[AtheK]

"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools" - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Background

There is something about motorbikes, which makes me go weak on my knees. I had always loved them from young age, and always wanted to own one looker of a bike. You place a ducati panigale and a lamborghini side by side, i know where my feet will take me, i don't even have to try.

My journey started with my dad gifting me a Pulsar 150 cc (Definitely Male), in the early days of September 2003. It was my first job, and those times it was important to have your own mode of transportation. It was a silver Pulsar and a great bike at that. It served me well for the first few years, and then subsequently had small niggles which started to irritate me. Six years later i bid the pulsar goodbye, and got the Apache RTR 160 home.

Apache was one brilliant looking bike and a bike which was built rock solid, in my entire 9 year of ownership the only problem i had was to have the Speedometer replaced once last year. Other than that, the bike ran smoothly, no matter where i took her, no matter how i treated her. Press the starter and it will come to life, no fuss, no drama. I loved every single minute i have spent riding her. I am still not sure if i will sell her, i still love taking her for a spin, and might look at converting this to a single seater cafe racer.

The Itch

Everything was going fine, and then one fine day Bajaj decided to change our lives forever, they introduced the KTM to us mortals at a brilliant price. No matter what i think of the initial pulsar, i stood up and applauded Bajaj, they had shaken the two-wheeler market with such a brilliant product and such an amazing price. I was not in a position to upgrade so soon, and i started following them closely. KTM continued to take indian market seriously and then ended up launching RC390, it was love at first sight, my heart knew i wanted one. I waited for the first year to pass by so that major niggles can be sorted, and then took a test drive somewhere mid of 2015, i had made up my mind that this will be my birthday gift to me.

I test drove the bike, and was not thoroughly impressed. I was absolutely not sure that if this is the bike i can live with on a daily basis, the committed stance was not to my liking, the crazy acceleration was something i would have loved in my teens, but with nearing 35, i thought this is not for me. With heavy heart i had to contend with buying myself another watch on my 35th Birthday. The itch was gone, and i did not know, what next.

Then Akula happened, TVS stunned pretty much everyone with the Akula, what a beautiful looking bike, and designed in India. Wow. I was again interested, but then it was a concept and they said Launch is atleast a year or 18 months away, so i let it be. Kudos to TVS though to come up with such a great looking bike.

The Hunt Begins

It was July 2017 and spy shots of Akula were everywhere, i thought if not 35th let it be 37th, but let me gift myself a bike this time. So, the hunt started, with the mindset that this year i will get my bike.

My Requirements

1. Fully Faired bike.
2. ABS a must.
3. 80% City Riding + 20% Highway riding.
4. Fun to Ride, puts a smile on my face everytime i crank it up.
5. Good Handling

Bikes considered

1. Benelli 302r
2. Ninja 650
3. Akula rr310 (When it launches)

Bikes not considered, due to lack of ABS, though i really liked them

1. Ninja 300
2. Yamaha R3

If not for my love and desire to own a fully faired bike, i would have definitely bought the Duke 390, looks smashing.


Bikes Test Driven

1. Benelli 302r

Benelli 302r was launched in India sometime in July, and i went for a test ride in August. The first time we went for the ride, SA informed us that we need to book a Test ride on the Site, and we just can't walk in. We were like OK, and we left the showroom after having a look and feel of the bike. The second time i had gone to test ride the Ninja, and Benelli showroom being very close, we walked into see if a test ride will be provided. They did provide a test ride this time, without asking for an online booking(Guess they finally realized the bike is not selling as well as they expected).

It was a short ride for about 2 Kms with me following the SA on another bike. It was a short and sweet ride, and Benelli did impress me a bit, but not as much as i had expected. Wife kind of liked the bike, but i put it on hold for now.

Pro
Comes loaded with features, ABS (Switchable), Slipper Clutch, USD Fork
Smooth Parallel Twin
Beautiful Exhaust note (not as good as the naked though)

Cons
Very Heavy (Heaviest in the class)
Dated Speedometer
Very small interval of Service.
DSK group instability.

So i decided to let go off this. The SA did keep following up till i informed him of my decision of not going ahead with the purchase.



2. Ninja 650

Kawasaki did not have a Ninja for test drive, so they offered me a Z650 for test drive. I drove it twice, once for few Kms in the city, and second time for around 6 Kms on Highway. the SA was very good and did his followup, till i informed him that i would rather wait for the Ninja 400.

Pros
1. Super refined engine
2. Looks very well built and put together.
3. Great power delivery
4. Good breaks

Cons.
1. No USD forks for such a price.
2. Exhaust note is not that great for a 650 cc.
3. Famed Kawasaki ASS.
4. Wife afraid that it is too powerful and she will be scared with me on it, while riding on highways.

I was still interested in the Ninja 650 if i could find a second hand 2017 model for around 5.5 lacs mark, as 6.7 lacs was pushing my budget too much. I had to drop the idea for purely financial reasons, and would hopefully add one to my garage when i get a good deal on a pre-owned one.



3. Apache RR310 - Never test drove it, was just wowed by seeing the bike in red color. Booked the bike the day booking opened, 1st customer to do so, and started waiting Patiently.



Buying Experience.

I booked the bike with Prakruthi Motors Bangalore. The dealer received the display bikes only by Second week of January. I was told that since i made the the first booking, i will be one of the first customers to get the bike. Dealer called me on 18th Jan and asked me to make the full payment. Well the birthday had come and gone, and i got my belated birthday gift in the form of wifey paying up for the bike, well what can i say, thanks a lot. The bike was delivered on 26th January, with a TC number. There was a cake cutting ceremony, and owner of the dealership himself gave me the keys. The dealership though is very mediocre, and does the job very shabbily. The RTO inspection was delayed twice, and a lot of homework that a dealer should do was missing. The SA was a nice chap, and did answer my queries, but seems he also had limited information at hand.

Over all i will rate the Dealer as 2/5. I wish TVS has chosen a better dealer to sell the flagship bike. The only reason i am happy is that they stuck to the promise of delivering the bike to me in the first batch itself.

This is what greeted us when we reached the Showroom



Unveiling what is below the cover.



A nice cake and a bouquet



Getting the keys from the dealership's owner

[AtheK]

The Apache RR310 has been launched in India at a price of Rs. 2.05 lacs

What you would Like
1. Brilliant Design, Looks like a mini Ducati in Red
2. Well Put Together, and good paint quality.
3. Refined Engine, with linear power delivery.
4. Extremely Easy to handle, a beginner can also start with this bike.
5. USD Forks.
6. Loaded Speedometer.
7. Brilliant looking lights.
8. Relaxed Driving position, with no backpain.
9. Practical City Rider, Doesn't heat up much

What You won't

1. Essentially a Single seater, the pillion seat is best left for kids.
2. Some Vibrations at high speeds.
3. Missing features like Slipper Clutch, Ride by wire, Switchable ABS (Which the competition offers)
4. TVS wafer thin sales & service network for Apache RR310.
5. Exhaust note is not too impressive.
6. Quality of some parts, does not justify the premium label tagged to the bike by TVS.
7. Overpriced by atleast 15 thousand rupees.
8. Small Fuel tank
9. Finding neutral is a bit tough.

The Gorgeous Apache RR310, i have named the bike Drakula, some from Akula, and some due to the red + black + white color.



Looks

Usually we have polarized opinions about bikes, but this is one bike where in i still have to hear someone tell me that this bike does not look good. My Mom on seeing the bike, said this looks so much better than the Ninja 650 that you wanted. Well done TVS, you have really given India a bike, which is made in India and which can truly compete with bikes of its class in any market. If only other manufacturers can follow suit. By now you would have seen gazillion pictures of the bike, but let me just leave you with few of mine.







Resting with the Old horse


Design & Specifications

TVS has done a great job of engineering with Apache, it took a lot of time coming, but now that it is finally here, it was worth the wait. The bike comes with a 310 CC engine sourced from BMW, though the ECU is different in both the bikes. The bike shares other parts with BMW G310r, major being the USD forks & The trellis frame. Bike comes with Michelin tyres, which should last around 20,000 KMS, compared to Metzlers which usually need to be replaced at 12,000 Kms. I think TVS missed a trick here and should have gone ahead with Pirelli tyres to enhance the appeal of the bike. The Michelins do the job fine though & as my next upgrade would probably be a Pirelli tyres. TVS has gone with a minimal sticker job, and it looks very well, minimilastic view brings out the curves pretty well. I have though gone ahead and added some stickers which i would post in later half of my review.

The bike comes with bi-led projector headlamps which do the job well of lighting up the road ahead. They also have DRLS with AHO, in daylight the light is not as bright as that say of Dominar. See the pic below for illumination.

Low Beam


High Beam


The speedometer is pretty good, and pretty much displays what ever you would want to see. It looks awesome with white background. I have covered some of the modes below, there are quite a bit more.

Basic ODO meter, covers Speed, time, Date, Engine temperature, Fuel Display, Gear indicator and your RPM Count.

Along with it, it also shows if your sides stand is down. You can not start the bike, if the side stand is down.



Your average speed achieved till now.



This is how it looks in day, very readable. It also has a sensor, to switch on and off the backlight based on the light conditions.



The engine temperature



Hi Speed attained (I am still in Run In)



Lap timer, one for lap info.



Multi trips, you can do Trip 1,2 A, B



Overspeed indicator



Range left



0 to 60 (Company claims 2.93 Seconds, need to get to atleast 3.1)



Switches

Switches on the bike look just average, and have no backlight. TVS should have provided better quality switch, these seems to be a direct pick from the Apache range. No auto cancelling indicators as well. I would have expected them to do better here, specially for the premium costing.




Also Notice the caps on the handle bar, where you would usually have rear view mirrors in naked bikes. Seems like TVS read the comments and moved the mirrors to the Number plate. Looks bad, and TVS should have removed it all together.

[AtheK]

Riding & Handling

The bike has a 312 CC engine which produces 34 bhp @ 9700 & 27.3 nm @ 7700 rpm. It's a liquid cooled engine, with a wet multi plate clutch mated to 6 speed gear box. This is the first ever bike in India with a reverse inclined engine. TVS states that they have done state-of-the-art wind tunnel testing, resulting in the best in class coefficient of drag, comes across more as marketing mumbo jumbo.

The Engine Compartment



Riding in the city

Press the start button and the bike comes to life, idling at around 1600 rpm. The exhaust is decent but nothing home to write about, would have preferred some bass. Twist the wrist and the bike takes off smoothly, there is no sudden rush and even a novice can handle it easily. It does not scare you, rather let you be relaxed and get used to it, before you can start pushing the machine and yourself. The bike is happy to be driven at low speeds and in bumper to bumper traffic, you can contiue to be on 3rd gear even on speeds as low as 20-25 kmph. The suspension setup is soft and the tyres stick well to the tarmac, resulting in a very smooth drive.

Riding position is not very committed, and ends up as a very balanced riding position, resulting in no back or shoulder aches.The heat dissipation is taken care by a new technology that TVS has implemented in which heat is directed away from the body of the rider. See below



This actually works and the heat is not intolerable, this does not mean the bike does not get heated, but at least your legs/thighs are not fried. I continued observing the engine temperature, and i found out that in bumper to bumper traffic, with sun beating on your head, it reaches maximum of around 115 degrees. In the night time, it stays around 100 - 105 degrees. When you are cruising normally, it is around 85-90 degrees. One point of note, engine fan kicks in quite frequently, and is pretty loud.

The bike is very flickable and can be easily handled in the city traffic, it turns lanes on your command. I have had no issues driving it in Bangalore traffic, though i still prefer to take the RTR to my new office which is just 6 kms away. In addition to that i am paranoid that someone will end up putting some scratches on it. This bike is an attention grabber, and pretty much all the guys want to know which bike is it and how much does it cost. Lot of people have praised TVS to come up with such a bike, and they say they really feel proud an Indian company which was known for making scooty has made a world class product.

One thing of note is that finding Neutral sometime can be a pain, maybe i am not doing it right or maybe it is an Issue. Will have it checked in my next service. I am also getting used to rear view mirror, the mirror though gives a very good view of action behind. Just need to find the right setting.

The ground clearance is really good, i sometime travel to one another office which is 25 kms away from my place, and has around 42 speed breakers, happy to report it did not scrape even one of them. The vibrations are well controlled and does not hamper the ride in any way, not that they are not there, but there is only so much a single engine cylinder can do. Perfect City commuter.

Riding on Highways

But wait it's not the city where you want to ride this, just take it to highway and that is where it absolutely shines, the engine is quick to respond and you are doing triple digits in no time. The engine loves to be revved and responds to all your wishes in a jiffy. I have had two highway rides both around 100 km one way, and i completely loved them. The seat is comfortable, the riding position is very balanced, resulting in no shoulder aches as i spoke above. I think TVS has done a great job in getting this right, as not every one wants to attack corners, it is good to have a product in market which caters to the lot who just like to have a relaxed ride. I have had no fatigue in the 200 KM travel and i can easily push myself for much more. The engine has settled down really well in my second ride and i have a feeling that with change of engine oil, it will make the engine even more smoother. The first service is due at 1000 Kms.

Braking

Apache has a 300 mm single petal disc at the front and a 240 mm petal disc at the rear. The bike comes with dual channel ABS as standard.The brakes are absolutely top-notch, especially coming from an Apache RTR 160, they felt like a revelation. The breaks and ABS work perfectly and brings the bike to stand still without any drama. I did test some panic breaking and the way bike responded gave me a lot of confidence, to push it a little more more on highways.


Total Payload allowed is 299.5 KG, and engine oil to be used is Motul.

TVS recommends to clean/lube the chain every 500 Km, and this can be seen on a sticker below. It also recommends the tyre pressure to be maintained. TVS recommends Motul C1 & C2, chain cleaner and chain Lube.



The Not so good

1. I get a bit of noise around the chain sprocket area, i think it is the chain being loose, will need to get it checked in first service. Would have expected a better QC.

2. The windscreen makes some jarring noise, and i will need to get it checked in the next service.

3. The windscreen scratches a bit too easily, and the quality is something i have a question mark.

4. Unable to find a mounting place for Frame Slider, will have to probably wait and see how fellow TVS owners do it.

5. Still getting used to getting the bike on Neutral.

6. Some area on trellis frame look very shabbily painted, and better work should have been executed.

7. Can TVS tell me why is this part drilled and nothing fitted there.



Conclusion

I personally feel this is one of the best bikes you can buy at this price bracket. It provides a very good balance between City and highway riding, with a relaxed posture. It has a lot of road presence, and being made by an Indian company it gives you even more pleasure while riding it. It is priced a bit higher, and this has pushed it very close to the KTM twins. I think the audience for these two bikes are very different, and very less cross shopping will happen between the brands. Worthy competitor to this would have been a CBR 300, but honda is happy doing new sticker jobs and not refreshing an aging product. If TVS can match the demand and supply, they should have no problem in meeting the expected goal of 12000 bikes a year.

I would still suggest prospective buyers to wait couple of months and let TVS iron out all niggles.

[AtheK]

Some Modifications

I personally don't like my bikes stock, and always want to give them a different look. In the same quest bike went through a sticker job and i added some decals to the bike, inspired by some rendering on some sites.

1. Shark Inspired decal





2. My Online Id and the Bike Name Decal





3. The Michellin Logo



4. Number 13 race decals, Blacked out Windshield (To save from scratches, and i find it cool) and a Punisher Logo to ward off bad omen



5. My first ever Team Bhp meet



6. In the end, Yours truly all geared up.



All the modifications done are done with a thought of them being completely reversible, when required.

Last modification left is to get Frame sliders, but right now all generic one are available. I also need to see how fellow riders will install them.

I will update the thread after my first 1000 Km service, and will be happy to answer any queries you might have.

Thanks for reading through.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Motorcycle Section. Thanks for sharing!

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Congrats Aman!

I feel the RR310 is one of the sexiest bikes ever to be produced by an Indian manufacturer. TVS surely has matured and how!

Here are a couple of pictures from our ride, where the Drakula was the star of the show -

Proper supersport design. No weird angles or disproportionate elements anywhere IMO. Mini Ducati like you mentioned. Sides and front do remind me of the 848 Evo.


But the tail is pure Panigale and thats certainly no bad thing!


BHP'ians all eager to check out the RR310. Discussions regarding the handlebar height and touring comfort going on!


Discussions regarding the footpeg positions and swingarm wizadry in progress. Also - Notice the size and road presence with respect to the 650 in the frame.

650cc class is focussing on being more compact and the 300s are growing bigger. I think the RR310 has more road presence than the Ninja 650 for sure, and almost even the CBR650.


BHP'ians examining every corner and detail - whereas bystanders seem to be quite interested in the red bike too.

[avinashsg]

Very interesting and detailed write up.
Am sure most of TVS enthusiasts like me will love the thread.
Wish you tons of happy and safe miles on the new steed.

[AtheK]

Thanks crazy driver for that post, I left that part, hoping some one from the group will update for a non owner view. Owners can end up being biased sometimes. Appericate it.

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by AtheK

Resting with the Old horse

Still not a patch on the 160, looks wise! (Sorry, big time owner's bias creeping in )

That really is 1 good looking bike, but like you said, I think I'll wait for another year or so before taking the plunge. Till then (and even beyond), my RTR160 will do just fine.

Wish you a million miles of safe and happy riding!

Cheers,
Vikram

[dual disc 200]

Congrats on the Drakula. Was quite interesting to see the decision transistion between the N650 to the Apache RR which for me would've been a very tough decision to make.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Along with it, it also shows if your sides stand is down. You can not start the bike if the side stand is down.

Quite interesting, Would the bike not start at all? or wouldn't start with a gear slotted in side stand?

[AtheK]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

Still not a patch on the 160, looks wise! (Sorry, big time owner's bias creeping in )

That really is 1 good looking bike, but like you said, I think I'll wait for another year or so before taking the plunge. Till then (and even beyond), my RTR160 will do just fine.

Wish you a million miles of safe and happy riding!

Cheers,
Vikram

Thanks Vikram, yes you are right the RTR is still a great bike. I plan to keep it for few more years.

Originally Posted by dual disc 200

Congrats on the Drakula. Was quite interesting to see the decision transistion between the N650 to the Apache RR which for me would've been a very tough decision to make.


Quite interesting, Would the bike not start at all? or wouldn't start with a gear slotted in side stand?

Purely financial sir, better half rapped me on the knees and told me to come back to reality

The bike will start in Neutral, but moment you slot it in gear, it will turn off. I need to check if it starts with gear in slot and holding the clutch. Will update.

[R-Six]

Congratulations, Athek!

And finally, your ownership review is out on the forum. I’m sure that a lot of riders on the forum were looking forward to it.

Great looking bike and I’m pretty impressed with TVS for coming up with such a beautiful looking bike.

On another note, that tire hugger is kind of an eye sore, from the pictures, it looks quite big. Not sure if you felt it that way. But it is spoiling the look of the bike. May be, you can look at options to modify that too.

Ride safe,
R-six

[sandeep.k]

Congrats on the sweet looking bike!

I remember the original Apache had a shorter wheelbase compared to other similar-class bikes. Looking at your pictures, I felt it was the same with Apache RR310 too. But I was wrong. Checking online, the wheelbase is 1345mm which is on par with other bikes which give an impression of looking long ( Pulsar 220 which gives an impression of a long bike, has a wheelbase of 1350 mm ).

Happy riding!

Slightly OT questions:

1. The bike-on-a-landscape-near-a-lake-or-river pictures look really cool. Where were they taken ?
2. How do I join a Team-BHP bikers meet-up ? I was looking at the threads in 'The Team-BHP Meet Section' and couldn't find any mention of bikers meeting, etc.

[PrasannaDhana]

Congrats Athek

First RR310 review on TeamBHP!

By the way, a few negatives dont seem like negatives at all to me.

Pillion friendliness and small tank - or may be I am used to my RC390

Bike looks great, but It would look hotter with that ugly tyre hugger removed. Also, the dark tint on visor kinda looks odd. Functionally, I prefer clear visor to allow visibility at dark times while I am tucked into the visor. But yes, to each his own.

Wish you a million km of trouble free, safe, fun filled experience on the RR310.

PS: Michelin PSRs are better than Pirelli DRII. And they last long, really long. Metzelers last for 10k km, while the Michelins on my previous Duke 390 lasted for a whopping 36k km! I had Michelins on my cbr250r too, which I rode for 15k km before selling and even then the tyres looked fairly new.

[AtheK]

Originally Posted by R-Six

Congratulations, Athek!

And finally, your ownership review is out on the forum. I’m sure that a lot of riders on the forum were looking forward to it.

Great looking bike and I’m pretty impressed with TVS for coming up with such a beautiful looking bike.

On another note, that tire hugger is kind of an eye sore, from the pictures, it looks quite big. Not sure if you felt it that way. But it is spoiling the look of the bike. May be, you can look at options to modify that too.

Ride safe,
R-six

Hello R-Six,

I agree with the tyre hugger, i am waiting for the first service to get over, and i will remove it altogether.

For rains i will use the RTR.

Regards
Aman

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

Congrats Athek

First RR310 review on TeamBHP!

By the way, a few negatives dont seem like negatives at all to me.

Pillion friendliness and small tank - or may be I am used to my RC390

Bike looks great, but It would look hotter with that ugly tyre hugger removed. Also, the dark tint on visor kinda looks odd. Functionally, I prefer clear visor to allow visibility at dark times while I am tucked into the visor. But yes, to each his own.

Wish you a million km of trouble free, safe, fun filled experience on the RR310.

Thanks a lot.

Absolutely you are used to your RC390 . The rear pillion seat in RC is also not great i presume. I need to take my better half for a long drive, and i hope she stays comfortable. Tyre hugger will go for sure. As for dark tint, i like it that way. I usually don't tuck into visor, i love it being a relaxed drive and not push too much. The Visor though Black, can always be reverted back, in case it becomes a nuisance.

Originally Posted by sandeep.k

Congrats on the sweet looking bike!

I remember the original Apache had a shorter wheelbase compared to other similar-class bikes. Looking at your pictures, I felt it was the same with Apache RR310 too. But I was wrong. Checking online, the wheelbase is 1345mm which is on par with other bikes which give an impression of looking long ( Pulsar 220 which gives an impression of a long bike, has a wheelbase of 1350 mm ).

Happy riding!

Slightly OT questions:

1. The bike-on-a-landscape-near-a-lake-or-river pictures look really cool. Where were they taken ?
2. How do I join a Team-BHP bikers meet-up ? I was looking at the threads in 'The Team-BHP Meet Section' and couldn't find any mention of bikers meeting, etc.

Hey Sandeep,

Thanks a lot.

As for your questions

1. Pictures are a mix of few at krishnagiri Dam and few at a lake in front of hoskote CCD.

2. Please PM me your contact details, i will ask you to be added to the whatsapp group.

Regards
Aman

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