The TVS pavilion was perhaps the second most attractive pavilion and was also quite crowded with the official launch of their new and controversial 125 cc machine the FLAME. Yes the presenter herself was finding it slightly difficult to keep track of the exact alphabets which made up the technological marvel called CCVVTI or something the same concept which perhaps Bajaj had claimed of having patented hence it was a copyright violation to use it again. Overall it did look like the centre stage was captured by the Flame. Besides an auto rickshaw which looked like straight out of the future one new vehicle caught my attention which was the TVS Scooty Teenz – Electric variant. This was now no longer powered by an ICE but instead was run on electric motors powered by a Battery pack.
There were two concept bikes on the TVS stalls this year and none of them were either placed at a strategic location or hyped enough to create a major fervour. The X-Fossil was perhaps and electric or hybrid vehicle. Despite the radical design there wasn’t much appeal in the bike which claimed a top speed in excess of 140 KMPH. The other concept vehicle was a small scooter, again hybrid the TVS Qube.
TVS Indonesia also displayed the TVS Neo, a revolutionary step through that had been developed primarily for that market. I don’t think TVS would plan to launch the same vehicle here as Indian riders aren’t much open to the concept of a step through qualifying as a complete motorcycle. Save the ubiquitous M-80 from Bajaj all the other Step-through’s have simply disappeared within months of their launch. The concept vehicle based on the Neo was also on display. Aptly called Raptor this beast had massive disc brakes and a dual purpose suspension. An under-seat exhaust neatly tucked in indicated an end can tuned for performance.
The most popular rather prominent bike albeit was the TVS Flame. This bike has been in the hype for a long long time but then controversy had always been bugging the same down. Displayed alongside with 2 accompanying models who were rather busy chatting amongst themselves rather than seeing the reaction of the people on the Bike? I am somehow still not convinced the purpose of the models accompanying the bikes if they don’t sit on the bike nor do they speak about the bike.
Perhaps the crown jewel of this pavilion and perhaps least hyped about were the Apache bikes. This family of motorcycles was developed straight after the Fiero’s and is now considered as the flagship of the TVS stable. The bikes on display were again in striking colours. Although not much hyped there was the revolutionary Fuel Injected version of the Apache RTR. The cutting edge technology having made emission cleaner as well as engine and over all bike response better in all respect as compared to older conventional fuel system bikes. The Apache RTR Fi also had a unique distinguishing scoop attached to the tank presumably to cool the engine or perhaps direct airflow to the fuel pump/air intake.
The sexiest (pardon the language) of all the Bikes in the TVS podium was the Race Specification “conventional” Carburetted Apache RTR 160. This magnificent beast in pure gunmetal colour was distinguished visually only by the slightly different silencer and surprisingly was not splattered with wild and race specification decals. This was perhaps a secretly developed contraption and could be configured by taking the stock Apache 160RTR and approximately 10K into a TVS showroom and riding off after modifications on a screaming beastly machine. This was perhaps the fastest current Indian motorcycle. Although there had been talks in the racing circuit of TVS having secretly developed a lot of add-ons for the Apache RTR to make it the scorcher it ought to be, this was quite a surprise as we did not expect it to be such a simple bolt on screw on kind of a job. Perhaps we can now have a single machine which could beat the shit out of everyone during track days on weekends and then also zip through commuter traffic on the way to office during the rest of the week.
It was here that we had the opportunity to interact with the masterminds behind the creation of these super performance machines with the racing heritage and the “need for speed” attitude. It was during these talks that we came to know what immense amount of quality work goes behind getting the TVS bikes on the road and then subsequently the race track. Probably despite privateers racing on a lot of other bikes its TVS which has significantly contributed to the world of road racing by concentrating on the factors which affect racing performance of the motorcycle and using technology developed on the chicanes and straights to suit every day motorcycles give thrill to the average commuter who perhaps looks at squeezing performance out of the measly sub 200 cc mills available in Indian market today. Kudos to those stalwarts Siddarth and Jagrit who carefully want to develop a line of performance machines catered to understanding speed dynamics and quick handling on the race track and subsequently come up with our own definition of India bred “mini-superbikes” as we may call them.
More Pics from the TVS pavilion:
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