TVS CENTRA-?The fill it once a month bike?is the latest offering to the motorcycle market by TVS motor company of the VICTOR fame. No wonder even after the break-up with Suzuki Motor Company, TVS has continued to produce quality motorcycles like Victor, Fiero F2 and now the latest TVS CENTRA. This bike is straightaway competing in the 100cc segment against the Bajaj Boxer, Yamaha Crux, HH Splendor (In terms of power); (In terms of mileage well 100kmpl?? It has go competition!!!!). Lets look as some the major aspects of this bike.
LOOKS: Looks of this bike are good compared to Boxer AT, CT and Crux, Splendor etc. New shaped headlight is used in this bike which to a certain extent looks similar to Passion. The headlight is Trapezoidal in shape and looks good. TVS has retained its originality by keeping the sides of the headlight without stickers or graphics as in Fiero F2. May be a set of graphics at the sides of the head light might have made the bike look more sporty. The Fuel Tank also has a new shape and a new set of Graphics which look good. Seems like TVS has done some homework while designing the cosmetics of the bike. The tail lamp is normal, visible similar to Victor in shape. The bike comes in 3 colours: Blazing Red, Deep Black and Teitian Blue. Teitian Blue colour looks cool compared to other two!
ENGINE & TRANSMISSION: Centra is 99.8cc 4 stroke bike. TVS has used what is VT-i which is Variable Timing Intelligent engine. The engine has digitally controlled ignition timing and temperature sensors for improved fuel efficiency. The unique friction reduction technology and fuel wastage reduction system delivers consistently superior mileage. These would facilitate deceleration in fuel cut off, faster warm up of the engine which would result in superior mileage without compromise in power. The ignition used is Digital CDI.
The Transmission is 4 speed all gears shift down. Clutch and gears are gentle and easily movable. The gearbox is constant mesh type. The ride quality is comfortable as in all TVS bikes.
PERFORMANCE: Great performance compared to its cost!! The kerb weight of this bike is 109 kgs. When I took a test ride of this bike it seemed a bit heavier then boxer and similar to splendor. The pickup is more then Boxer or Crux The Max. Power developed by this bike is 7.5 Bhp@7500 rpm (5.6 Kw) and the Max. Torque is 7.5 Nm@ 5000 rpm. Considering the normal daily ride and its cost which is around Rs.37, 000/ - this is sufficient power. Even then it is equivalent to the power generated by splendor which is also 7.5 Bhp and its costs around Rs.41, 000/-. The performance of this bike good and is sufficient for normal ride.
MILEAGE: TVS has made a bold statement saying this bike returns 3 figures to a litre i.e. 100 Kmpl. This is only the second time any mobike manufacturer has claimed such a figure. The first one is Bajaj?s BYK which gives fuel efficiency at the cost of durability and looks. Well TVS hasn?t done that. TVS has provided much good looks and power and Fuel Efficiency too. Well the company says it gives 100 kms to a litre (USTC). Expect a fuel efficiency between 65~68 kms per litre as I have heard it from some of the users in city riding conditions. The fuel tank capacity is 11 litres and in Reserve 2 litres is present.
LIGHTS: The Multi Reflector headlamp comes with a 12V 35W/35W Halogen Lampand provides good lighting at nights.
The side lamps are 12V 10W . The tail lamp is also 12V 10W and is sufficiently visible.
SUSPENSION: The front suspension is Telescopic 100 mm travel and the Rear is Hydraulic with co-axial spring - 73 mm travel. The rear shockers are 5 step adjustable to adjust the smoothness of the ride. The suspension is pretty good and u don?t feel any jerks on bad and bumpy roads. Good job TVS!!
INSTRUMENTATION: The instrument panel has two dials, one on the right is Speedometer with odometer. The Tripmeter is absent. Well I personally feel trip meter should be present in every bike because it makes our tasks easier if we want to calculate mileage of the bike, measure distances etc. The second dial to the right is a combination of many things. It has Fuel gauge at the bottom right. The Neutral and Head light indicators are at the top of the dial. Below these indicators are the two signal indicators. The power mode/economy mode are located next to them. The pass switch is absent. The steering contains the normal horn, indicator and head light switches. The switches are easy to operate.
BRAKES AND TYRES: The front brakes are 110mm Drum brakes. The Rear brakes are also 110 mm drum brakes. Braking is ok and I was a little dissatisfied in this area. But it can be improved anytime.
The front tyres are 2.75 x 18 and the rear are 2.75 x 18 TVS srichakra tyres. They provide good control to the bike. The wheelbase is 1235mm which adds to the stability of the bike and is same as the wheelbase of Passion.
OVERALL COMMENTS: All in all a good buy which comes with a reasonable price and provides a combination of power, looks and mileage too. I haven?t still seen or met any owner of this bike on road becoz this bike is newly launched so according to me maybe u should wait for sometime and inquire about the performance and mileage of this bike to the person who owns this bike. Although it seems by the test drive that it is a good bike but then all that glitters is not gold!!