TVS Apache RTR 160 fi . Review on TVS Apache RTR 160

LuuX :

I am generally averse to commenting on looks. Personally somebodymay like Bipasha, others may prefer Aishwarya. How to say? My personalchoice is Pamela Anderson, which in bike terms is Bulletfully naked.No faltu paneling-baazi. Just front mudguard and rear mudguardBra& Panty. Other people may like Yamaha FZ or Pulsar. It is a verypersonal thing. But one thing is sure. This bike looks aggressive. Andit is.

SPECIFICATIONS :

The bike is powered by the same 159.7 cc pot which powers thecarburetor version, having bore X stroke of 62 mm X 52.9 mm, anddevelops highest-in-class power of 15.7 bhp (11.54 kilowatts) at 8500rpm. Max torque produced is 13.1 Nm at 6500 rpm at a compression ratioof 9.5. Idling is set at 1400 rpm plus or minus 100 rpm. Fuel isinducted into the engine by Electronic Fuel Injection, there is nocarburetor.

And this is what makes the BiG DiFFERENCE in ride qualityand Low-End-torque between the carburetor version and the fuel injectedversion. Transmission is through a wet multi-plate kluch and the FiVEconstant-mesh gears operate in a one-down-four-up shift patternoperated by a sporty, toe-only shifter. Very effective stopping poweris provided by PETAL discs both front and rear, the front disc having270 mm dia and the rear having 200 mm dia.

Built on a wheelbase of 1300 mm with 180 mm ground clearance, thebike rides on 90/90 X 17 front tyre and 100/80 X 18 rear tyre. Kerbweight of this bike with tool-kit and 90% fuel is 139 kg as given inthe Owners Manual. Front suspension is telescopic twin-forks having105 mm travel while rear suspension is on inverted, mono-tube, gasfilled, 5-step adjustable shock absorbers. Fuel tank capacity is 16liters which includes 1.7 liters usable reserve, which means you canconfidently go 40 km (at reasonable speed) till your fuel tank startsrunning dry.

Electrics are powered by a 105 watt flywheel magneto. The 12 volt 35watt halogen headlight has excellent beam quality due to the bestMFRMulti-Focal-Reflector and clear lens. Tail light is a half-wattLEDLight Emitting Diode, which consumes less than one-third thewattage of a conventional halogen bulb while giving brighterlightmore Lumens / Luxmore safety for driver and longer batterylife. Turn indicating blinkers are a bright 10 watts while brake-lightis an adequate 3.5 watt. Electric back up is a 12 volt NiNE Ampere-hourbattery. The digital dual-more ignition system provides spark to thetwin-electrode Mico-Bosch UR5DDC spark plug.

Rear Petal Disc Brake

ROAD BEHAViOUR :

A Fuel injected engine behaves very differently from the same enginebeing carbureted. The torque characteristics differ considerably andhence Road Behavior of any fuel injected bike is fairly different fromthat of the carburetor version of the same engine / same bike. Thecarburetor version is like Bruce Lee, while this fuel injected bike islike the Great Khali of WWF==World Wrestling Federation.

Since this bike is auto-choke and auto-cock, there is no fuel cockand no choke lever. Everything is automatic. You switch on the ignitionand the dials (whole dashboard) light up for a few seconds after whichthe lights go off. A tell-a-tale red light in the round dial of thedashboard indicates that the ignition is ON. Press the starter buttonand the engine fires. No nakhra. Even if the bike has been lyingun-used for ten days, it still fires at first press. GREAT! The enginefires even if the bike is in gear which is quite a boon in trickytraffic situations and red lights.

This bike has a toe-only gear-shifter and shift pattern isone-down-four-up. The seating posture is very racist (racing posture)since the driver footrests are quite rear-set. Shift to first gear andopen the throttle. The bike moves seamlessly and blends into traffic.For best fuel economy I quickly shift to higher gears and get intofifth (top) gear by the time I hit 35 kmph speed. Gear shifting inthis bike is effortlessly slick, absolutely no foul ups or stickygears. Another thing is that this is the most effortlessly drivengeared bike. Due to its superb Low-End-Torque, this bike needs verylittle gear changing and hence very little driver fatigue. Maintaining35 kmph speed in top gear is very easy for this bike and makes forgreat fuel economy. If traffic allows and you want to do a quickovertake, no need to shift to lower gear, just gradually open thethrottle and the bike eases past traffic as you wish it to. In fact, this bike pulls even from 23 kmpH in top gear.

Due to its racist riding posture, the centre of gravity of bike +rider is quite low and therefore road-holding is excellent and handlingis a breeze. Since both front and rear wheels have disc brakes, brakingis very effective and since both discs are petal, heat dissipation fromthe discs is quicker and operating temperature of the discs is lower, resulting in longer life of the brake pads.Source: https://indianroadreviews.wikidot.com/tvs-apache-rtr-160-fi