New Bike First Impression

Akshay “Iron Butt” Kaushal rides more than 1000 miles to complete the SaddleSore ride.
Story: Mihir Gadre Photos: Akshay Kaushal

Akshay Kaushal has become one of the only two Indians to have been featured on the Iron Butt Association’s website for completing the SaddleSore ride. On the 29th of October 2008, Akshay, who works as a journalist with the Times Group, embarked on the endurance ride on his Bajaj Pulsar 180 DTSi finally covering a total of 1,734 kilometers in less than 24 hours. He started his ride from Ahmedabad (Gujarat) continuing on to Udaipur, Jaipur (Rajasthan) and Gurgaon (Haryana) before returning to Ahmedabad to participate in the SaddleSore 1000.

In a bid to identify the world’s toughest riders, the Iron Butt Association of Chicago, Illinois, USA certifies individuals who dare to achieve this extremely difficult feat of riding 1000 miles astride a bike in under 24 hours. The SaddleSore 1000 is conducted under very strict guidelines set forth by the Iron Butt Association. The rules state that a rider should complete 1000 miles in less than 24 hours with an error margin of five percent for the odometer which takes the total distance to 1050 miles i.e. around 1700km. The rider has to retain the fuel receipts paid using a credit card from the start to the end point and submit them as proof. He is not allowed to travel on the same road more than twice and he should have a witness at the start point as well as the destination.

Akshay’s achievement is even more special given that 1000 miles on Indian roads on an Indian bike is at least twice as difficult as doing the same distance on smooth European motorways or American freeways astride a big cruiser. Our hearty congratulations to him for having achieving this feat

 

TVS has upped the performance ante of the Apache with a new 180cc variant. Amit Chhangani gives the new bike the BI treatment
Photography: Sanjay Raikar

 

TVS’s test track at Hosur is as simple to learn as that except for the two rather uneven troughs – one in the middle of the long arc and another at the left hander exit. Perfect to appreciate one of the two most significant changes incorporated in the new Apache RTR 180 as compared to its predecessor.

The new bike’s wheelbase is longer than the 160 by a good 40mm, making it substantially more stable and confidence inspiring than its earlier iteration when leaned over. In its newest avatar the RTR feels more stable and planted both in a straight line as well as around bends. Both the bumps on the track, which made us cautious during the first few laps, were taken in its stride with disdain. I managed to ride the 180 and the 160 RTRs on the track back-to-back and the difference in the handling characteristics was clearly perceptible. Not that the older RTR felt scary around the bumps, but the new bike augments the feeling of confidence and makes you push harder without any worries.

Another, more obvious improvement is the bigger capacity engine. The new 177.4cc mill is a bored out variation of the 160cc mill and has a longer stroke too. With 62.5mm bore and 57.8mm stroke, the new engine still remains an oversquare, screamer unit but not so much so
as the 160. Power is up by 1.9PS to 17.3PS and the new engine produces 2.4 more units of twisting force at 15.5Nm. Peak power is produced at 8500rpm similar to RTR 160, though the peak torque is now produced at 6500 revs, 500 more than the carburetted variant of the bike’s smaller capacity version.

The increased power and torque makes itself very palpable especially while accelerating hard from a standstill. However, the new bike somehow doesn’t feel as free-revving as its predecessor. Down the straight on the test track, before braking, the 180 showed a speed of 120km/h on the digital display while the 160 was marginally slower at 118km/h. Tech boffins at TVS admitted that they have not worked towards increasing the top speed of the bike but to increase it’s low and midrange grunt as well as in-gear acceleration times. We must mention that the new RTR doesn’t have a rev limiter. Rev the bike hard in neutral or in the first gear and the tacho needle keeps swinging to the 12,000rpm limit on the tacho. That’s good news as the absence of a limiter hints at introduction of performance kits for the bike by the company in the near future. Hooligans rejoice!

Technically, worth a mention are the newly developed TVS Srichakra tubeless tyres both upfront as well as at the rear. The new tyres are wider (90/90 x 17-inch front and 110/80 x 17-inch rear) which are much lighter than the tubed tyres. The fact, along with the incorporation of a lighter crank employed in the engine, means that the overall weight of the bike remains unchanged. Other technical changes include a 270mm petal disc at the front and a 200mm petal disc at the rear as standard equipment. Carburetion duties have been handed over to the Mikuni BS-29 carburettor. There isn’t a FI version available for this bike and we don’t see one coming in the near future.

On the visual front, the 180 adorns a new graphic scheme to distinguish itself from its smaller siblings with ‘RTR’ emblazoned boldly on the tank scoops. The front forks and the gas reservoirs for the rear shocks are now painted in a new golden shade and the clip-ons have a new RTR 180 emblem at the centre. Other cosmetic upgrades include a new slim, superbike style, trident shaped mud flap under the rear fender. It can be replaced by the conventional mud flap. The rear-set footpegs for the rider as well as the pillion come in two forms. You may either have a racing style naked metallic set or get them covered with a rubber cover for better cushioning. The tacho dial for the new bike is painted in a sporty white shade as against the black-grey-white theme for the 160 FI.

The new bike feels more planted and has got more grunt, more grip and more poise. The prices have not been announced yet, but we expect the new bike to be priced a tad cheaper than the RTR 160 FI priced at rupees 74 grand. The new TVS 180 looks like a potent contender in the Indian performance bike arena.

 

Bunny Punia spends a Sunday morning astride a rather different kind of bike

 

It’s quite rare for me to be in my home town, New Delhi for more than a day and that too on a weekend. I love spending time with my family, lazing around in the house and playing with my little niece. But last month, I simply couldn’t resist a test ride on my kind of bike.

Off-roading hasn’t really caught on amongst the biking enthusiasts in the country. It is more or less limited to the national championships that often take place in South India. Ashish from Adventure Wheels, however, thinks there is a small but important and as yet unexplored market out there for these leisure bikes. Apart from bikes, he is also importing an ATV with an engine as big as 550cc! But let’s talk about the bikes for now. The spot chosen by Ashish for riding and photographing the two bikes he got along (in a small tempo mind you) was great. I had to follow his car for close to an hour, but in the end, we
were around 30km from the Delhi border on the base of the Aravali mountains near Sohna.

I started the morning’s ride on the smaller 150cc bike which frankly did disappoint me initially. An extra large rear sprocket meant gearing was too short and before I knew it, I was in the fifth within a matter of seconds! However, it was a dirt bike and with the right kind of suspension, this little number was ready for anything. Powered by a 12.4bhp mill, it had enough grunt for most types of off-roading stints. The bigger 250cc bike was, however, the reason I was here. Even for a 6 footer like me, swinging a leg over it was difficult. Both my toes hardly touched the ground. Nonetheless within minutes, I found myself literally flying over pebbles and rocks at good speeds. This damn thing really had the dexterity to ride over nasty off-road sections at 45-50km/h! Even while riding on broken tarmac, with the digital speedometer showing 80-85km/h, the superb suspension setup chewed and spat any and everything that came its way. Dumping the clutch over undulations saw the front wheel go up easily.

The 250cc bike’s liquid cooled motor develops an impressive 24bhp of power and is mated to a six-speed ‘box. There is more than adequate power for even serious hill climbing and flat out, the bike manages around 110km/h. The acceleration through the gears is impressive and the grunty exhaust note sounds great. Ashish is importing this bike from Taiwan and selling it for around Rs 3 lakh. Yes, it sounds a lot but since they are imported as CBU units, a hefty sum has to be paid for custom duties. For those who wish to spend less, the 150cc offering makes great sense. Retailing for around Rs 1.2 lakh, it won’t make a huge dent in your pocket too. For more, log onto www.adventurewheels.co.in

The liquid cooled engine felt punchy and had no signs of fatigue even after being pushed hard for a good 30 minutes	A claimed output of 24bhp means lifting the front was rather easy	Ashish is working hard on making these bikes road legal. But getting things cleared from ARAI can be tough and time consuming

A crown (the bike’s new visor) not withstanding, Bunny Punia thinks the new FZS is the last word in fun biking in India
Photography: Bunny Punia, Martin Alva, Munish Shekhawat

 

In India, two-wheeler manufacturers have different ways of promoting their products. While some rely solely on their product virtues or advertisements, others make sure the bonding between the owners and their bikes play an important role. For Yamaha, things are a little different. It is not every day that you see senior management personnel of a two-wheeler manufacturer ride with the media guys during a launch or a ride function – be it aboard the YZF-R15 at the Sriperumbudur racetrack or astride the FZ-16 during its launch in Goa.

The road to success for Yamaha in India has been hard but in the last year or so, a strong upward movement in sales charts has shown that the company’s efforts have begun to yield results. In March 2009, Yamaha sold 14,558 units (with the FZ series making up for more than 50 percent of the sales) which was a whopping 45 percent increase over the same month last year. With volumes on the rise each month, Yamaha has become the fastest growing two-wheeler manufacturer in India. Continuing with the success of the R15 and FZ-16, the Japanese firm decided to pimp up the latter with a few cosmetic touches and hence was born the FZS that you see across these four pages.

A first proper look at the FZS combined with experiencing the fun element that this bike comes attached with was the agenda behind Yamaha taking a few select journos for a trip to North India at a small hill station based around a lake, Nainital, some 300 odd km from Delhi. After an awfully slow and grueling twelve hour bus journey (at the end of it, all of us thought biking up would have been a better option), the setting for the open air, overlooking the lake cocktail-cum-presentation dinner helped combat the fatigue (and frustration). Plus we had the new incarnations of the FZ-16 for company with a couple of FZs with aftermarket add-ons. Nainital was chilly and while we sipped liquor and warmed our hands around the burning coal, the presentation by Sanjay Tripathi gave us a fair idea of what lay in store for us the next day.

The morning session saw us riding around the hill station on sticky tarmac, enjoying the amazing flickable nature of the bike. Though we were on roads between 5000-6500 feet above mean sea level, which meant the slightly thinner air robbed the engine of some power, the bike’s fantastic midrange torque made up for it and the 35km odd loop was covered in just half an hour. Most of us wanted a break from our hectic daily routine and loved riding on such roads. How could we restrain ourselves from making the bike dance on one wheel as well?

The afternoon riding session, however, was longer (and faster) with some of us staying right at the tail of the leading bike ridden by a Yamaha rider. The destination was Corbett National Park around 110km away. Yes we were scarily fast, but the adrenaline rush made sure the right wrist was wrung open, making full use of the bike’s capabilities (and the tyres too). Traffic was sparse and the occasional speed breakers were of course negotiated with ease. The day’s ride saw one media guy taking a spill and well, the incident did bring us back to reality and we backed off a little from the throttle. The evening saw us riding onto the dry riverbed for some fantastic photo opportunities with some of us riding on the pegs, jumping over typical, huge white riverbed stones. This was where I kept the FZ-16 and FZS side by side to compare the differences. The cosmetic changes are few – a sharper headlamp, a new visor, new colour schemes and alloy wheel strips, et al – but they help in giving the bike a completely new character which in my opinion easily makes the FZS the best looking bike in India. The changes do make the bike dearer by a couple of grand but the boffins at Yamaha are confident about the positive sales of their product.

Media rides like these are vital. An opportunity for a close interaction with the top guys as well as the factory riders helps to shed light on various aspects of the bike and its development. I have ridden the FZ-16 extensively in Pune but the route chosen by Yamaha riders had a lot of variations including superb sticky twisties, dry riverbeds, small stream crossings etc. Riding the FZ-S over all these terrains enlightened us about a lot more aspects as well. For instance, the next day, while riding deep into the Park, we came across numerous 15-20 feet long shallow humps which were entered at close to triple digit speeds and exiting them saw both wheels at least a foot off the road. Landing back didn’t weave the bike at all. Stability, flickability and a torquey engine – I have always loved the FZ and this small interaction with the new FZS impressed me further. Small capacity bikes can be fun too.

The new visor not only looks cool, but also helps deflect some amount of air from the riders chest. Seen in the background is the Ramganga river	A big thanks to the Yamaha factory riders (with Morita San in the center) for all the hard work they put in to plan this ride	Sanjay Tripathi has been the face of Yamaha India for most of us journos, and we have always found him riding enthusia-stically along with us on all the media rides

Roland whacks the throttle on the latest generartion of V4 litre class power available for the street. Behold the Aprilia RSV4!
Photography: Milagro

 

The first session had been horrible, but this was fantastic fun. The rain was coming down quite hard now, and the slippery Misano track had already seen three crashes this morning. But as the RSV4 tipped smoothly into the turns, drove through with a guttural V4 growl, and then catapulted towards the next bend with a stirring howl, the speed and poise of Aprilia’s new challenger was thrilling despite the conditions.

This was the upmarket Factory version of the Italian firm’s new super-sports flagship, and the name was well deserved. The production RSV4 was managing — with its looks, its agility, its suspension control and sheer power — to give a flavour of the works V4 on which Max Biaggi has shaken up the established players in the first weeks of the World Superbike season.

It shouldn’t really have been a surprise to anyone that Aprilia would be so competitive so quickly on the track, or that the 183PS production RSV4 would be mighty good to ride. After all, the Noale firm is part of the Piaggio Group that is Europe’s biggest bike firm. More than three years and 25 million euros have been invested in this project, after starting with a blank sheet of paper.

“Our goal was clear,” Piaggio’s director of motorcycle engineering Romano Albesiano had said last night. “We wanted to build the fastest motorcycle on the racetrack, for use on track and road. There were no limitations; no constraints. We were free to choose the engine layout and the chassis. We wanted to make the most compact super-sports bike ever built, and we did it in a unique way: by combining the work of two teams, the engineers of the R&D department and the race department.”

Aprilia’s history also pointed to the RSV4 making an immediate impact. Back in 1998 the original RSV Mille V-twin, the firm’s first ever superbike, was a fine roadster although it never turned World Superbike race wins into a championship victory. This new bike’s links to the V-twin include its trio of headlights and aluminium beam frame layout. But this all-new V4 is very different; lower and more compact, as well as more stylish.

The dozen RSV4s poking from Misano pit garages had cut through the early morning gloom. Miguel Galluzzi, creator of Ducati’s Monster and now head of Piaggio’s design team, has given the V4 a unique and aggressive look. The sharp lines of the cut-down fairing and sculpted tailpiece are reflected in the upswept black silencer. The aluminium frame spars are smooth and polished. Classy, typical Factory-spec touches include Öhlins suspension, Brembo radial Monoblocs and forged Marchesini wheels.

There’s nothing particularly unusual about the view from the rider’s seat, which is quite low and slim (although luxurious compared to the razor-blade that a pillion gets to sit on). Clip-on bars bolt to 43mm forks whose gold-and-blue tops jut through the cast top yoke. A low screen gives a view of the digital display. But there was definitely something special about the way the motor came to life with a raw, raspy V4 sound through the four-into-one exhaust, revving urgently as I blipped the throttle.

Being tall I was glad to find that despite the bike’s compact dimensions it didn’t feel cramped. But I wasn’t glad about the weather. Aprilia had gambled by holding the launch in north-eastern Italy, and had been rewarded by rain. The standard Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa SP tyres had been replaced by softer still racing wets, but I still didn’t enjoy relearning the slippery circuit, especially after one guy had crashed on the opening lap.

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Miguel Galluzzi, Director of Piaggio Group Style Centre “I joined Aprilia in September 2006 and in my first week we started talking about this bike. The engine was already on the test bench. To start such an important project with a clean sheet of paper was a once in a lifetime opportunity. “But this was also a very difficult project because the RSV4 is very small, which gives extra problems for a designer. Size was the priority: the bike is nimble, the form is the function. Next priority was to make it distinctive — to create the face and the tail. When you see it coming it’s an Aprilia; when it’s going away it’s an Aprilia. “It was a conscious decision to keep the bodywork to a minimum, to let people see the engine and the frame. We thought there would be a lot of heat coming to the rider but when we tested the bike we found the hot air goes away. We spent quite a lot of time in the wind tunnel, but not too much because you can get confused by it. “The hardest part was the exhaust. Designing something that looks good with the necessary volume is a big problem. We tried maybe 150 different solutions: with one silencer, two, high, low, all over the place. When we got the look we started working on the sound — getting that metallic note when the valve opens up… “This is a good time at Aprilia. Everyone here has the passion for motorcycling. We have a budget, and the right way of working. This engine will lead to other exciting bikes. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

The bike was not to blame for that. To suit the conditions Aprilia’s technicians had suggested setting the three-way injection map to the S for Sports position, the middle of the three. This is easily done, using the starter button while the motor is running. The T for Track setting gives max power in all gears; S smooths delivery and cuts max output in the lower three ratios; and R for Road flattens the torque curve and limits output to 142PS at all times.

With the Sport setting selected the V4 was fabulously flexible and sweet-revving. The close-ratio box’s first gear is tall, so I was splashing round the tighter bends with the revs dropping below 5000rpm. Yet the Aprilia picked up sweetly as I cautiously opened the ride-by-wire throttle. The engine note was initially gravelly; a touch of vibration briefly came through the footrests… then the sound rose in pitch and the motor smoothed as the bike stormed down the straight, kicking harder at about 8000rpm and hurtling towards the next turn.

On the wet track I was happy to leave the engine in S mode for almost all my three sessions. A brief test of the Road setting was enough to suggest that its gentler delivery might be useful occasionally. There was certainly not enough grip to allow any advantage from the Track setting’s full power in the lower gears, so I left that for another day.

Even in the dry there would have been no room at Misano to get close to the Aprilia’s near-300km/h top speed, but the bike was into fifth in the generally sweet-shifting box, and still pulling hard (no time to glance down at the digital speedo) on the main straight. That’s despite it having to cut through the wind and rain with my unaerodynamic body increasing the bike’s tiny frontal area despite my efforts to hide behind the low screen. The RSV4 certainly felt seriously fast; just how fast it is remains to be seen.

Full analysis of its handling ability will also have to wait, because the track didn’t dry out. It’s ironic that the RSV4 has the most comprehensively adjustable chassis ever seen on a production streetbike — giving the option to change steering geometry, ride height, swing-arm pivot point and even engine position — but the weather meant that I didn’t adjust even its suspension.

Instead I was happy that the front and rear Öhlins units were reasonably soft and very well damped, and gave good feedback in conjunction with the super-soft Pirellis. Misano’s relatively recent change to run anti-clockwise has resulted in a couple of tricky, decreasing-radius right-hand turns that put emphasis on front-end grip. So it was just as well that the RSV4 steered with a light and neutral feel that made direction changes easy.

I hadn’t expected to enjoy splashing round in the wet, even so. But during my second session the bike felt so precise, controllable and sweet-handling that I was having a great time despite the rain. I was cornering faster, leaving my braking later — glad that the Brembo Monoblocs gave plenty of feel, as well as stopping power — and winding on the gas earlier and harder out of the turns.

Then I had a biggish rear-end slide exiting the same second-gear left-hander that had seen a Greek rider high-side in the previous session. Clearly even this most rider-friendly and poised of bikes could easily exceed its limits. By mid-afternoon seven riders had crashed. Our final session was cancelled amid fears that Aprilia would run out of bikes for the following day.

So the RSVR Factory’s debut ended inconclusively, and the V4 still has work to do to show that it can be as competitive a production bike as its works-racer variant has shown it can be in World Superbikes. Perhaps Aprilia will give the Factory traction control, to compete with Ducati’s similarly priced 1198S, after introducing the cheaper RSV4-R model (with Showa springs, cast wheels and probably a simpler, non-adjustable frame) that is expected in about six months’ time.

Despite the weather and the crashes, though, the Factory had done enough to suggest that Aprilia’s second major assault on the open-class superbike market will be even more successful than the first. The competition is hotter than ever this year. But the RSV4 was mighty good in the rain, and will surely be better still in the dry. The superbike world has a very serious new challenger.

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CHASSIS The chassis is comprehensively adjustable and allows the rider to change steering geometry, ride height, swingarm pivot point and engine position	ELECTRONICS The tachometer red lines a notch higher than 14K revs while the large display provides a wealth of information with features like a lap timer, speedo etc. The throttle is mated to a fly-by-wire technology for monstrous performance	ENGINE The 999.6cc 65° V-four cylinder engine uses a ride-by-wire multimap technology which takes engine management to practically infinite possibilities for further development. A sophisticated electronic injection system with two injectors and adjustable height ducts aid futher performance gain

RSV4 Tech
This bike represents the start of an important new family for Aprilia, who threw huge resources into developing an engine that will eventually power naked and sports-touring models, as well as a base-model R version of the RSV4. The firm’s aim to create the “missing link between track and road” led them to use engineers from both R&D and race teams, and to run sophisticated computer programmes to analyse potential lap times of numerous engine layouts — including V-twin, triple and transverse four — before opting for a dohc V4.

An eight-valve V4 with cylinders at 65 degrees was eventually chosen as the best compromise between engine power — for which a larger angle allows more space for intakes — size and vibration level. “We chose the configuration with optimum performance and mass distribution,” said Piaggio’s bike engineering chief Romano Albesiano. “We wanted to keep the same weight distribution as the RSV V-twin, but make it smaller. The V4 is narrower and produces less vibration than an in-line four, so the higher development and manufacturing costs were worthwhile.”

The 999cc engine’s dimensions of 78 x 52.3mm match those of Yamaha’s latest R1, the most oversquare of Japan’s inline fours. Camshaft drive is by lateral chain to the intake cam, then gear to the exhaust cam, allowing very compact cylinder heads. Titanium is used for the valves; magnesium for the engine covers. A single balancer shaft minimises vibration. The transmission incorporates a six-speed cassette gearbox and wet, mechanical slipper clutch.

Breathing is highly sophisticated, featuring variable length intake ducts and ride-by-wire throttle control. The Weber-Marelli injection system incorporates two injectors per cylinder: one located downstream of the throttle valve for optimum low-rev response; the other in the airbox to boost fuel atomisation for maximum high-rev power. Peak output is a claimed 183PS at 12,500rpm. Pressing the starter button toggles between the maximum output T (Track) mode; S (Sport) which smooths output and limits torque in the first three gears; and R (Road) which gives a 142PS limit in all gears.

Aprilia’s road and race heritage demanded a polished, twin-spar aluminium frame. The RSV4’s is welded from cast and pressed sections, weighs 10.1kg, and is fine-tuned for optimum stiffness, giving 39 per cent more torsional rigidity than the RSV V-twin’s equivalent, but less rigidity elsewhere. The matching aluminium swing-arm weighs 5.1kg and is stiffer than its predecessor in every respect. Most of the 17 litres of fuel lives under the seat, for improved weight distribution.

The RSV4’s key chassis feature is a level of adjustability unprecedented in a production bike. Removable steering head inserts can alter the headstock position and alter rake and trail from the standard settings of 24.5 degrees and 105mm. Rear end height can be adjusted via the swing-arm pivot as well as shock length. Even the engine has alternative mounting points.

This adjustability is largely for the benefit of Aprilia’s Superbike race team, and springs from the race department’s close collaboration in the RSV4’s design. “Some targets such as power, weight and handling were clear to both the R&D department and the racing engineers, but the potential for chassis adjustment was a demand of the racing department,” says veteran RSV engineer Mariano Fioravanzo. “The adjustable frame was more complicated and expensive, and we discussed it a lot. But in the end the racing department got what they wanted.”

The Factory model’s cycle parts match the frame’s quality. The 43mm usd forks, piggy-back shock and steering damper are all by Öhlins. Forged wheels are a kilogramme lighter than those of the Factory V-twin, let alone cast alternatives. Brembo’s radial Monobloc calipers bite purpose-designed 320mm discs. Carbon-fibre mudguards and sidepanels contribute to a claimed weight of 179kg without oil or battery.