A 3rd TVS scooter in last 5 years. All of the scooters were riddles with numerous problems.
BHPian hgps recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Rant time:
Why do I keep buying TVS, A question I am constantly asking myself? A 3rd TVS scooter in last 5 years. All of the scooters were riddles with so many problems.
Referring to my post and highlighting the not-so-pleasant experience I had with all 3 scooters.
2016 Jupiter
- Stalling issue.
- Unreliable – left stranded 3 times. Blown fuse, mysterious electrical issue.
- Poor FE of 28-33kpl
- Clutch/transmission replaced at 9000km. Again required replacement at 14000kms.
- Speedo stopped working
Thinking first scooter was a lemon, and not wanting an Activa due to its (relatively) hard suspension and small wheels, went for a Jupiter classic disc brake variant. Wasn’t a pleasant ownership experience:
2018 TVS Jupiter classic disc
- 5 days old scooter refused to start due to fuse popping out of socket
- 300 KM on odo and starter motor jammed.
- 1300 KMs, speedo stopped working in this scooter as well
- At 7100 KMs. One fine day, exhaust decided to fall off from the scooter at 60kmph. Apparently one of two bolts holding the exhaust fell off, weight of exhaust snapped off the link pipe. Dragging the exhaust that was holding onto the scooter with just one bolt. Now imagine the situation, 8PM in the evening, I’m on a flyover at 60kph, scooter goes over one of those expansion joints of the bridge, loud thud, metallic sound and scooter starts to wobble. I could see in my RVMs that sparks were flying behind me with sound of exhaust being dragged behind me. Slowed down only to get stuck on the bridge for 40 mins. Couldn’t remove the hot exhaust and the felt vulnerable to be hit by some distracted driver on that 2 lane flyover.
- Mysterious carb problem appeared- sometimes if scooter went over bump, it would start crawling and coughing as if there is no petrol. ASC failed to rectify this after 2 visits. Finally took the matter in my hand and cleaned the carb myself. Worked fine after that
- Clutch problem appeared at 16k km on odo.
- Bolts holding the airbox fell off and it was making “thud” sound everytime I went over bumps. I seriously wonder if people assembling this scooter use torque wrench?
- Am I nit picking? But the rear brakes lost their bite after 15k KMs. Cleaning the brake drum, change of brake cable and brake shoe didn’t help. I keep my brakes adjusted so the friction point is reached as soon as brake lever is pressed even by one CM (habit of two finger braking, both front and rear). But even with changed parts, I would have to press the lever till it touched the handlebar grip. Still the scooter wouldn’t stop. Thankfully Front disc brakes were excellent for a scooter.
P.S: Windshield design of this scooter is dangerous. The mounting rod can tear someone’s abdomen in case of accident.
New job meant I was doing 60KMs on scooter daily with 70% of that distance on highway. Wanted something more powerful and stable this time. Options? Grazia, burgman. Both rejected for their small wheels. Jupiter 125 was too new and my previous experience wasn’t pleasant with its 110cc variants. Decided to take a dive once again with TVS. 4 months of ownership experience is summarized below:
2022 TVS Ntorq XP race
- Front disc brake was warped from factory itself. Took me a while to realize that pulsating brake and shaky handlebar isn’t normal when front brake lever is pulled. SA claims it was changed under warranty. As of now, pulsating brakes are still there, although not as strong as to induce wobble like it was before. My older jupiter classic had flawless front brakes.
- After second service with just 3500 KMs on odo. Some problem with clutch came up. Scooter would vibrate and rattle when accelerated from 0 till 20kmph. As I knew SA would wash off their hands claiming its a wear-tear part, I raised a complaint with TVS since such problem with clutch isn’t acceptable with just 3500 KMs on odo. I was told to take the scooter to ASC. They kept it for 2 days. I wonder what they did but the problem is still there.
I once again reverted back to my original complaint that the problem is still there. Got a standard reply “We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused to you and the delay in our response. We have escalated your concern to the relevant team internally. They will get in touch with you shortly to resolve your concern.”.
Its been more than a month and no one from TVS has bothered to call or get any feedback whether my Grievance is solved or not.
I have stopped recommending TVS to my friends and colleagues. Their vehicles have some serious QC issues some of which are outright dangerous. Have never faced any such QC or reliability issue with my 11 year old Yamaha and 7 years old Honda bikes.
Ntorq was definitely last TVS vehicle I’d ever buy. Having booked a new motorcycle just 2 days ago. TVS was not even considered.
Rant over
Keyword: My pathetic experience with TVS: 3 problematic scooters over 5 years