[emkay456]

Is TVS 50 still being marketed. Saw a lot many on B'lore roads, therefore this question. If yes can I find a dealer in Mumbai ?

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by Motorholic

anjan_c2007: An immaculate machine you have there, I wonder how of all two-wheelers, you managed to keep a TVS 50 moped in such sparkling condition ! That takes some love I guess.

I must admit, for a long time I detested mopeds. The best part was when the idea of getting me a two-wheeler first did rounds at home (which finally did not materialize until many years later), my father's abhorrence for mopeds deterred him from buying me one. At that time, I was only too happy not to ride one. But with time, I started appreciating the minimalism of these machines and their purposeful existence. Again, nice bike!

Thanks Motorholic and as you have said rightly, this is the first ever machine I owned myself and so the love.Mopeds are fast losing their sheen. Very few new ones are sold as compared to bikes and scooters.

Originally Posted by emkay456

Is TVS 50 still being marketed. Saw a lot many on B'lore roads, therefore this question. If yes can I find a dealer in Mumbai ?

I too have seen many in Bangalore-its the TVS XL HD (Heavy Duty) and XL Super mopeds (69.9 cc/3.5 bhp). And these are two stroke mopeds. This one and the Scooty Streak are the only two stroke two wheelers in the market today.
But I was just amazed as to how these cope up with the fast moving Bangalore traffic.



pictures from company website
You have asked about a dealer in Mumbai. Please call their toll free number:
TOLL FREE NUMBER 18004252077

[aargee]

What a coincidence? I was looking at the sprockets of TVS 50 today & voila here's a thread. I was just wondering how come these 2 strokes pass the emission tests very clearly & that too with the BS IV? Hope that was the reason they increase the CC from 50 to almost 70CC now. But I still wonder about the emission.

[rajeev k]

During those times Kinetic's Luna was selling in very large numbers in the North. I lived in Nagpur and this thread brings back fond memories of my friends who owned Lunas.

[anjan_c2007]

I have given it a lovely DIY-TLC job after a long long time.The moped is in perfect shape and still dons its original paint work.Two new front axle, shock absorber, rubber guards are fitted replacing the tattered ones.
Its a simple and basic two wheeler and even the smallest engined ones of today, can give this one a goose bump. Everything on two wheels except bicycles overtake you, when you are on the move seated on this frail lil' thing.But I just love it for the 28 years it has been with me. It has stood by me as my most easy and reliable mode of transport on two wheels till my RX 100 came along in 1990.























The sticker of the dealer from whom it was bought in the last picture.The dealership is gone, but the TVS 50 lives on.

[hillram]

Anjan..Your TVS 50 is looking pristine and very well maintaned.Hats off to your efforts.This was one of the first mopeds (2-wheeler) i rode.I remember literally standing on the pedal holding the little clutch to start this moped !!! Old memories, revived....

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by hillram

Anjan..Your TVS 50 is looking pristine and very well maintaned.Hats off to your efforts.This was one of the first mopeds (2-wheeler) i rode.I remember literally standing on the pedal holding the little clutch to start this moped !!! Old memories, revived....

Thanks hillram! This one is very sparingly used now a days and its virtually leading a retired life.But during its hey days, it has given me an uninterrupted, loyal and trouble free ownership experience. There were some niggling problems always, but I basically learnt many DIY techniques on this moped. I had changed the piston rings about two times, when there was a drop in its pick-up.The second time I changed the piston too!
When in Bangalore recently, I learnt that the new Heavy Duty TVS mopeds too use the same clutch.So I bought two clutch plates and have kept these as spare to last its lifetime.
Many of its spares are not available.But in South India, these still do their duty. Even in Bangalore, I was surprised to find TVS 50's moving in the fast and dense city traffic.

[athalaga]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

I too have seen many in Bangalore-its the TVS XL HD (Heavy Duty) and XL Super mopeds (69.9 cc/3.5 bhp). And these are two stroke mopeds. This one and the Scooty Streak are the only two stroke two wheelers in the market today.

Correction: Scooty Teenz is the 2 stroke, the streak has the 4-stroke pep+ engine.

[anjan_c2007]

Today was 3M day for the moped.Had got its air pressure checked last week and must say it has not lost its sheen on the road. the only change is that it is among the tiniest two wheeler on the streets in the company of the hi-tech and faster moving ones.
I applied 3M Tyre Shield and Plast Shield to the 28 plus year old moped and the coats gave some new shine to the lil' thing! 3m can be applied on the speedo plastic console and also to the brake,clutch wire plastic linings/covers.

[Champion]

Hello anjan_c2007, that is one old companion you have there. I share the same passion for a sibling of your bike, the TVS Champ. My Grandad bought one for me in black (a rare find!) when I had cleared my 10th standard (with all difficulty I should add). It was in the year 1999. Not so long ago. I have still got it and it serves as a rememberance of my Grandad and the bygone years. We do get the spares out here in the South but most of them are non-genuine. As long as it serves the purpose, I think it would be worth the effort to preserve the bike, oops, I should've said the moped.

Cherio
Champion

[rohit2207]

You can understand the diversity that our country has once you visit its far stretched lands, the language, food, beliefs etc. The core unity that we share even after this diversity is really amazing and commendable. I have visited almost the entire North but I happened to visit South (Coimbatore) the first time a few days back. Apart from other amazing things that I saw there was our good old TVS 50 XL mopeds. It was the first 2 wheeler my dad bought for me. It really made me nostalgic. I thought that TVS motors must have discontinued manufacturing mopeds because we rarely see any in Delhi, but I was amazed to see the entire city flooded with them. Even more interesting was that 3 people riding it is a common sight. The 3rd person sits in the space between the petrol tank and the seat, and that too comfortably!!
Another amazing discovery was an IND SUZUKI bike on the street which was apparently in perfect shape. I think I saw it after some 20-25 years. I also saw many sparkling Premier Padminis running on the roads there, a car which is now obsolete for Delhi.
All this was strange for me because living in Delhi I have seen people upgrading to new cars almost every year. One instance of this is when I happened to visit a Maruti True Value showroom and saw an Estilo for sale which was purchased a month back and was now being sold as a used car. When I enquired with the sales guy about the reason he said that the buyer’s grandmother did not liked the interior and they sold it and bought a WagonR.
The possible reason of the segment of people not changing their old vehicles and upgrading to newer cars is just not restricted to money or the need alone but it is their affection that they start to have with the vehicle as if it was a human. Now I can empathize with my dad and understand why did he not sell off his late 60s Vespa 150 even when we insisted him a lot when 4 stroke bikes entered the market and why he still keeps it in the garage, sparkling clean even though he himself did not ride it for the past almost 10 years!!

[anjan_c2007]

I took the moped out for air check and also for a spin today. It still runs fantastically but feels lost in the company of the newer bikes and scooters.
Earlier in the 1980's, it used to have its presence felt on the roads. I still remember how it used to accelerate from 0 - 30 kmph much quicker than most other two wheelers. Thus after the green signal, it used to go the fastest at the first instance. After 35-40 kmph it used to run out of breath - thats natural for a 53 cc engine. Thats when other scooters and bikes would overtake it. But now, every two wheeler accelerates much, much faster be it 0 - 30 kmph or 0 - even 100 kmph.
The TVS 50 is into its 30th year now and shall complete 30 years with me on 23/01/2013. That's also the birthday of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose!

[anjan_c2007]

A mid 1980's TVS 50 XL sighted in Bangalore, a few days ago. Owned by an elderly gentleman it still dons its original factory paint.

[sdasgupta]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

A mid 1980's TVS 50 XL sighted in Bangalore, a few days ago. Owned by an elderly gentleman it still dons its original factory paint.

Wow, just stumbled on this thread and it brought back so many memories!! Back in 1986, after completing my matriculation, I got the then new TVS 50 XL in this exact maroon shade.

During my 11th and 12th grade, I would some times go to school on this "beast" and look down upon all my classmates who came in bicycles :-). There was usually a queue of friends wanting a ride.

It was truly a simple machine. I used to maintain the "bike" myself - just a bit of cleaning of the spark plug gap and a bit of sand-papering of the magneto contact breaker points was all it needed to start at the first "kick" (BTW there was no kick start in those models, so you had to pedal to start it - but one push on the pedal was usually enough).

The two highlights of this moped was its awesome pulling power and its fantastic headlamp. The prime competition those days was the Luna which used to struggle on uphill roads, while this beast would propel two riders easily! And the headlamp would be a boon in my hometown where load-shedding was common, plunging the roads into darkness - and by the way it also had both low and high beams and the high beams had great throw.

The only downside was that the pedals were small and the sprocket ratio was such that you had to put in a lot of pedal power to move this if the engine was non-functional. But that rarely happened, since it was very dependable. It also had great mileage, since it was just a 50cc cylinder.

After I moved out to college and then for work, I would still use it whenever I was back home for visits, but it used to lie around unused for long periods which was not good for its health. So, around 2007 or 2008 (I forget) we gave it away to a watchman so that he could make better use of it.

[Yieldway17]

Thanks for reminding me of these cute machines. My dad had a chocalate brown color TVS 50 which I remember as being pretty rare in my town compared to lot of green, blue and red TVS 50s on the road. It was distinct from the red ones which themselves were not common. He used to maintain it very well until he sold and bought a Bajaj Spirit scooter which he regretted very much until he bought Activa shortly after and had been sticking with.

May be I'm imagining things, can someone let me know if TVS had a chocolate brown or similar color TVS 50?