As my title goes, this is a bike I own by chance...only after so many twists and turns...I was looking for an upgrade of bike over my last one, the "YAMAHA Gladiator".
After riding a YAMAHA, u wont find another bike to contain you.so I decided, i ll go for the FZ16, bcoz I felt fazer was too pricy, n dont come in my range........i was all set to get the FZ...when I casually asked my father, wheter he can afford 8000/- more, for the pursar 220, which was parked infront of our home....i showed it to my dad, n he said, WOW....n he even agreed.....
So we went to the showroomfor test ride.it felt mind blowing, every thing was impressive, the power, the breaking, n all.They agreed to exchange my gladiator for 28k......bt bt bt.....The problem was to start, they said the only bike in the showroom is already booked, so we have to wait for 15 days before I can get one....
Too bad, in this world full of restlessness, how can you WAIT??15 days is un bearable....bt I decided I ll......
Then came another twist....i thought of test riding the KARIZMA once, jst for fun(i had already rode my friend’s karizma), (and I personally dint lyk the looks of the bike)...(and I was lucky not to have bought one, because it was soon upgraded, and I would have felt out-dated.
After taking the test ride, when I came out of the showroom, something attracted me....the pearl white colour.......it was a new TVS showroom, in front of the hero honda.....there I found the APACHE RTR 180...
I had never given this bike even a thought.
So I felt, I should test ride it once......
The moment I sat on this, I was off..........somthing happened to me.....I acclerated it, and it zoomed.....what a feel !!!!! it has better braking and handling than even the P220
I did not know, what I was doing, bt surprizingly I Booked this one.
That was my brief description of how I got the bike, bt lets disscuss its pros and the one and only con..
pros:
1>Power: when you have power, it shows.....this high rewing engine feels like a YAMAHA when it picks up.it never runs out of power, even at 8000 rpm. Its great when you climb steep slopes, even with a pillion, you never feel under powered....It really gives u the thing called, THE ADERNALINE RUSH....
2>Acclaration: the acceleration is so swift, it makes you feel on the top of the world. For example, you r going on 70, suddenly you pull the throttle, n you reach 100 in no time.....thats amazing feel....
3>Handling:this is a department, where Apache has no match.........it handles like a YAMAHA( FZ, I have never rode a R15), or may be even better...its so easy to touch your knees to the ground in sharp turns at 80 kmph.i did that with my gladiator and my friend’s fz also....The stability is excelent-my top speed till now is, 124 kmph.The bike was so stable, that it increases your confidence.....
4>Braking: again, a perfect aspect of the bike.....the brakes are so wonderful........u come form a 100 kmph-0kmph, in no time, and still the bike feels planted.....i have never tried a stoppie though, as its still new, and I dont want any scratches ....
Well there are so many pros in the bike, that it would take an hour to read, so better you test ride one, and then decide............
It is giving me a milage of 43-47 kmplunder various conditions.....which is great for a bike of such standards........
I dont doubt the reliability of a TVS product, as v r having a TVS star city for over 3 years, without any issue....
Now the one and only con:
>Vibration:this is the area, which will always hamper the TVS from bieng a world class company.......the unrefined engine vibrated just too much at 65-75 kmph(4500-5500 rpm)..that really hurts the wrist......
But, it takes only 300 kms, to get used to it, actually the riding position is so aggressive, that you have to put all ur strain on the wrist....bt once u are aquented, u will hate riding in any other position........
I have now come over the wrist pains, that happened initially......but, riding the bike for 200 kms would really b painful.i have taken a long ride of 140 kms straight, and back the other day, I have a feeling, u cant cruise for long without taking brakes.you cannot ride for 2 hours continously.....u need breaks.....
But, this bike is for sole performance, for touring , u ll always have a Karizma, or a P220.....
Verdict.......
This was a great upgrade from the Gladiator........you wouldnt have expected any better from this.
I have completed 3000 kms on this, the performance is still improving........i hve done 124 kmph.n it ll definitely go further.....
one important thing, the air filter needs to b cleaned at every 500 kms.......it gets dirty, and hampers the performance.......that, you can do your self..........
though P220 is much more powerfull, bt the goods in this bike were so many, which made me not to wait for the 220.....