy even when they all share same design. Will upgrade in future. Ok till now.

1st service at 700kms - 303 Rs IIRC
2nd service at 3000kms - 303 Rs

Good job with the review thread buddy. Lazy and hence added my RTR180 ABS's ownership here Odo @ 3000kms in 60 days.

I too have the same opinion about most of the stuff about RTR.

[shridhar.s.i]

A good review, I am also a proud member of the Apache tribe and very happy with its road manners (i have an Apache RTR EFI 160)
But i would like your inputs on the following
1. Rear disc brake, though the brake feels very good and encourages you to brake late, it does get heated up a lot, i mean drive for a while and then try checking the heat generated in front vs rear (i use 60% front / 40% rear combo usually but may vary a bit), i guess it is due to the smaller radius of rear disc
2. Front suspension - Called by many as a shoulder breaker, i personally feel they forgot to put a suspension in there...i could understand if they made the setup hard for handling but No, it is soft and the travel is also less owing the the driving position,
3. Vibrations between 50-70 kmph - While in service station i have seen many people complaining of it and to me it looks like a design flaw prevailing since the early apache's, even i have noticed it but after driving a bullet for so long we say "Vibrations"-what's that?

Happy Driving

[abhinav.s]

Thanks everyone for the kind words and appreciation. Sorry for the delay in posting as i was not online for the last 5 days on T-BHP. I will try and answer each query below.

Originally Posted by amit_purohit20

A wonderful report but Abhinav I would really like you to write more about RTR's performance on steep mountain climbs,roads...Also what petrol do you use does it affect the climbing process....The brake were really down to only 25% of the braking efficiency.

Well, the pics that you see, it was a ride with fellow bhpian rdna to Coorg with some steep climbs thrown in. There was no pillion and i dont remember the bike struggling to climb. There was a section so steep that in the car, i had taken it in 1st gear but the same was achieved in 2nd and later on in 3rd on the RTR. With regards to brakes, we used engine braking while coming down and still had to use the brakes a lot. We did not feel the fade. Probably your distance downhill was more.

Originally Posted by Technocrat

So you had two 160's & now bought a 180, wow you really like the RTR...I agree with Sammy, the console were very hard for my liking too on my 160 ....Any mods planned with Joel?

Thanks Techno. Yes, I somehow feel that RTR is a perfect looker and has the go to match the show! And regards to console, mine probably owing to the use or due to later batch of bikes is not that hard. Yes it is harder than say the FZ and P220 that I had but not uncomfortable. Mods, you are now tempting me

Originally Posted by Daewood

There is no bike under 1 lakh which has the neat, tight and perfect proportions as an Apache.

Well sir, you said the very words i was looking for - Neat, tight and Perfect!

Originally Posted by Daewood

What tyres did you upgrade to? Any recomendations..

Its Pirelli MT75 57P for rear in the same size as stock RTR180 tyre size.

Originally Posted by Shivank

BTW, how is the Pirelli holding up on the road?....Hope, you will help me out on this one.

Happy to help buddy! Pirelli is doing alright. No wet patches/rain encountered so far. But on the dry, the control is much much better and i have now gained confidence to lean in the same manner i used to on the FZ16. Gravel and sand are not a problem anymore. I glide over them at moderately fast pace without skipping a heart beat. The only issue is these tyres are really hard to come by in the stock RTR size. I had to scout almost half of south Bangalore for the tyres.

Originally Posted by gururaj r

What engine oil do you use....Except the jarring note at around 60kmph or 4k rev, it is a beauty.

I am currently using Top1 20W50 Mineral oil. It seems to be holding up well in the afternoon heat. Engine noise is much less and clatter is all but absent. And spot on, the vibes at 4k is the only troubling thing but in the RTR180 that too has been refined to an extent.

Originally Posted by jkdas

Good job with the review thread buddy. Lazy and hence added my RTR180 ABS's ownership here Odo @ 3000kms in 60 days.

Thanks JK. Most welcome to post your ownership observations here. With regards to headlights, yes you feel they are inadequate if you are used to Bajaj illumination.

Originally Posted by shridhar.s.i

But i would like your inputs on the following
1. Rear disc brake, though the brake feels very good and encourages you to brake late, it does get heated up a lot, i mean drive for a while and then try checking the heat generated in front vs rear (i use 60% front / 40% rear combo usually but may vary a bit), i guess it is due to the smaller radius of rear disc

I have never tested this to be honest. I very rarely use the rear brakes. I totally rely on the front and feather the rear only when required. Proof of this is the fact that my front brake pads needed replacement at 9000kms while my rear brake pads are good for another 6000kms.

Originally Posted by shridhar.s.i

2. Front suspension - Called by many as a shoulder breaker, i personally feel they forgot to put a suspension in there...i could understand if they made the setup hard for handling but No, it is soft and the travel is also less owing the the driving position,

I agree with you regarding the hard front suspension. It passes the road undulations direct to the arms. So as a workaround, i added 10ml of fork oil to each fork at around 4000kms on the Odo. It is much better now and not as harsh as it was before. Have not topped up or added any oil after that till now at 10500kms on the Odo.

Originally Posted by shridhar.s.i

3. Vibrations between 50-70 kmph - While in service station i have seen many people complaining of it and to me it looks like a design flaw prevailing since the early apache's, even i have noticed it but after driving a bullet for so long we say "Vibrations"-what's that?
Happy Driving

This is due to the nature of design of the engine. An oversquare engine by nature vibrates more. So may not be a design flaw, but TVS have failed to refine these vibrations. But again, it is more pronounced on the 160 compared to 180.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by shridhar.s.i

2. Front suspension - Called by many as a shoulder breaker, i personally feel they forgot to put a suspension in there...i could understand if they made the setup hard for handling but No, it is soft and the travel is also less owing the the driving position,

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

I have never tested this to be honest. I very rarely use the rear brakes. I totally rely on the front and feather the rear only when required. Proof of this is the fact that my front brake pads needed replacement at 9000kms while my rear brake pads are good for another 6000kms.

Adding from where Abhinav left, braking varies on different genres of Motorcycles. Sports Bikes's dynamics are such that rear brake usage is nullified. It will take some time getting used to but once you get the hang of it, you won't look back. Off-road & dirt being exception.

Rear wheel slides (while braking) are easy to occur & control. While the front wheel will rarely slide, but is quite a handful to control (if you grabbed a handful). Modulation is the key and the best of riders will give whatever they have treasure to brake efficiently & corner like a pro. You will always learn & evolve. Keep riding & practicing (the right technique) There is no substitute to riding

Grab hold of these books, shall help immensely http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...ml#post2712398

Originally Posted by shridhar.s.i

2. Front suspension - Called by many as a shoulder breaker, i personally feel they forgot to put a suspension in there...i could understand if they made the setup hard for handling but No, it is soft and the travel is also less owing the the driving position,

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

I agree with you regarding the hard front suspension. It passes the road undulations direct to the arms. So as a workaround, i added 10ml of fork oil to each fork at around 4000kms on the Odo. It is much better now and not as harsh as it was before. Have not topped up or added any oil after that till now at 10500kms on the Odo.

I believe it is also because of the skewed front 17" and rear 18" tire configuration for the RTR-160.

[abhinav.s]

The light showers in Bangalore last night gave me a chance to try out the Pirelli in semi wet and fully wet conditions. There is a sea of difference between stock and this one. I don't lose the rear on wet patches and fully wet confidence has gone up.

Straight line in fully wet conditions is good up to 80kmph while on stock tyres too it was good up to 70kmph. But cornering is where the Pirelli scores. While I am no Rossi/Spies to take corners in wet at high speeds, the confidence that i can lean into a corner at slightly higher speeds like say 40-50kmph is good enough for me. On stock I was scared to take the same corner at 30kmph and would never lean into the corner in wet at all. Once i get used to the behavior in wet, i would be able to post updates on how the Pirelli holds up.

[amit_purohit20]

Well, the pics that you see, it was a ride with fellow bhpian rdna to Coorg with some steep climbs thrown in. There was no pillion and i dont remember the bike struggling to climb. There was a section so steep that in the car, i had taken it in 1st gear but the same was achieved in 2nd and later on in 3rd on the RTR. With regards to brakes, we used engine braking while coming down and still had to use the brakes a lot. We did not feel the fade. Probably your distance downhill was more.

Yes I had gone to Diveagar a place in Konkan and I was with my Wife as Pillion on the RTR180. 85-90% of the roads were pure mountain roads and so lot of steep slopes with U turns so had to keep my speed down.With slow speeds and steep climbs with double seat- This is the condition I felt the bike was struggling to climb. It was going very slow inspite of me increasing the accelerator. To add to my woes I was overtaken by 100- 125 cc bikes from Honda very easily on these slopes.(They were also carrying a pillion). I suffered the same condition sometimes while I was in Ladakh.

[abhinav.s]

Originally Posted by amit_purohit20

....It was going very slow inspite of me increasing the accelerator. To add to my woes I was overtaken by 100- 125 cc bikes from Honda very easily on these slopes.

The only thing i can think of is a choked air filter or the carb slide fault. As it cannot be as sluggish as you are mentioning it was unless there was some issue. Or may be the altitude also mattered, making the bike run lean? But it still does not explain how the lower cc bikes were able to do the climbs easily!

[abhinav.s]

5th & final free service at 11,904kms: Regular service with oil and oil filter change, chain lubrication and normal polish.
Cost: Rs.126/-

5th and final free service completed yesterday.

My clip on bars were supposed to be replaced in warranty which was done yesterday. There was also a minor leak from the fuel tap and the service adviser was kind enough to get it replaced under warranty again. Quite pleased with the service provided at Trijal TVS so far and I might continue to visit them for the paid services as well.

[shridhar.s.i]

TVS indeed has upped their service levels, recently i got my apache serviced and they had done a fairly decent job, they did mess up the O ring causing oil leakage but when i took it back the works manager himself came out to address the problem and got it corrected
Overall a good job from TVS indeed

[madan80]

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

[b].... There was also a minor leak from the fuel tap and the service adviser was kind enough to get it replaced under warranty again....

didnt you get the fueltap replaced once already earlier?

[abhinav.s]

Originally Posted by madan80

didnt you get the fueltap replaced once already earlier?

Nope.. They had replaced some seal which is above the fuel tap twice. Then they replaced the tank itself. Now the fuel tap was leaking and they replaced that too!!

[madan80]

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

Nope.. They had replaced some seal which is above the fuel tap twice. Then they replaced the tank itself. Now the fuel tap was leaking and they replaced that too!!

... is this a common issues with the RTRs?