You read it right, opening up a new thread to feature what others would call R16 or R165 or "pimped R15".

Now a little something about my bike. It is one amongst the few first R15s to be sold in Bangalore. Frankly speaking, I didnt buy the bike because it looked like one mini SBK or for the best in-class power to weight ratio or for track riding etc etc. Since my Victor was used by my brother for his college commutes, I didnt have a bike. And for the sake of some brand variety (have 4 TVS bikes at home, another tvs would make it 5), I had to go for this. For a guy who graduated from a victor, one can easily say how enthralled I was with the new bike's power. A year later which included regular commute to office, R15 championships, track days; the so called 17PS bike no longer gave me the thrills. Thats when I met a doctor who goes by the name 'Joel' and works under the same roof as me. I have seen and rode his works R15 with all the hardware within the compounds of our software company (the FFE used to set off the alarm's of the cars, the security had a tough time and we just liked it). One day, I so happened to lament about my bike, "Big bore" ,he said was the cure to my disease.

Three - Four months later, the bike undergoes a heart transplant. A 165cc bore kit (bored out from a stock T135's boreand thats why the name 'T165') and a high lift cam to compliment. Immediatly after the transplant, I felt the bike was much slower. After more than 1000kms of running in the bike felt much smoother but it always felt like some one is literally choking the engine and preventing it from producing more power. Again, Joel to the rescue. A Free flow exhaust was the answer to the puzzle. Apparently the new cam needed the less restrictive FFE to exhale better. The bike is now a hundred times better and a performer when it comes to low and mid rev range torque. A recent track day made me realize that the exit speed and acceleration out of a corner is just amazing. Some folks had a tough time catching up as I remember. Also, a perfect set-up for the streets.

The engine despite the transplant screams like never before, the tacho has a difficult time reading the revs. You can say that there is some amount of delay or lag for the tacho to catch up to the revs. This thread would be incomplete if I dont mention the mileage(isnt it). I recently did a round trip to chennai for a track day. On reaching chennai, I was shocked to see two bars of fuel still left as indicated on the fuel guage(ie., is 340kms of constant belting, starting with a full tank), now you do the math for kms/ltr.

Did some say top speed. Frankly, I never did above 145kmph. (I know I know even, your R15 does 145 or 148 or 150 or even more than whats possible with the stock gearing, but then, the time it takes to do tha speed is all that matters)


All in all, a transformation which was well worth, EOD I am happy when I twist that throttle and thats what I wanted, just like the doctor prescribed.

Pics when I get the bike back from chennai.