[Rohit_Quad]

Originally Posted by jomson13

Thanks for the reply Rohit. Interesting way to check the condition of the oil; will keep the points you mentioned in mind.
The TVS branded oil (TVS TRU4 Synthetic) is made by BPCL and is a 10W30 oil. It costs around 650 for 1.2 litres. The recommended oil change interval is 6000 kms which I feel is low for a synthetic oil.
Will see how long it lasts in the bike.

6000 kms oil change interval? And you feel it is low for a bike
I used to change my motul 300v/ Moto 4xt tech every 3.5k kms in my 220F.

If i were you,
1. I would check the oil every 1k kms. After a long ride, let the bike cool down, to an extent that you can actually touch the engine. And follow what i wrote in my previous post. U can actually squish a drop of oil between your thumb and any finger and you feel some viscosity and thinness. I know this isn't scientific, but works for me.
2. Change the oil every 3.5k kms, 4k kms max. Bajaj also had such an oil, but it was a 20W50 semi synthetic, but never liked it.
3. Since your bike does not have any liquid cooling, i'm not so sure about the 10W30 SL rated TVS oil. I would suggest you stick to the oil till run in. Post run in, you can shift to the likes of
'Motul 7100 4T 10W50 API SN Fully Synthetic Ester' or
'Shell Advance Ultra 550045008 10W-40 API SM' or
'Motul 104080 5100 4T Hybrid 15W-50 API SM Technosynthese Semi Synthetic Engine Oil'.
4. I am suggesting a grade equal to or greater than XW40 and 3k kms change interval semi synthetic oil will be the best bet. I wouldn't push till 6k kms even for the fully synthetics, cause of the dust on our desi roads and amazing heat.
5. My oil choices were always Moto Elf 4xt tech 10W50 or Petronas Sprinta Fully Synthetic or Motul 300V. But for some reason my 200F never liked Motul oils much. I stuck to Petronas as long as i could and then switched to Motul 5100 15W50 briefly before going over to Moto Elf fully syn 4XT tech.

These are my suggestions only and my opinions only, based on me riding bikes in extreme heat and distances, along with daily city commutes, for many years.
I have an aggressive driving style, and was always in look out for smoothness and power. Fell free to stick to TVS's owner manual if you don't push your bike and have a sedate to moderate driving style.

[vignesh.cv]

Originally Posted by Rohit_Quad

6000 kms oil change interval?
..
Fell free to stick to TVS's owner manual if you don't push your bike and have a sedate to moderate driving style.

One humble suggestion - please do not use expensive fully synthetic oils such as Motul 300v or the likes on a daily commuter motorcycle. 300v is meant for hard racing use only - and that translates to sustained high rpms in all gears. The oil is basically designed to break down after a one or two track/race weekends and in that process gives max protection to the internals.

You are basically throwing away money down the drain by using such oils on a commuter bike. I'd rather stick with the OE or equivalent aftermarket oils (same grade/viscosity etc.,) and stick to OE drain intervals.

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by vignesh.cv

One humble suggestion - please do not use expensive fully synthetic oils such as Motul 300v or the likes on a daily commuter motorcycle. 300v is meant for hard racing use only - and that translates to sustained high rpms in all gears. The oil is basically designed to break down after a one or two track/race weekends and in that process gives max protection to the internals.

You are basically throwing away money down the drain by using such oils on a commuter bike. I'd rather stick with the OE or equivalent aftermarket oils (same grade/viscosity etc.,) and stick to OE drain intervals.

I'd second every word you said.

The Apache 200 is a revamped version of the Suzuki motor that first appeared on the Fiero's, the motor is designed to run on regular mineral oil and anything more would be overkill.

Plus with a sump size of around 1L it's commonsense to keep drain intervals at around the 2k km's mark, so unless you'd be fine flushing down 800/- worth of oils every 2k km's you'd be doing more harm than good by keeping an oil for extended periods simply because it costs more.

Especially since friction and heat aren't the only determinants of oil life, there's clutch residue(more with a slipper clutch), blow-by contamination and the likes that you'd need to consider.

Do give Dan's MC 4/STROKE OIL a good read before proceeding.

[Sportztourer]

Updating the thread after 6 months.
The motorcycle is running fine with the slipper clutch (will post a brief experience soon).

Did a ~1000km Pune-Akola-Pune ride last month to attend a wedding. The roads from Pune-Ahemednagar-Aurangabad till Jalna are in good condition. Post Jalna the roads are under construction and I faced a lot of diversions.
On the return ride I decided to calculate the tank range where my motorcycle went into reserve at 475km after tankful. With all the bad roads, traffic and highway runs my RTR 200 returned an impressive fuel efficiency of 46kmpl. This time I was running on the Liqui Moly street race 10W-40 grade engine oil which I felt performed very similar to Motul 300V in terms on performance and fuel efficiency. In other updates the spark plug was replaced at 10000km and the air filter was replaced at around 13000km (1st one was replaced at ~6000km).
In between my switch gear was damaged (was a physical damage) and the 200 was not starting up, absence of kick start didn't help much so had to replace the whole switch gear. Have made a video on replacement process which should be helpful to other riders:

https://youtu.be/oOHodCsz-QY

[Arwin07]

After my wonderful 9 years and 72000kms with my Apache 160 Fi, I am looking to upgrade to RTR 200.

After experiencing the reliable (for the first 6 years, 60000kms), trouble-free, low cost maintenance, smooth and powerful ride (yes, 160cc is powerful enough for my daily 35km commute in rural 2 lane roads cruising at 55-60kmph), exhaust note, I want to stick with Apache stable.

We have been to Kanyakumari to Leh, lived in a town in the middle of forest for 3 years, where wild elephants were a common sight. Never did my Apache 160 fi fail me for 6 years except one fine day in early 2017 where my bike broke down in the middle of nowhere and had to be towed out.

The issue needed replacement of Fuel Injector (at 60000km, 6 years) and I couldn't find spare as TVS had stopped production of 160Fi in 2010. I searched for months, was in direct touch with TVS, but to no avail. As a last resort, I had my bike converted by adding 160cc's carburettor and my bike has run for 2 years and 12000km running with Carburettor.

I had preferred Fuel injector way back in 2010 but now I prefer good old Carburettor for ease of repair as I live in a rural area.

Coming back to the subject, I am planning to buy RTR 200 2.0 Race edition White colour but around 4 dealers in 50km radius here say that there is no stock now until BS6 version comes in a few months. I read in few automotive websites that all BS6 motorcycles, especially the new RTR 200, will be Fuel injected to adhere with the BS6 norms.

Is it true that Carburettor RTR 200 will not be available in future?
When can we expect BS6 RTR 200?

[utkarshshukla92]

Hello Guys, I am facing a small issue with my apache 200, its a 2019, bs4, carburetted model. Every morning when I cold start it, it will start in the first crank but the moment I will twist the throttle even a little bit like raising the rpm to 3000-4000 it will stall. If I let it idle for good 10 mins and then ride it, it will go without any fuss. I have tried changing the battery and tuning the carb as well but nothing seems to help. What should I do as it really gets frustrating at times waiting 10 mins for your bike to warm up?

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by utkarshshukla92

Hello Guys, I am facing a small issue with my apache 200, its a 2019, bs4, carburetted model. Every morning when I cold start it, it will start in the first crank but the moment I will twist the throttle even a little bit like raising the rpm to 3000-4000 it will stall. If I let it idle for good 10 mins and then ride it, it will go without any fuss. I have tried changing the battery and tuning the carb as well but nothing seems to help. What should I do as it really gets frustrating at times waiting 10 mins for your bike to warm up?

It's an air cooled motorcycle, if long term ownership is what you have in mind then I'd suggest you not idle the motorcycle more than a minute or two.

Now coming to your concern, provided all your consumables have been religiously replaced and are in perfect order AND your carburetor has not been fiddled with by anyone, what you face is kinda normal.

Even my motorcycle stalls when I crack open the throttle after a cold start even though she idles fine, I simply give her a couple of seconds to idle and then just start riding making sure to not give the motor too much load(using the clutch) until I build some speed, once the motorcycle is on the move at worst you'd face a hick-up or two until you reach optimum temperature and that's about it.

Always remember, the best way to warm up an air cooled motor is on the move and NOT on the stand.

Hope that helps.

If not do get back and I could suggest how you could go about more invasive means to ensure your AFR is set right. Though personally I'm no fan of messing with a stock machine even if done by the ASC.

Regards,
A.P.

[srini1785]

Originally Posted by utkarshshukla92

Hello Guys, I am facing a small issue with my apache 200, its a 2019, bs4, carburetted model. Every morning when I cold start it, it will start in the first crank but the moment I will twist the throttle even a little bit like raising the rpm to 3000-4000 it will stall. If I let it idle for good 10 mins and then ride it, it will go without any fuss. I have tried changing the battery and tuning the carb as well but nothing seems to help. What should I do as it really gets frustrating at times waiting 10 mins for your bike to warm up?

It happens with my near 15year old Kawasaki C115 although I must say its only for a minute or two and then she's OK to ride. I haven't bothered to attend to it. A simple carb clean up and battery check can be done at your ASC and they can probably help you diagnose the fault.

[utkarshshukla92]

Originally Posted by srini1785

A simple carb clean up and battery check can be done at your ASC and they can probably help you diagnose the fault.

Just cleaned the carb, sparkplug, and battery was replaced with amaron 9ah battery a week ago.

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

then just start riding making sure to not give the motor too much load(using the clutch) until I build some speed, once the motorcycle is on the move

The moment I will shift it into 1st gear and start releasing the clutch and accelerate a bit, it will stall. RPM in these 1-2 secs will shoot to 3500-4500 hundred and then decline. The bike has done 5000 km and mostly used for weekend rides, religiously serviced and maintained by TVS service center only.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by utkarshshukla92

The moment I will shift it into 1st gear and start releasing the clutch and accelerate a bit, it will stall. RPM in these 1-2 secs will shoot to 3500-4500 hundred and then decline. The bike has done 5000 km and mostly used for weekend rides, religiously serviced and maintained by TVS service center only.

The behaviour exhibited by the bike is definitely not normal. 10 minutes is way too long for you to wait before you can ride it without a worry. Is it idling properly if you leave it without giving any throttle?

Originally Posted by utkarshshukla92

Just cleaned the carb, sparkplug, and battery was replaced with amaron 9ah battery a week ago.

You seem to have addressed the first few things that came to my mind for root cause analysis. I would suggest that you take it to another competent third party garage where they can check this properly and isolate the issue. Other Delhi based TBHPians can suggest good garages, there should be plenty of them.

Also, until this is fixed, however long the bike takes to get up to optimal temperature, please wait for that to happen, because only then is it safe for you to ride.

[jomson13]

Originally Posted by utkarshshukla92

Just cleaned the carb, sparkplug, and battery was replaced with amaron 9ah battery a week ago.



The moment I will shift it into 1st gear and start releasing the clutch and accelerate a bit, it will stall. RPM in these 1-2 secs will shoot to 3500-4500 hundred and then decline. The bike has done 5000 km and mostly used for weekend rides, religiously serviced and maintained by TVS service center only.

Seems to me like clogged jets. Did you clean the jets when you cleaned the carb?

Did you try driving around with the choke on? Does the bike exhibit the same behaviour?

[utkarshshukla92]

The bike is doing just fine now. Choke is needed for the first start in the morning which shoots the RPM around 3400-3800. I keep the choke on for about 20 secs, and the moment I switch off the choke, I raise the rpm to 4000-5000 rpm for about 10-15 secs. After which it idles normally at 1200 rpm and runs without any issues.

My usage is very low, but I make sure I ride it once a week at least for 25kms. First 4-5km I go easy on the throttle to let the engine warm-up and then only I take it past 10000rpm.

My knowledge is minimal, but this practice had solved the issue for me.