A year & 6000 km with my TVS Apache RR310: Ownership experience so far

Below 5500 rpm the bike behaves like a 200cc bike and above 5500 rpm it unleashes its true potential. This is a good thing for a person upgrading from a smaller displacement bike.

BHPian vattyboy recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Likes:

• Looks like a proper 600cc plus superbike. It is a head turner, the public forgets their work to have a glance at this motorcycle. Resembles a Ducati, especially in the Red Color.
• Build Quality is amazing, every part is made up of high-quality materials.No Rattles from any part of the bike at any speed, whether passing from potholes or speed breakers.
• Performance – 0 to 60 kmph in 2.8 secs and 0 to 100kmph in 6.5 secs with a top speed of around 170 kmph.
• No stalling issues, can be ridden at 15 kmph in 3rd gear and 25 kmph in 4th gear. It passes 2nd gear speed breaker tests with flying colors.
• Heat management is just amazing. It is very difficult to spot the radiator fan in action. Engine temperature always remains between 80 to 90 degree Celsius all year around.
• Handling is very good. The rider looks for the opportunity to take the corners aggressively. It has Very good ground clearance.
• Rear Taillight is very beautiful and stands out from the crowd.

Dislikes:

• Minor Vibrations- They don’t come from the engine, they arise from the dry chain. They start to creep in after 300 km of riding after lubricating the chain. So I found the solution for this, I lubricate the chain in 300 km intervals.
• Headlight- It is ” Adequate”. Good for city use but the scenario changes on the highways, above 80 or 90 kmph I find them very weak. Above 100 it feels like the headlight isn’t even there. Going for some aftermarket light is an option but since I don’t take the bike on highways at night and ride it only in the sunlight so I didn’t go for them.
• NOT for the pillion. Once I sat on the rear seat when my friend was driving the bike, it felt like I am ON TOP OF BURJ KHALIFA. All cars like Fortuner and Endeavor were below me.
• Exhaust note is not that great. Even Apache RTR 200 and 160 sound better.
• If the engine turns off by mistake in traffic or red light signals, then on some occasions you have to thumb the starter multiple times for the motor to come to life.
• Though a 150-section rear tire is the standard size among 300- 400cc motorcycles, It looks small on the RR310 due to its humongous size.

Alternatives considered:

KTM RC 390 Old generation 2022:

Since (2014-15) I was impressed with the Ktm’s because of their raw and wild power delivery.

So this time, I went to the Ktm showroom and took a test drive of rc 390.

Few observations:

• ENGINE STALLING ISSUE- It was very difficult to ride at slow city speeds below 60 kmph. Unlike RR310, Ktm needs very frequent gear changes. Ktm needs 2nd gear only after 25-30 kmph while one can ride RR310 in 2nd gear from 10 kmph without stalling. The same thing applies to 3rd and 4th gear also. RR310 can be ridden in 4th gear at 35 kmph, at this speed Ktm will shift to 3rd gear from 2nd.
• Crowd and Image – After taking the test drive of rc390 for the next few days (approx. a month), I kept a keen eye on the people who are buying and riding Ktm and I found the majority of the crowd riding KTM is what we call ‘Chapri nibbas”. All of them were riding very fast, rash along with giving a lot of cuts to the other vehicles on the road in chappals without helmets. They are always ready to do road rage.
• The 125cc category is majorly taken by these nibbas and they have spoilt the image of such a good brand.
• KTM should stop selling the 125cc bikes and make their inventory above 250cc.
• EXCLUSIVITY FACTOR- Today Ktm comes in 125cc, 250cc, and 390cc, one can spot so many 125cc Ktm on the road so there was no exclusivity factor in owning a 390cc Ktm.

so rejected.

RE Interceptor 650:

I am a guy who loves the latest technology and modern looks. I was not a fan of the RE design language but stills went for the test drive because somewhat the same price range.

Few observations:

• RE provides the best dealership experience.
• Just give a license and take the bike alone, absolutely no restriction on the time and km.
• Polite staff with knowledge, who doesn’t try to let down the other bikes to make their bike look good.
• Most refined 650cc parallel twin engine with the best exhaust note.
• Undertyred, the tires cant take a load of high-speed braking plus full-throttle acceleration.
• In my eyes the bike doesn’t look like a 4 lakh bike( no offense to the respected owners of it), I observed a few bikes coming towards me from a distance and I mistook them for some low-budget bike.

Bajaj Dominar:

At that time the bike was available only in the touring model which in terms of looks and usability I didn’t like, Afterall I am not going to do touring with the bike so rejected it.

Few observations:

• Bajaj staff is not at all interested to sell the bike, looks it like a govt. office.
• Good exhaust note.
• The bike is very heavy.
• It carries the same Ktm engine but Dominar is a lot smoother to ride and in NVH levels.
• Most value-for-money bike in the segment, if it was available without a touring model and some other color rather than black and green then I think today the story would be different.

Styling & design:

Design inspiration came from some gorgeous machines – Daytona (the 675 from 2006 and Ducati (the red trellis, Panigale-ish profile, and tail-end). The RR310 is TVS most beautiful bike, yet.

Ducati Inspired Red Trellis frame:

The result of over 300 hrs of wind tunnel testing, RR 310 claims to be the benchmark in aerodynamics (for an Indian motorcycle in this segment), and it has all the visual signs to make this claim a believable one.

The RR 310 somewhat resembles a Ducati in the red paint job. From the sharp lines on the fairing to the pinched tail section, there’s a beautiful mix of form and function.

RR 310 looks special in every sense of the word.

The bi-LED projector headlights have been integrated neatly into the fairing and are underlined by a blacked-out split beak. A flush-fitting windscreen tops off the front-end styling and it sports a hard-to-miss Indian tricolor decal on the top-right corner – it’s about time we got patriotic about our motorcycles.

Booking And Delivery Experience:

• It was average.
• Not as good as RE nor as bad as Bajaj. Comparable to KTM.
• They demanded Rs 10k as a booking amount and promised the delivery of the bike in 8 days. The new lot bikes including black color and red color were unloaded from the truck on the 6th day itself in front of me, after that I took a test drive along with PDI. There were no red flags so I gave a green signal to the SA.
• They didn’t arrange something special for their flagship product. Before me a customer was taking the delivery of his Tvs Jupiter, I saw all the process of it and the TVS guys repeated the same with me.
• A special and unique delivery of the flagship product which costs more than 3 lakhs is highly necessary, consider this advice TVS.
• A simple duplicate large key-giving picture by SA to me was taken and that’s it.

Technical specifications:

• Engine Type – 4 strokes, 4 valves, Single cylinder, Liquid-cooled, Reverse inclined.
• Codeveloped by BMW Motorrad and TVS.
• Engine Displacement -312.2 cc
• Max Power -34 PS @ 9700 rpm
• Max Torque -27.3 Nm @ 7700 rpm
• Kerb Weight- 168 to 174 kg
• Top Speed- 160 kmph claimed by TVS but some have attained 170- 173 kmph top speed on YouTube.

Engine Character:

Below 5500 rpm the bike behaves like a 200cc bike and above 5500 rpm it unleashes its true potential. This is a good thing for a person upgrading from a smaller displacement bike.

Safety Features ( Loaded upto the brim):

ABS:

The rear abs come into action a lot of times even when there is very less rear braking bite.

Hardly saw the front abs into action even when 90% of the stopping power comes from the front.

Glide through traffic:

This function helps to ride the bike only with the use of a clutch without the accelerator during heavy traffic.

Put the bike into 2nd gear and leave the clutch without any throttle and the bike will glide on its own at 12-15 kmph and 18-20 kmph in 3rd gear.

Thtottle by wire:

It gets a sensor to sense the throttle input rather than the old cable-type mechanism of the throttle. This is very precise and the bike knows what the rider wants from it immediately.

Slipper clutch:

It allows the rider to do rapid downshifts while preventing the rear wheel hop.

Reverse inclined engine:

Helps to keep the center of gravity in the middle of the bike thus resulting in improved cornering and handling characteristics.

Separate Duct to pass fan Air:

This does its job perfectly by proving a separate passage to the hot air coming from the engine when the fan turns on. The hot air passes directly to the ground and I don’t feel any heat on my legs. It is written that do not block the duck so that the hot air can pass through it.

Accessories:

Bought a helmet. This one is SMK, I can’t remember the exact model. It came with a pin-lock 30 which is removed after a few days because I use spectacles. Even when the pin-lock prevents fogging of the visor, the fog accumulates on my specs. So I prevent myself from riding the bike in the rain.

Elegant Auto Brand Seat cover. It is of very good quality and looks good too:

Usage Pattern:

• For a daily office commute of 5 km on one side.
• For going to the gym in the evening and some random rides with friends to malls, lakeside, etc.
• Total distance I ride per day is 20 km.

Riding Stance and Position:

While the overall visual appeal is sporty, the RR 310 isn’t a hardcore, out-to-get-you machine. Yes, the ‘RR’ in its name does, indeed, stand for Race Replica but its riding position is nowhere close to as committed on a supersport or superbike. TVS understands the Indian audience’s excitement towards a fully-faired motorcycle but also knows that not everyone lives next door to a racetrack. Let’s admit it – a committed riding position makes you look like a genuine racer-boy but almost nobody can live with the wrist-kill that comes with it.

There’s ample room to sit on offer. This helps me with being comfortable on high-speed cruises and long distances.

The riding posture is just perfect and doesn’t tire me at all, I am 6ft tall and it feels like the bike is perfectly designed for me. When I sit on it I get a feeling that it completes me.

There is a lot of room in the front riding seat.

If you sit behind then the riding posture becomes committed and comes close to KTM RC.

If you sit in the front then riding posture comes close to Dominar or Interceptor.

Mileage

City: 25 kmpl

Highway: 38 kmpl on 70 kmph, 35 kmpl at 80kmph, 33 kmpl at 90kmph, 31kmpl at 100kmph, 27 kmpl at 120 kmph. And drops its 18-20 kmpl near its top speed.

TVS claim a tank capacity of 11L, but in reality, it drinks about 11.5 L.

The bike gives a range of about 280 km on the full tank when used inside the city.

In my motorcycle, a lot of effort is needed to close the fuel lid after refueling. The fuel lid closes only after applying a lot of pressure from above and then rotating the key to close it.

Keyword: A year & 6000 km with my TVS Apache RR310: Ownership experience so far