TVS 160cc Apache

RMB · 26th July 2007, 16:15

Hi Guys, this bike is awesome. I just bought a red one for my brother. Its 67000/- on road in Karnataka.

I own a Pulsar150 DTSi (w/o Digital speedo, older version). RTR has the best throtle response of any bike I have ridden. The handling is also mile ahead, with it being shorter (seat height is same as pulsar) and smaller, gives more confidence to rider unlike in Pulsar. The riding position is superb with short split handle and reat set foot pegs. The ride quality is not as good as pulsar at the rear, but definitly sporty and not jarring.

The engine refinement is definitely up on Apache 150.

Had shortlisted Pulsar 180 and RTR. Went ahead with RTR because of the looks, little better FE and because there are too many pulsars around. Only concern is long term reliability from a TVS, as I have not owned one.

CrAzY dRiVeR · 26th July 2007, 17:17

RMB: mind posting some pics?

They are not out in tvm yet.

RMB · 31st July 2007, 08:30

Unfortunately I dont have any pics, as i came back to bangalore. Will ask my brother to send me some pics.

Mpower · 31st July 2007, 20:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rtech

Is it just me or is something is really wrong here. Are our 2 wheeler makers taking us all on a ride? Surely seeing the number of motorcycles they produce in the 100-150cc range, the prices should be far far lower.

Absolutely, they are. 100 cc bike prices are as low as they can possibly be (probably lowest in the world) due to intense competetion (Thanks Bajaj). Margins are wafer thin and small & inefficient players like Kinetic and LML simply could not survive. Even Bajaj wants to get out of 100 cc and peg the 125 as entry level, but they just cant. The margins are so much better on 125s and up and the bean counters love them.

jkdas · 31st July 2007, 20:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by RMB

Hi Guys, this bike is awesome. I just bought a red one for my brother. Its 67000/- on road in Karnataka.

I own a Pulsar150 DTSi (w/o Digital speedo, older version). RTR has the best throtle response of any bike I have ridden. The handling is also mile ahead, with it being shorter (seat height is same as pulsar) and smaller, gives more confidence to rider unlike in Pulsar. The riding position is superb with short split handle and reat set foot pegs. The ride quality is not as good as pulsar at the rear, but definitly sporty and not jarring.

The engine refinement is definitely up on Apache 150.

Had shortlisted Pulsar 180 and RTR. Went ahead with RTR because of the looks, little better FE and because there are too many pulsars around. Only concern is long term reliability from a TVS, as I have not owned one.

thats why you dnt see pulsars on tracks

Definitely a shy Male!

CrAzY dRiVeR · 31st July 2007, 21:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkdas

thats why you dnt see pulsars on tracks

Definitely a shy Male!

Tracks? I thought TVS was the only company to actively participate in such events in India!

And pulsar's handling is not perfect, its still front heavy. But then again, its good enough till the pegs scrape the ground.

devarshi84 · 1st August 2007, 23:30

The best bike I have driven in India recently. An excellent overall package.

BIKeINSTEIN · 2nd August 2007, 08:08

A nicely turned out machine(lookswise )from TVS since a long time.
The advt is pretyy ok too.
Though my personal fave is still the 'Black Beauty' screaming by and chickens flying all over.

rider60 · 3rd August 2007, 16:41

tvs has done a better jod than the hh did with karizma's upgrade of stickers and paint job. or the bajaj did with the higher versions of pulsars without the monoshock!

IronWolf · 3rd August 2007, 19:15

The RTR's looks are its USP. Apart from the looks, from what I read the handling and the engine have also been refined.

What beats me is why the pulsar sells so much still.

I ride a Ported Yam.. which is 11 yrs old now. It keeps me ahead of 180 Pulsars and the likes. (Keeping up with Karitzmas upto about 60-70 is possible after which they pull away a bit)

IMO The Karizma is quite UGLY and long.

I think TVS should make a good effort at a 250cc bike, which is well priced. I am sure it will sell well.

balenopower · 4th August 2007, 04:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by IronWolf

The RTR's looks are its USP. Apart from the looks, from what I read the handling and the engine have also been refined.

What beats me is why the pulsar sells so much still.

I ride a Ported Yam.. which is 11 yrs old now. It keeps me ahead of 180 Pulsars and the likes. (Keeping up with Karitzmas upto about 60-70 is possible after which they pull away a bit)

IMO The Karizma is quite UGLY and long.

I think TVS should make a good effort at a 250cc bike, which is well priced. I am sure it will sell well.

A pulsar is still more value for money,and comes loaded to the gills,not to mention better spare parts availability as well.i had a fiero f2,had lots of problems with A.S.S and spares.The RTR might be an excellent track machine with the stiff suspension set up...but around town the pulsar is def the more comfy of the two.....
Regards to the karizma being ugly....I still find it to be one of the smartest looking machines in india..To each his own....

cadaver_prad · 4th August 2007, 13:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rtech

our bike manufacturers are selling a 160cc 12hp economy bike for more than half a lakh rupees!

the RTR has 15 odd bhp and trust me its worth that price

shazikon · 6th August 2007, 15:30

I agree Apache 160 carries with it some 2 years of racing development..But from a company with a racing DNA, we would like to see more not just a upgrade from 150 to 160 cc..and 1BHP increase.. A small time tuner can think of these changes aswell but a company like TVS employing hundreds of engineers need to work on their technology a little bit more.. But i like this new trend in the indian motorbike industry, first the Pulsar 220, now Apache RTR..it can only get good from here.

Ajaybiz · 6th August 2007, 15:45

But ultimatly it wont put more then 11 BHP at rear wheel, donno why indian bike manufacturer are fighting just for the difference of 2-3 BHP, which is achivable easily through good head work, good air filters and rejetting the carbs.

IronWolf · 6th August 2007, 16:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by balenopower

Regards to the karizma being ugly....I still find it to be one of the smartest looking machines in india..To each his own....

BP, I agree to each his own, just that its got this half fairing which just juts out.. and the wheel base seems too long.

However, I agree to each his own. However I hate seeing its rear as its the one bike that seems to pull away from me.

and now maybe the Pulsar 200 and 220.

Back to the topic. If a bike looked like the RTR and pulled like the Karitzma I think it would sell much more than the KM is selling currently.

Many on this thread still feel the RTR is underpowered esp for its looks.

Quote:

Ajaybiz, But ultimatly it wont put more then 11 BHP at rear wheel, donno why indian bike manufacturer are fighting just for the difference of 2-3 BHP, which is achivable easily through good head work, good air filters and rejetting the carbs.

We all wish it were that easy Ajay to jump to 25 - 30 bhp, FE is still something which influences buyers a lot. so sadly we have deal with the 12-16 bhps. I think the Bike industry is doing the right thing to move up in notches rather than jumping to the 250 - 300 cc range from the common Indian 150cc mindset.

26th July 2007, 16:15	#31
RMB BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 47 Thanked: 7 Times	Hi Guys, this bike is awesome. I just bought a red one for my brother. Its 67000/- on road in Karnataka. I own a Pulsar150 DTSi (w/o Digital speedo, older version). RTR has the best throtle response of any bike I have ridden. The handling is also mile ahead, with it being shorter (seat height is same as pulsar) and smaller, gives more confidence to rider unlike in Pulsar. The riding position is superb with short split handle and reat set foot pegs. The ride quality is not as good as pulsar at the rear, but definitly sporty and not jarring. The engine refinement is definitely up on Apache 150. Had shortlisted Pulsar 180 and RTR. Went ahead with RTR because of the looks, little better FE and because there are too many pulsars around. Only concern is long term reliability from a TVS, as I have not owned one.
	() Thanks

26th July 2007, 17:17	#32
CrAzY dRiVeR Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Bangalore / TVM Posts: 17,180 Thanked: 73,491 Times View My Garage	RMB: mind posting some pics? They are not out in tvm yet.
	() Thanks

31st July 2007, 08:30	#33
RMB BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 47 Thanked: 7 Times	Unfortunately I dont have any pics, as i came back to bangalore. Will ask my brother to send me some pics.
	() Thanks

1st August 2007, 23:30	#37
devarshi84 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Ahmedabad - Tor Posts: 4,024 Thanked: 211 Times View My Garage	The best bike I have driven in India recently. An excellent overall package.
	() Thanks

2nd August 2007, 08:08	#38
BIKeINSTEIN BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Mumbai Posts: 101 Thanked: Once	A nicely turned out machine(lookswise )from TVS since a long time. The advt is pretyy ok too. Though my personal fave is still the 'Black Beauty' screaming by and chickens flying all over.
	() Thanks

3rd August 2007, 16:41	#39
rider60 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Bhagyanagaram. (A.K.A. Hyderabad) Posts: 1,620 Thanked: 56 Times View My Garage	tvs has done a better jod than the hh did with karizma's upgrade of stickers and paint job. or the bajaj did with the higher versions of pulsars without the monoshock!
	() Thanks

3rd August 2007, 19:15	#40
IronWolf Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Benga-loo-ru Posts: 1,569 Thanked: 45 Times View My Garage	The RTR's looks are its USP. Apart from the looks, from what I read the handling and the engine have also been refined. What beats me is why the pulsar sells so much still. I ride a Ported Yam.. which is 11 yrs old now. It keeps me ahead of 180 Pulsars and the likes. (Keeping up with Karitzmas upto about 60-70 is possible after which they pull away a bit) IMO The Karizma is quite UGLY and long. I think TVS should make a good effort at a 250cc bike, which is well priced. I am sure it will sell well.
	() Thanks

6th August 2007, 15:30	#43
shazikon BHPian Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 391 Thanked: 24 Times View My Garage	I agree Apache 160 carries with it some 2 years of racing development..But from a company with a racing DNA, we would like to see more not just a upgrade from 150 to 160 cc..and 1BHP increase.. A small time tuner can think of these changes aswell but a company like TVS employing hundreds of engineers need to work on their technology a little bit more.. But i like this new trend in the indian motorbike industry, first the Pulsar 220, now Apache RTR..it can only get good from here.
	() Thanks

6th August 2007, 15:45	#44
Ajaybiz BANNED Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,440 Thanked: 320 Times View My Garage	But ultimatly it wont put more then 11 BHP at rear wheel, donno why indian bike manufacturer are fighting just for the difference of 2-3 BHP, which is achivable easily through good head work, good air filters and rejetting the carbs.
	() Thanks