[03/12/2003]
Am quoting some parts of article on Fiero F2 road test that appeared in Motorindia Nov 2003 issue with due respect to it’s authors & publishers...
[QOTD. from Motorindia Nov 2003]
...It is not the fastest like Karizma. It is not the quickest like RXZ. It is not the cheapest like TVS MAX. It is not the fraugalest like Kinetic k4-100. It is not the biggest like bullet. It is not the costliest like the Kinetic Aquila. Eh, then what the hell is it ?
further...
In the olympic games every four years, there are many events. The 100 metre dash winner is the fastest. The marathon winner is the one who lasts the longest. The high jump winner is the highest. The long jump winner is the farthest. The shot put winner is the strongest, and so on.
But there is an event called pentathlon, in which the winner is the one who scores the highest in a combination of five events, which are wrestling, disc throwing, spear (javelin) throwing, leaping and running. The above five events test the total body fitness of the participants. Thus the success of any human is measured against the five different parameters.
So the ideal bike is the one which satisfies not one but many parameters. Which is where the F2 scores over other bikes. It has a bit of everything. Rather it has a lot of everything....
Now how does that feel ? Well certainly F2 is not perfect bike but it comes very close to being one.
Oooh! wait....! Did I tell you.... I finally managed to extract 57.4kmpl on my F2!!! Very simple... Stick to 40-50 kmph @4000rpm max... but its very boring to ride at such monotonous speed :(
[16/11/2003]
II Service @3000kms
hmm... don’t mistake it for some serious problems... the fuel tank was literally rattling hence I went to dealer to get it fixed... come to know that the tank screws were all loose. Well... just got it serviced too... though it’s a bit too early.
Well... let me tell ya’ ... those of you getting more than 60 km economy... it all seems so strange... doesn’t mean... I ride my bike in worst possible way. First 1000 kms I never went above 50/4000rpm, from then on have hit 6500rpm quite regularly... but never went beyond 90kmph. Still I have got 50kmpl flat from day one!!!
The gear shifts are getting smoother by the day... guess what the other day the dealer was saying... ’’aap ke bike ka gear shifts dusroon se bahut smooth hai’’... bike is sort of all set now. So am planning to go on a long ride as soon as I get time off my hectic work schedule.
But I still wonder when ppl say they get more than 58kms economy. Anyways I have been getting a constant 50kmpl economy and am happy with that. These days the bike’s engine noise isn’t that dead silent still it’s quite low compared to others.
The front drum brakes don’t instill confidence to go on high speed racing with pulsar 150s in city limits...esp in Hyderabad which is known for a non-existent road culture. May be on the old bombay highway some day.... I wanna do 100+. Quite many F2 owners had the tank & headlight casing vibration, which can be easily fixed by packing it with old rubber. Get it done.... if you are facing the same problem.... it’s just solves the problem once and for all!
Now the goody goody feeling..... have you observed the roads these days ? well.... tell you what the F2 can be literally seen almost everywhere now!!! And soon by January end therez gonna be a advanced automated TVS workshop in Hyderabad.... that eliminates all the human errors, the regular mechanics do at the service centre!!!
So what do you say ? I honestly recommend this bike. It’s magical.
[22/10/2003]
Hi Folks, I have done 2k kms on my F2. All I can say is am not disappointed with my investment... but there have been times when I wished the bike had been different... kya karu aur koi achha choice nahi hai.
Herez how I want the bike to be improved....
) Improve the Fuel Tank mounting to totally kill the vibration which sweeps in at times. Also I had vibration problem with one of the dummy air filters attached to the tank. I got it fixed during the first service. But the fuel tank vibration still sweeps in.
) Increase the LOW RPM torque, get it to deliver more power starting around 2800 RPM instead of current 3500 RPM. The current bike needs to be revved to sprint... but TVS folks can definitely eliminate that.... learn(beg/borrow/steal) from Yamaha how to do it. Unless one revves, the bikes doesn’t sprint [ sprint ... sprint like a chetah] . The top speed doesn’t matter.. even with a lower top speed the bike could be exciting... it’s all about HOW FAST YOU GOT THERE! The gush of adrenaline is missing. May be I shouldn’t compare it too much with 180cc bikes or the 14 BHP Rx or the ALMIGHTY RD350. I feel the cruising speed should be increased to around 80-90 kmph.
The bike feels gliding smooth, you got to ride to believe it. BUT! anything above 70 the feeling doesn’t come automatic... you need to work it... push it and if the wind is against your direction... don’t try to fight a losing battle. A 150cc bike should cruise to atleast 95kmph without much fuss.
)Transmission: I have read about couple of gear problems... between 2nd & 3rd... The bike gets jerky at times. Yes, Even I experienced it couple of time. I think it is due to one’s gear changing style. Make sure you press down full when you shift gears. Otherwise... it’s as smooth as velvet.
)I didn’t like the exhaust position. I feel it should be tucked in more close to the body.
) Tyre & Braking: TVS should develop a set of wet weather tyres and have the user option of choosing the tyre depending upon his regional climate conditions. Or come up with all weather tyre as standard fitting. Be carefull while driving in wet conditions (irrespective of your Tyre technology). Also during panic braking... (be prepared, by practicing ) ... the bike rear end moves out of straight line and sideways. ( Common scenario: when u are really enjoying the bike at above normal city speed limits along freshly re carpeted road and one of those human ’’billi’’ cut the road without any warning). BRUM brakes will remain drum brakes. They carry forward their traditional shortcoming here too.
) HeadLight. Yaba daba dooo!!! As someone has already pointed out... it won’t be long enough when Kinetic will relaunch it’s LUNA Super as LUNA SUPER(+, II, * blah blah) which comes with disc brakes in front as standard fitting and has Halogen lamp headlight assembly with some fundo technology which gives better lumens ;-)
) HORN: a bit wierd, it sounds like a ’’pipi’’ brought in fair.
I really appreciate the exhaust note, which meets all the noise norms set by the Government of India.
) Economy: I had this strange problem once where in my economy nose dived to 30 kmpl. The problem was with the air pressure in it’s shoes. Now it’s back to 50. From day one I have been getting 50-52kmpl.
Well all said and experienced... what I want to say is... The bike has an edge over it’s competition but not too long. I love this bike irrespective of it’s shortcoming... thats the reason am still holding onto it. My dealer told me the average age of ppl buying F2 (he has sold 400+ F2s) is around 32+, so the view point changes... probably that is also the reason we see so few reviews on F2 at mouthshut [ What do I mean by that ? ]