In this Era of Bikes, Speed and Style has become the mantra. But what Joe Average has to say is just: Ohm Mileageaia Namahah! Blame it on the Arabs who fought only to the rise in petrol to almost 35 bucks! As mineral water is to man, petrol has become to bikes. Unfortunately our Joe Average decides to give up his Rx100 dreams. But technology is with him, he has some brilliant 4 stroke choices out in the market, one of them is sure to make him a Victor.
With the ties b/w TVS and SUZUKI almost tearing, TVS decide to carry on their own. Splendors, Calibers, Boxers and Crux were all barking madly at TVS. Finally they unleashed their pup, Victor on Sept 5, 2001.
THE MIRROR
The newborn doesn’t resemble its parents nor it ancestors. It resembles some bad tinkering done on a piece of metal. The tank shape is not attractive; the recess though comfy looks like a dent. Both the plan and elevation are badly designed, only if you call it a design. The headlamp is oversized and lacks smoothness. The instru doesn’t sport a tacho or tripmeter but has 2 LEDs. Coming to the side panel, it makes me wonder what it resembles. Neither a box nor a curve but some shit. The tailpiece is not continuous but broken by the suspenders. Its design is ok but the square tail lamp is an absolute no… no. It looks as though a bun stuffed halfway through the mouth. The rear fender also lacks design with an unattractive large square reflector. The front fender is over sized and the chromed indicators could have been better in black. About the colors, black gold, red yellow/gold, blue gray, green and silver blue. To my preference the silver alone looks digestible. The stickers are the worst thing on the bike, If u know what it represents please tell. The bike badly needs some muscles and fluidity. Overall the Victor is a Looser on looks and an Ugly Duckling, please send it to the beauty parlor!
Styling: 1/5
THE HEART
As the story says, the ugly duckling has a sweet Indian heart. Yes the Victor boasts of a hi-tech indigenous engine. The cylinder can hold 109.2 cc of petrol on burning which it produces a maximum of 8.1 bhp with an impressive torque of 8 Nm. The torque curve is amazingly flat resulting in excellent flexibility to the engine. That’s not all, the big news is that the Victor is saddled with an innovative dual map digital ignition. This has been later copied onto the Caliber115 as the TRICS. At present Victor is the only commuter machine to sport a digital ignition which prevents engine knocking by optimum burning of fuel depending upon the speed of the bike. However what makes this as an all round bike is the dual map ignition, one for mileage and the other for performance depending upon how you twist your wrist. Two LED’s on the instrument panel indicate this. Coupled to the brilliant engine is a slick 4 speed transmission with nice actuation that posses no hassles.
Engine: 4/5
Transmission: 5/5
MESS BILLS
This is for what the bike is bought. Joe Average needs a 60+ mileage and the Victor is sure to deliver him a consistent 62 kmpl under city driving conditions, some times with a pillion. I got these figure from my senior friend, but have heard that it can deliver upto 70+ kmpl! So we decided to check out the best mileage possible. Last Sunday we emptied the 11 litre tank and gave it a run almost a km so that the machine is completely dry. Now we pour ½ litres (measured using a horlicks bottle!) of fuel into it and my senior carries the remaining petrol in my bike. I take the reins of the Victor and take the highway route to Saravanampatty. Believe it or not, the bike pulled upto 37 km! That makes an astonishing mileage of 74 kmpl in the economy mode!
Mileage: 5/5
ATHELETICS
I keep stressing that a good engine doesn’t sacrifice performance for mileage and the Victor justifies it right. The pick up is decent, way ahead of Splendors and driving in the power mode takes you quickly to 70kmph. After 70 it lags a bit and reaches almost 90 kmph. This can give a run to the splendors and passions and manages to keep up with the Caliber115. However the gears are more flexible in the Victor than the 115 making it more drivable.
Performance: 4/5
BEING A PET
The Victor has a very comfortable seat. The handle bars are tall for comfort but I always prefer the fury type. The men at TVS have successfully achieved a sweet balance b/w ride and handling. The ride is plush and the dampers are sweet. The TVS Srichakra tyres, 2.75” & 3.00” x 18 offer good grip for a commuter and the weight distribution is also balanced. I check this by the ease of riding without hands and found the Victor handle delightfully. Also leaning is possible to some extent aided by the rectangular swing arm though of nowhere near the pulsars. The build quality is also good with no parts squeaking or rattling. The short wheelbase of 1200mm aids quick steering and ground clearance 162mm keeps you off the road. Braking is Ok with 130mm drums. Overall it is easy to drive this light 105 kg machine.
Ride & Handling: 4/5
Comfort: 5/5
SUMMING UP…
PROS
Nice engine, transmission and chassis.
Good Handling and Superb Suspension
Consistent 60-65 kmpl mileage.
Good performance for a commuter.
Dual map Digital ignition technology.
It can be started in gear
Powerful Headlight.
Very comfy seat.
CONS
Styling is bland
No attention to detail is given.
Stickers ???
46K GRAND ?
Styling is very important when you go out and the Victor sorely looses on this. On the other hand the Caliber 115 looks good and matches up the Victor’s performance, mileage, handling and ride. On the other hand there is the ever-efficient splendor, which is a no problem bike but you see scores of it everywhere. So if you don’t mind looks and need technology go ahead buy the Victor, or if need to look smarter get a 115 or want to be satisfied with reliability, it is the splendor/passion but you loose all those handling and performance traits. But my choice will be… Caliber 115.