04 February,2018 10:16 AM IST | Mumbai | Aspi Bhathena
We have been waiting for over a year to ride the RR 310, having seen it as a concept, Akula, at the Auto Expo in 2016. Finally, the wait is over. This is the first product from the technical collaboration between BMW and TVS. The RR 310 shares the same platform as the BMW G 310 R and G 310 GS.
Rear sub-frame looks sharp
The Apache RR 310's aerodynamic design comes from the shark. The designers at TVS have put in a lot of effort to make the bike the most streamlined motorcycle in its class with the best drag coefficient.
The bike has an aggressive stance with twin LED headlamps at the front. The full fairing and the step seat complete the super sport look. The upside down front forks with radial brake caliper with 300-mm petal disc rotor, the aerodynamic front mudguard and the five-spoke wheels with a cast alloy swingarm add to the look of this bike.
Visual cues are inspired by shark
The liquid-cooled DOHC four-valve motor is over-square. This short stroke engine has a bore of 80 millimetres and stroke of 62.1 mm and delivers 34 PS at 9,700 rpm and 27.3 Nm of torque at 7,700 rpm.
Power is delivered via a wet multi-plate clutch and a six-speed gearbox. The engine unit is tilted backwards for better weight distribution. The engine is housed in a tubular trellis chassis with a bolt-on sub-frame as in the KTM bikes. The front USD forks are a cartridge-type unit by KYB and the rear suspension has a die-cast aluminium swingarm with a KYB monoshock unit with monotube floating piston technology.
Vertical info-cluster looks smart
Stopping power is provided at the front by a 300-mm petal type disc rotor and a radial four-piston Bybre caliper. Rear braking is taken care of by a 240-mm petal disc rotor and Bybre caliper. The final contact between the RR 310 and the tarmac is provided by Michelin 110/70 R17 front and 150/60 R17 rear tyres.
The instrument panel is all-digital unit with a vertical rpm display, speedometer, temperature gauge, fuel level indicator, gear indicator and an on-board computer that provides lap times and race diagnostics. All the lights are LED. The build quality of this motorcycle is top class.
Trellis frame aids in handling and adds to style quotient. Pics/Sanjay Raikar
The seat, with its 810-mm height, contoured shape and well-placed clip-ons, prevent wrist ache during slow city riding. The foot-pegs are on the low side, thus making them comfortable for road use. The three axis points - handlebar, seat, and foot-pegs - are spot-on to give you a relaxed riding position.
Now, it's time to see what the RR 310 was capable of. A gentle push on the starter switch fired the engine to life with a little clatter from the valve gear before settling down a high idling speed of 1,700 rpm. This high idling engine rpm is due to the very light crankshaft and flywheel weight. You can feel the linear power delivery all the way to the rev limiter. Just after a couple of corners the 310 inspired so much confidence that we started pushing the bike from the first lap itself. This is something we normally don't do.
The only thing we would change on the bike for the racetrack is to raise the foot-pegs by at least two-and-a-half inches. The bike is very tractable and is capable of pulling from 45 km/h in sixth gear with a 100-kg pillion on board. The gearshift is very light and positive and did not have a single false neutral. The Apache RR 310 is one of the best handling motorcycles we have ridden. The only negative is the valve clatter when you start the bike. TVS has really cracked the code with this fantastic motorcycle.
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