Well here it was, a gleaming new Victor which had barely done 500 kms and I was gonna ride it. Frankly, I heard people say its a good bike and I really wanted to ride one to find out, after riding the Passion from Hero Honda and Caliber from Bajaj.
I feel TVS needs to market the Victor in a better way, coz my spin aroud Delhi on a warm sumnmer night was a complete surprise. The Victor’s got a smooth ride, and the pick-up and power would definitely give both the Passion and the Caliber (I have yet to ride the 115) a run for their money.
The one I rode was new (only about 500 odd kms clocked) so I didn’t really feel like letting the throttle go. But it was surprisingly reponsive in speeds ranging from 30-55 kph. Another pleasant surprise were the brakes. Wonder why TVS didn’t put brakes like these on their ealier models. At 35-40 kph the Victor would stop, without even a whimper of a skid, with both brakes applied. Clearly this baby from TVS has the best drum brakes in all the small-segment bikes.
For those who are looking for an economy bike, without any hassles and a smooth, peppy ride with the best brakes in the business, the Victor is clearly the winner.
For those looking for looks and more power, I’d say stop wasting your time and go for a CBZ or Pulsar 180. But for the rider who just needs his job done to commute within the city with a very good average, this is clearly the bike.
My friend who wons the bike says, its clocking an average of over 68 kpl, without even the first service done and the engine not being run in. And this guy rides an average of 50 km every day and I’d definitely take his word, snce he owned a Splendor before this, and a Yezdi Roadking before that.
The only confusing aspect in the instrument panel was an amber light which started flashing mysteriously. I had to stop the bike to find out what it was. Well the panel houses two small lights - a green one on the left and an amber one on the right. If you restrict the throttle while riding the green glows indicating ’’Economy’’ and if you release the throttle the amber glows indicating ’’power’’. Wonder whose bright idea was that? All in all, a good product although I personally like the instrument panel to be a bit simple without strange flashing lights or colourful dials. TVS could also have worked some more on the looks department.
At the end of the day, a very good bike!!
CHEERS TO TVS FOR A VERY GOOD PRODUCT!!!!