Back when TVS Launched its flagship Apache last year, it also promised that start a one-make championship based on it. The bike manufacturer has lived up to the promise we were offered a wild card entry to experience the bike first hand. We headed to Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore to take this offer up.
In the line-up with us were podium finishers from previous national-level events. Forty of these riders went through a selection round in May, after which only 12 of the quickest were chosen to participate at the championship which is also where we met them.
As one would expect, it was a difficult race and there was no fairy tale finish. We managed to secure a time that was 3.5 seconds slow than Ravikumar’s, which was the fastest. Now let’s move on to the RR 310 Race Bike. If you saw pictures of the bike and thought to yourself that the motorcycle looks a lot like the stock bike, this is because it is. The changes are the stickered up headlights, new switches and removal of unneeded (on track) parts like mirrors, mudguard and foot rests. The bike also has good looking graphics from the company’s race division.
The bike also has a few mechanical changes. Firstly, it gets rear-set footpegs that increase ground clearance. While the handlebar remains the same, it has been lowered to put you in a sportier position. The bike also has a new quick-throttle that is really quick. It reduces the action considerably. The exhaust on the race bike is also different; it is a lighter and free-flowing unit that allows for a power gain.
Other than this, the bike rides on the same suspension and tyres. Overall, the bike has the track-required riding position and it is a little faster as well. However, we were left hoping for more. The riders were of the highest level in India and TVS could have made the bike a little more focused for them. Adjustable suspension on the motorcycle would have done a lot in terms of dynamics. However, our biggest complaint was with the excess weight it was carrying.
While it had lost 13kg compared to the stock bike, it could have gone lighter. The heavy stock fairing could be replaced with a lighter fairing. The bike would also feel a lot nicer if it had softer compound tyres. While it goes well, it can’t be compared to something like KTM’s RC390.
These Apaches are definitely quicker than the CBR 250R race bikes; however they are quite a bit slower than the race-spec RC390 and Yamaha R3. This gap between the bikes is also set to grow as the track length increases. TVS also says that it will take the championship to international markets when they begin selling the bike there. We had an intense and memorable experience at the track which was also down to the wild weather pattern we encountered in Coimbatore.
