Overall, I love the bike. I have covered close to 1500 km till date and the bike surprises me every day.
BHPian curiousbolt recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Although I’m a car guy, I still crave that weekend ride on a motorcycle very often. So, when I planned my car purchase, I purposefully chose a car from the compact-SUV segment even though I could afford an SUV so that I can purchase a motorcycle as well to feed the weekend ride hunger.
Selection
Choosing a car was easier but choosing a motorcycle was a lot difficult than I expected. The market was filled with too many options and honestly every product had its own advantages and disadvantages. I just wanted a tourer for the weekends and also a bike that I could use for the long office commute sometimes. We also have a BMW G310GS in the family, even though I love that bike, it lacked the excitement in terms of feeling punchy when you open the throttle. I took a test ride of the Himalayan and the twin 650s, but for my physique (lean and tall build) they felt a bit too heavy for comfort. The hunter I felt was too boring to ride, so I decided against buying any of the REs. Next obvious option was the KTM. Was pretty excited about the new gen Duke 390. So, I took a test ride of the new KTM. The bike was definitely exciting in terms of power delivery, but it was too vibey in the low end and I did not like how it heated up in slow moving traffic of Bangalore. And because it’s so powerful, I felt it was a bit tedious for me to control it in slow moving traffic (I’m no expert rider). And to add to this, I recently saw this video in Youtube of a guy complaining that his engine seized in a new bike. Considering all these, KTM was ruled out. Next up was TVS, I went to Global TVS to take a look at the RR310 because I had heard good things from my friends. Fate would have it that they had launched the RTR 310 just recently there and the bookings were open.
Test ride experience
The RTR 310 right from the moment I sat on it, put a smile on my face. The riding posture was perfect. The test ride bike was well maintained. The feature explanation by the sales guys there was on point, he knew his stuff. The bike was amazing, the pickup, refinement and especially the heat management. I got stuck in traffic on the way back from the test ride to the showroom and purposefully kept the bike ON to check the heat management. No heat at all! I asked the service center guys there what they’d done newly in RTR 310 compared to the RR310 and turns out the air ducts from the radiator are channeled in such a way that the hot air from engine is deflected down to the road and not towards the rider’s leg. Definitely works in my opinion. One will definitely feel some heat if they ride with a chappal or something especially near one’s toes, but with shoes, no heat whatsoever. Well done TVS! The power delivery was just what I needed, not too aggressive but not too boring, just the right balance. And my family waiting at the showroom liked how the bike sounded and looked when I passed in front of them on the opposite side of the road, so family’s seal of approval received.
Buying experience
I was impressed with the sales pitch; they promptly explained all the variants and What a list of features!! It was just too many features to digest, so I took some time to choose which variant I wanted to go with. After much deliberation, I chose to go with the dynamic variant (mid variant) with the TVS Racing livery – Sepang blue color. The variant comes with Adjustable suspension and Tyre pressure monitoring system along with all other standard features like quick shifter, cruise control and traction control. The on-road price was quoted around 3.5 Lacs. I made the full payment upfront and was given a wait time of at least 15-20 days. There was a delay in delivery by 15 days but thumbs up to the dealer because the sales executive kept me updated throughout about the timeline, so I was at peace. As per him, there was some delay initially on the BTO orders, but they have started delivering BTO orders now, so the wait times should ideally start coming down going forward.
Delivery
Delivery experience was straight forward. I did not want too much. Told them to have the bike ready for delivery by the time I reach – No unveil or cake cutting stuff. I just went to the showroom, did some basic PDI checks from my side, signed few papers and was ready to head home. PDI was a bit lousy, the bike was not as clean, clutch was a bit tight, and the chain was a bit dry. So took some time to get all these corrected and headed home.
Pros
- The performance is top notch. The bike is extremely fun to ride around especially in city. I’m definitely not exaggerating this, everyone needs to experience the performance of this bike.
- The traction control system – You will not notice it much. But the same bad patch of roads when you ride another motorcycle without traction control, you notice that you put more effort in controlling the bike. The traction control is beautiful.
- Headlamp – 10/10, low speed, high speed, traffic, empty roads , bad roads – the light works everywhere.
- Styling especially the Sepang blue variant – looks mean and elegant at the same time.
- Quickshifter is top notch. No glitch or stuck up whatsoever. Works seamlessly and I think I cannot go back to using a motorcycle without quickshifter now
- Heat management – The vehicle heated up sometimes before the first service which got me worried. But after the first service as I build up more miles on the bike, the heat management is doing its job.
Cons
- Vibration at the fuel tank above 6k rpm. In long rides observed vibration coming in at around 80kph and then it dilutes down after you cross 100kph. Its not annoying to an extent that you feel your bones tingling, its just there and you notice it sometimes. The 310 GS at home is way more vibey than this, so this has not been a deal breaker for me.
- Went riding with a pillion on a short 50km ride. Pillion felt that the pillion footrest was a bit vibey above 6k rpm. She did not feel that it was that strong, just a mild one that’s bearable. She did not ask for any breaks in the middle, so I’d say its bearable.
- The pillion seat fitment is something you will have to get used to. Its quite tricky and make sure you ask the showroom guys to teach you how to fit it. I did not do this and ended up struggling with it.
- The cruise control has minimum speed limit and rpm limit for each gear. This again was mentioned in the user manual. I did not know this and kept on trying to activate cruise at random speeds and panicking that it was not getting activated. So yeah, good idea to read the manual thoroughly, the manual is loaded with information.
- Still getting used to the TVS Connect app. It has loads of useful information but a lot of stuff in it. Sometimes crashes and I’d rather use google maps than the mapmyindia navigation that’s available in TVS Connect.
Service experience
The service experience was straight forward. Took an appointment at dealer 2 days in advance. Showed up and the servicing was done within 2 hours. Just to be sure about the technician, I met the technician servicing my bike, he was trained recently and taught me about the cruise control and traction control conditions that I mentioned earlier. I could not figure out the TVS Connect app and they surprisingly knew about it and taught me. Even the vibration has reduced compared to before after my first service, so I was quite pleased considering I did not complain about vibration to the service centre and they proactively did something to reduce it. I was charged around Rs.2100 (Rs.1850 for the engine oil and the remaining for chain lube and stuff), was pretty happy with the service cost. The 310GS had set me back by around Rs.8500 and they had charged me Rs.2800 for just “BMW ECU Reset or something” in its first service, so I’m very happy with the service cost.
Overall, I love the bike. I have covered close to 1500km till date and the bike surprises me every day. It’s a perfect balance of everything and does not overdo stuff in any aspects. It can be whatever you want it to be – a tourer, city streetfighter or a cruiser as well. I have started to use the bike more than my car. Too happy with my choice!! Will keep the thread updated as I build up more miles. Here are some pictures in the meanwhile.
The bike looks mean and the TVS Racing livery is worth paying extra for !
Keyword: 1,500 km with my 2023 TVS Apache RTR 310: Service costs & mileage