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My TVS Apache RR310: Ownership & running costs after 4 years

15th February 2022, 10:54 by Rahul Nagaraj

The bike has done close to 30,000 km to date and returns a healthy fuel efficiency figure between 32 - 35 km/l.

BHPian FURY_44 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

We are at 29,103 km.

Back in 2018, I was one of the 1st to book and get delivered the bike, 5th bike to be precise in Bangalore, myself and BHPian Athek were among the initial owners of the bike, we were considered God level cause no one knew what this thing was and what it can do. I was intimidated by the bike's sporty stance, it made matters worse when there were eyeballs all around in Bangalore traffic, it made me sweat inside the helmet. I was really really careful not to drop the bike for the 1st 1000 km, running in was done on my office rides to MG Road. To be honest, I was really getting comfortable with the bike once the highway runs started between 5000 - 10,000 km.

A really big shoutout to Mr Shashi Kumar from Prakruthi TVS, Ganganagar, I have said it many times earlier and I will say it again. His support made a huge difference in each of the early owner's mindsets, whether we would be having sweet or sour ownership of the bike. During the initial days, my rear brakes were squeaking a lot, he changed it under warranty after reporting to TVS, there was a rattle with the visor, a rubber cushion was made available after a couple of weeks. He also set up a couple of meetings with the TVS R&D team consisting of Mr Suresh Kumar from TVS and his colleagues, all the initial feedback/problems were addressed and resolved with a solution. Simply lovely!

Shoutout to the boys at Apache RR310 Owners Bangalore group (The Clan), a bunch of like-minded people getting together to experience the best of what biking brotherhood has to offer. 90% of my running on the bike was done with these guys, breakfast rides, one-day rides, one-day rides turning into an extended overnighter, you name it. TVS too conducted a couple of exclusive rides for our group to places like Coorg and Wayanad, we were a force to reckon with. Things have settled down a bit now, post-Covid and a few of the guys getting married and all. We have left out the early morning breakfast sprints and focused more on the overnighters once in a couple of months.

"I don't have friends. I got family"

Coming to the maintenance of the bike, it has stayed true to TVS's nature, and a nickname it earned during the initial days, the Desi Ducati. It runs on plain jane MOTUL 15W50 3000 4T Plus MA2 oil which costs Rs 700 for 1.7 ltr and the recommended drain interval by TVS is 10,000 km along with air filter and oil filter. Chain maintenance is a regular which can be done by ourselves, doesn't cost much. My highest service bill was Rs.3000 for the 20k km service which included a spark plug change. Apart from this, I had a couple of fork seals changed during the warranty period. The rear brake pads are stock and the front pads were changed at 25k km.

The panels used on the bike have held up really really well, which is a surprise for me, considering it's more plastic everywhere. No rattles or squeaks of body panels absolutely anywhere, even if you are on rough roads. No rust is to be found anywhere on the exhaust pipe as well nor on the nuts and bolts, commendable job by TVS. I do have paint chipping on my front brake master cylinder and on the fork legs which attributes more to the corrosive nature of the brake fluid during leakage.

FURY has aged really well over the km, there were a lot of vibrations on the handlebar, footpegs, and under the seat during the early days, my hands would go numb after a certain period of time, it has settled down now, more miles on the saddle before we stop for a break. There is scope for improvement with the rider seat, I have a leather seat cover in place, but still slide down after a couple of hours on the saddle, the seat itself is curved towards the front which doesn't help either. I have never had a pillion on the bike, it has been designed strictly for tieing up luggage, no average human being can ever be comfortable on those seats. My usage of the bike is strictly restricted to highways only which helps in achieving a healthy mileage between 32- 35 km/l, happily munching miles without making a fuss out of it. To put it short the RR310 belongs to the hills or the track, this is where you can eke out every bit of performance from the bike, trust me, I have tried, tested and every time I come out surprised by the bikes capabilities.

I love data, Team-BHP loves data, let's have data.

The RR310 exclusively did not have aftermarket accessories until the BMW twins were launched, I don't think it's a necessity either. The radiator is protected well from slush, mud, and stones, it does not need a radiator guard, I do not have one chip on my radiator. The LH and RH fairing costs Rs 2500 each, you do not need that expensive frame slider that does more harm than good. The brake and clutch lever costs Rs 1000 each, you do not need that lever protector which takes away the look of the bike. You do not need that expensive Akrapovic exhaust which costs Rs 54k, the exhaust sound difference and performance gain is minimal. I just have a tinted visor and a 3M transparent film on my odometer to protect it from scratches, that's about it.

Let her be stock, the way she should be.