2012 RTR 160 & 180 First Ride Experience
A s soon as the first teaser picture of the new Apache surfaced on TVS Apache’s Facebook page, which consisted of two eye shaped lights gl...
As soon as the first teaser picture of the new Apache surfaced on TVS Apache’s Facebook page, which consisted of two eye shaped lights glowing bright on a dark background, fans came pouring in with high hopes and a spirit for an unexpected launch.Speculations rose, ranging from Fully faired to tech laden bigger cc opposition killer bike, raging like a forest fire it made the new Apache the most awaited bike of the year, shaking its competitors. But soon after, clear spy pictures surfaced where it seemed that it’s just a cosmetic upgrade of RTR 160 and 180. The competitors took a sigh of relief and people started losing hope drastically. While some people still kept their fingers crossed for the official announcement keeping their hopes alive others were seen disappointed, sentimental and angry. Then there was the official announcement and all hopes were shattered, all fans were enraged as it turned out to be just a facelift with a few not so significant changes and no news of any other bigger capacity launch from TVS. Apache fans clearly disappointed by TVS were seen rejecting the new line of RTR on the official Facebook page itself. Judging by the early picture which cropped up on the famous social networking site, we too found it ugly.. But when we went to the TVS showroom to check it out, in flesh it was a different story altogether. So we took a test ride snapped a few pictures to bring to you the silver lining of this cloud.
The 160
In flesh the 160 doesn’t look so out of proportion as it seems in the pictures doing the rounds on the internet. The bikini fairing and the headlight cluster which is highly criticized actually looks sharp and pretty. I understand that many will contradict me here or get angry saying that it is downright ugly. But what you should understand is that it has an alienated look which doesn’t look appealing right away but grows on you and the more you spend time with it the more you start liking it, especially when you see someone else riding it on the road with its glowing LED pilot lamps, which look stunning, by the way. I do completely agree with others when it comes to tank scoops which are not as sharp as the one on the previous version but they do serve a purpose. According to TVS it is specially designed to divert the airflow to the engine thus making it run cooler on a prolonged run. There is an addition on the fuel tank between the two tank shrouds, a carbon fiber looking plastic extension to enhance the aesthetic appeal.
Swing your leg over the saddle and you immediately notice that the ergonomics has been revised. The aggression of the previous model has been diluted with more comfort and upright seating posture. I don’t want to scare or disappoint you, it is not totally commuter type or like the CBZ extreme, it still falls in the sport category. It’s just more relaxed than the previous version. The clip-ons have been made a little longer and wider, that’s it. The next thing you notice is the new comfortable, wider and softer seat. The pillion seat is also wider and longer with adequate cushioning hence making it comfortable. The rider’s seat shape has also been revised so that every time you brake you’re not sent sliding towards the tank. Sitting on the saddle you realize the new 160 has got more big bike feel, the tank looks huge perhaps of the larger tank extensions. The overall quality of the bike has gone up a notch except for the belly pan which is rather flimsy. The Switch gear quality and feel is also better and the look sharp too. The top yoke has been given a more muscled look with the RTR 160 badge in the center. The New speedometer has been given quite a better shape with the new ‘SET’ and ‘MODE’ buttons. The backdrop of the tacho has been carried down from the 180 and made white and so is the colour of the LCD (blue). Personally speaking, I kind of liked the amber display. One cool feature added to the speedo is, just after the self check the speedo countdowns from 5-1 and then displays ‘Go’ giving a little race feel to it.
Now comes the big change, very few people have noticed it, if at all they have, that the new RTR 160 now sports a 17 inch wheel and a wider 110/80 mm rear tyre instead of the 18 inch wheel and 100/80 mm rear tyre on the outgoing model. This was a must needed change and has been suggested by current owners and experienced riders since the bike first rolled in the market.
When I took the 160 for a spin the first thing I noticed is the refinement of the bike which has gone down compared to the current RTR Hyper Edge where the new refined motor and the smooth power delivery was the new feature. Now the refinement is at par with the old RTRs, which was disappointing. I can be wrong, for my take on this issue tends to differ from the opinions presented on other blogs and forums or maybe because it was a pre run-in bike. There can be a lot of factors but that’s what I felt. Now coming to the point, the 17 inch wheel has done its job well by making the bike even more flickable than before and that to inspiring confidence while doing so, where the 18 inch scares the ‘Rossi’ out of you. It has made the bike more stable as well. I should give some credit to the wider rubber too but since it is the same TVS tyre just wider (which doesn’t even qualify as rubber, maybe concrete or some secret super tough compound not stated on the periodic table) I don’t really want to.
Technically, since TVS has switched to smaller wheel( from 18 to 17) and wider tyre(110/80) at the rear with no mechanical and the final drive remaining the same at 13/44 or 3.385 there should be some change in performance. The gearing should go short, the pickup should increase, top speed should go down. But I felt nothing of that sort, the bike gave that same surge which the RTR 160 is known for and TVS claims that the top speed of the bike also remains unchanged at 118 km/h. I tested the roll-on performance of the bike to check if they have made the gearing taller by changing the primary drive but the roll-on performance was unaffected and so was the Primary drive. I can confirm this comparison with the older 160 because I am a proud owner of one myself. Well, if they haven’t tuned it for better performance at least they haven’t made it worse. We have to wait till we get the bike for full testing to make out the difference.
Other small changes are, new all alloy rear footpeg, new crash guard design, new saree guard,decrease in ground clearance, 165 mm against 180mm in the previous version. Increase in kerb weight by 1 kg making it 137kg. And the overall length of the bike has increased. We can’t confirm if the seat height has changed though it is confirmed that the wheelbase of the bike remains the same.
The new RTR 160 looks best when seen in flesh rather in the photographs. You should go to the nearest TVS showroom to check it for yourself if you don’t believe me. The new Apache RTR 160 is available in four exciting colours:
● Black & Yellow
● Grey & Black
● Candy green & Black
● Red & Black (our personal favorite)
The New RTR 160 retails at Rs 69,550 for single disk, Rs 71,620 for double disk (front & rear) and Rs 1000 extra for the Black & yellow model. All prices are ex-showroom Allahabad.
Swing your leg over the saddle and you immediately notice that the ergonomics has been revised. The aggression of the previous model has been diluted with more comfort and upright seating posture. I don’t want to scare or disappoint you, it is not totally commuter type or like the CBZ extreme, it still falls in the sport category. It’s just more relaxed than the previous version. The clip-ons have been made a little longer and wider, that’s it. The next thing you notice is the new comfortable, wider and softer seat. The pillion seat is also wider and longer with adequate cushioning hence making it comfortable. The rider’s seat shape has also been revised so that every time you brake you’re not sent sliding towards the tank. Sitting on the saddle you realize the new 160 has got more big bike feel, the tank looks huge perhaps of the larger tank extensions. The overall quality of the bike has gone up a notch except for the belly pan which is rather flimsy. The Switch gear quality and feel is also better and the look sharp too. The top yoke has been given a more muscled look with the RTR 160 badge in the center. The New speedometer has been given quite a better shape with the new ‘SET’ and ‘MODE’ buttons. The backdrop of the tacho has been carried down from the 180 and made white and so is the colour of the LCD (blue). Personally speaking, I kind of liked the amber display. One cool feature added to the speedo is, just after the self check the speedo countdowns from 5-1 and then displays ‘Go’ giving a little race feel to it.
Now comes the big change, very few people have noticed it, if at all they have, that the new RTR 160 now sports a 17 inch wheel and a wider 110/80 mm rear tyre instead of the 18 inch wheel and 100/80 mm rear tyre on the outgoing model. This was a must needed change and has been suggested by current owners and experienced riders since the bike first rolled in the market.
When I took the 160 for a spin the first thing I noticed is the refinement of the bike which has gone down compared to the current RTR Hyper Edge where the new refined motor and the smooth power delivery was the new feature. Now the refinement is at par with the old RTRs, which was disappointing. I can be wrong, for my take on this issue tends to differ from the opinions presented on other blogs and forums or maybe because it was a pre run-in bike. There can be a lot of factors but that’s what I felt. Now coming to the point, the 17 inch wheel has done its job well by making the bike even more flickable than before and that to inspiring confidence while doing so, where the 18 inch scares the ‘Rossi’ out of you. It has made the bike more stable as well. I should give some credit to the wider rubber too but since it is the same TVS tyre just wider (which doesn’t even qualify as rubber, maybe concrete or some secret super tough compound not stated on the periodic table) I don’t really want to.
Technically, since TVS has switched to smaller wheel( from 18 to 17) and wider tyre(110/80) at the rear with no mechanical and the final drive remaining the same at 13/44 or 3.385 there should be some change in performance. The gearing should go short, the pickup should increase, top speed should go down. But I felt nothing of that sort, the bike gave that same surge which the RTR 160 is known for and TVS claims that the top speed of the bike also remains unchanged at 118 km/h. I tested the roll-on performance of the bike to check if they have made the gearing taller by changing the primary drive but the roll-on performance was unaffected and so was the Primary drive. I can confirm this comparison with the older 160 because I am a proud owner of one myself. Well, if they haven’t tuned it for better performance at least they haven’t made it worse. We have to wait till we get the bike for full testing to make out the difference.
Other small changes are, new all alloy rear footpeg, new crash guard design, new saree guard,decrease in ground clearance, 165 mm against 180mm in the previous version. Increase in kerb weight by 1 kg making it 137kg. And the overall length of the bike has increased. We can’t confirm if the seat height has changed though it is confirmed that the wheelbase of the bike remains the same.
The new RTR 160 looks best when seen in flesh rather in the photographs. You should go to the nearest TVS showroom to check it for yourself if you don’t believe me. The new Apache RTR 160 is available in four exciting colours:
● Black & Yellow
● Grey & Black
● Candy green & Black
● Red & Black (our personal favorite)
The New RTR 160 retails at Rs 69,550 for single disk, Rs 71,620 for double disk (front & rear) and Rs 1000 extra for the Black & yellow model. All prices are ex-showroom Allahabad.
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| ..4..3..2..1...GO |
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| New Alloy Foot Peg |
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| The new saree guard looks better but scores low on functionality |
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| 110/80 - 17 tyre |
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| Yes, its comfortable and its SOLD |
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| The 160 decal |
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| The switch gear quality has improved |
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| The 160cc short stroke motor remains unchanged |
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| The eye |
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| The new crash guard |
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| The red one looks really stunning |
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| Notice the fat rear tyre |
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| Everyone will like the new key |
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| Grey & Black colour |
The 180
RTR 180 is more proportionate and better looking than the 160. It looks more aggressive and chiseled. Due to the 180’s aggressive stance the new fairing and the head light suits it well. All the new features and changes are common in 180 and 160 and only the 180 and Indian tri-colour decals at the rear panels, gold treatment to the front, the rear suspension and the RTR written across the tank scoop tells them apart and of course the colour options too. There is no mechanical change on the 180 as well and the whole machine has been left untouched except for the cosmetic upgrades. In the ABS variant the ugly looking ABS button which was poorly placed on top of the speedo on the previous version has been shifted to the left switchgear and is now conveniently placed and it looks better too. Sadly, TVS has still not incorporated full DC electrical system. Performance wise, 180 has the same grunt, level of refinement and hammering performance with no changes for better or for worse. The RTR 180 is available in three different colours:
● Black
● White
● Yellow
The 180 variant retails for Rs 75,150 ex-showroom Allahabad
RTR 180 ABS comes in only two colours:
● Black
● Yellow
Most of the changes made to the RTR series is refreshing and needed. The overall response to the bike may not be a (put some big word for great) but seen as an individual product, it adds some new shine to the RTR line up though to keep up with the market TVS has to pull up their socks and bring in what the people want.
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| We really don't like the plastic master cylinder guard |
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| It really looks gorgeous from this angle |
Story by Ankit Williams
Edited by Tanya Gaffney
Photography by Ankit Anthony, Ankit Williams, Amritansh Mishra
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