Welcome, welcome, welcome!
Today on PowerDrift,
we have the brand new
2021 TVS Apache RTR 200 4V BS6 ABS!
That's a very long name,
Kindly adjust!
I also didn't appear in the frame from here or here.
I came in from the bottom,
kindly adjust.
We are so used to making compromises in our daily lives today,
that the phrase 'Kindly Adjust' doesn't really bother us any more.
But the surprise is,
that's what the TVS Apache is trying to tell you do.
It's telling you to kindly adjust.
Because what TVS has built into this new motorcycle
is a lot of adjustability,
which means, that this motorcycle adapts to you a lot more than usual
rather than you having to adapt to what the motorcycle is.
But what does that mean?
Let's start at the basics,
and for that, you have to subscribe to PowerDrift,
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The story of adjustability on the RTR begins with the levers which are now adjustable,
clutch and brake, both
that means you can determine the distance between the bar and the lever.
So, whether your fingers are long or short,
you'll have a comfortable motorcycle.
This seems like a feature you'll use only once,
it almost seems like a feature that's almost frivolous,
But the fact of the matter is,
when controls fall to hand,
then in a panic situation,
you don't have figure out where the levers are
and that does save you a little bit of time.
The caveat is, some of us get lazy
and as our brakes get older,
we start using the span adjuster
as way to keep using the same thing
whereas we should really be going to service.
Now, that's only a small change.
The big change is in the engine
where there is no mechanical change
although this motorcycle is 1kg lighter.
But TVS has been able to extract more power from this motorcycle
So from the last one, the 2020 to the 2021,
you get 1PS more and a little bit more torque.
But TVS has gone one step forward
and they've given this
riding modes!
But for that
I'll throw a few terms at you
which will sound a bit repetitive,
but stay with me here.
The engine has two modes,
there's Sport and Urban.
In Sport mode,
it's a crisp engine very, very direct power delivery
and it makes all the 21PS.
But when you switch to Urban mode,
you trade in about 3.5PS and a little bit of torque,
and what you get is a more mellow, a calmer, more refined engine,
and TVS says you might even get 5-8% more fuel economy in that mode.
Now, you might ask,
"Does a 21bhp motorcycle really need engine riding modes?"
And my answer is,
people like us who ride a lot of motorcycles
really won’t notice it so much,
but I can imagine that
if you are new rider,
trying to get used a 125kmph motorcycle,
they could be useful
at least for a while,
until you settle into the motorcycle
and the Sport (mode) becomes your new normal.
On the other hand,
TVS actually expects a lot of customers
to use the Urban mode quite a bit,
Rain mode
during rain, and we'll talk about that.
And Sport mode when they are out on the highway,
and the performance is really key.
And I think that makes sense.
But that's not all they have done.
They've also got modes for ABS
and you've got 3 modes again
and they are called, wait for it,
Sport
Urban, and Wet.
In Sport mode, the ABS is at its least instrusive.
So you can really, really lean on the brakes
and these are really good tyres
so it will be difficult to activate ABS
in conditions like this...
...dry!
The middle setting is obviously the middle setting
and at the bottom is rain
which is a very, aggressive ABS mode
so that, if there's any wetness on the road,
and your tyres start to lock up,
the ABS will immediately be active.
Now, I can imagine that
2 engine modes and 3 ABS modes might get very confusing
for a rider to set up,
so what you get is the mode switch
that creates the riding modes
which is a combination of these settings.
So, when you select Sport mode,
you get full power.
That's the sport engine mode
and the least aggressive ABS setting.
When you switch to Urban riding mode,
you get the urban engine setting,
that's 3.5bhp less
and the middle setting for the ABS.
And when you switch to Rain,
you get the same mellow engine
in Urban mode
but the ABS switches to the rain setting
and that's how they have organised it.
And when you are out riding,
I didn't get to try the ABS
but the engine modes certainly make a difference.
There is difference in acceleration between
urban engine settings and sport settings.
Sport is very, very crisp,
just like we remember the RTR being
where as the Urban mode is lot calmer, lot sweeter.
In fact, a lot more like the RTR 160
than the 200 in the way
it feels and delivers power.
It's actually rather enjoyable.
Although, eventually I got bored
and went back to the sport setting.
So, small step - adjustable levers,
bigger step - engine riding modes,
but the biggest step I think,
is the fact that
front suspension - these are Showa forks -
are now preload adjustable.
Now, most people think that
preload is the way to make the suspension stiffer or softer
and that's technically not accurate.
What preload determines is,
how high the motocycle sits on its suspension.
In effect, it's a ride height control.
If you take this RTR
and remove the weight of the engine and the frame,
you'd realise that the suspension would extend a little bit.
It's currently slightly compressed.
But when I sit down on it
and add my 85-odd kg in gear to the motorcycle,
it sits down further on the suspension.
The problem is, all suspension has 3 zones.
There is a middle zone
which we call the sweet spot,
which is where it does its best work,
and there are two zones on the side where it's not so optimal.
What TVS has done is
it tunes their motorcycles
for riders between 65 and 80kg.
So, if you fall in that weight range,
this is the preload setting you'll get
and it will work for you most of the time.
But if you are above 80kg,
or if you are carrying a pillion with you,
or luggage, or out touring, or something like that,
or you are genetically blessed,
and you are 41kg guy like a MotoGP rider,
these suspension settings aren't the best for you
although they will still continue to work quite a bit.
So, if you were to mess with your preload at that point,
You'd go harder preload if you were heavier,
lighter preload if you were lighter,
you'd immediately get a motorcycle
that remains in the suspension's sweet spot
for more of your riding time,
making it a sweeter motorcycle to ride,
making it a more responsive motorcycle overall.
That's why I would say,
that big bike guys immediately go for exhaust,
that if they were to set up their suspension first,
they'd get a bigger performance upgrade from that.
I am so happy to see that TVS is giving adjustable suspension
on a motorcycle from this segment.
This is good work and I wish other manufacturers would do this as well,
and I hope that you guys will use it to your advantage as well.
What you need to do, is what we call, set sag.
Look it up on the internet, there are lots of videos.
You need a friend to do it,
and it's absolutely crucial that you do it
because your motorcycle experience changes quite a bit when your sag is set right,
your preload is in the right place.
But the kicker for me,
is that TVS has managed
to do all of this, including this really nice blue colour,
in just Rs 1000 more than the outgoing dual-channel 200.
How they have crammed so much into the motorcycle at that small a cost,
is difficult to figure out.
Kindly adjust.
But the fact of the matter is, that makes the RTR 200,
already one of our favourite motorcycles in the class,
and even more value for money motorcycle.
So, that brings us to the question of
is this still the best in class,
or is the Honda Hornet going upset this apple cart?
Well, as we record this,
we still don't have access to our test bike from Honda
and therefore I am gonna ask you to kindly adjust.
And that leaves with the question of
what happens to the single channel ABS version of the 200 4V,
which is, of course, currently on sale.
I believe that this suspension with the more power and the riding modes, etc.
will make its way to that motorcycle.
Although, we don't know when
and I am not convinced that that motorcycle
will have adjustable suspension or not.
When will this happen? Well, TVS hasn't told us.
Kindly adjust.
And that's the story of the RTR 200
but before I go, let me remind you,
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