right Sir...
shakehand from my side with big smile on my face...

ya i got Mr.prafultripathy's point now.....
everythings clear...
smiles everywhere.........

things clear now....
i misunderstood the lines and it happened....

and i apologize to everyone( specially to Mr.prafultripathy....)who felt that i'm gettting too hot in my head

Apache family is a great handler no matter how the wheelbase is.
About flickabilty,

apache 150> apache RTR 160> apache RTR 180.

I have ridden RTR 180 and find it as not as flickable as 160. The things differ in 180 compared to 160 are

1. More wheelbase(more lengthier chain - weight of chain and swingarm)
2. wider rear tyre
3. light weight tubeless tyres
4. wider handle bar and bigger bar end weights.
5. more strengthened chassis to handle extra power.
6. little softer suspension compared to 160.
7. 17 inch back tyres.

All these things make some changes in handling.

I was doing a research on wheelbase increase in apache's flickabilty. My bike is an apache 150, its wheelbse was 1260mm which was more flickable than RTR 160. Later I have changed my swigarm to ZMA . Then its wheelbase was 1355mm. I have used that swigarm for almost 1.5 years and later changed to RTR 160's swigarm(wheelbase-1300mm). When I was using ZMA swigarm with and without rear set it was handling very well as it was an apache with front based weight distribution. But the bike was very less flickable due to high wheelbase. But stabilty was huge due to M45 rear tyre and ZMA swingarm.U can see my bike with ZMA swigarm in my album. After changing the swingarm to RTR 160 I feel it as very flickable but not as good as A150. In the case of RTR 180 I felt same it is very flickable but not as good as 160.

Hey Mr. Bumblebee, wtf are you doing here in the pissy little 0.18-litre section? go back to your (almost) 1 litre forum ! j/k

it's nice to have an sbk owner contributing to the rtr thread, those were some awesome calculations, currently not in any state to make any sense of them though ... ( see last line), cheers anyway

rest of the guys, good that the discussion is sorted out. you have to understand that each person can have a different opinion/feel about the same bike. live and let live ...

there are many factors to the 180. the tubless tyres, smaller wheels and longer handlebars would make turning easier, while the longer wheelbase, wider/(diff profile?) tyre and more overall weight would make it harder.

My personal experience of the fi was that the profile of the rear tyre made it 'fall' into turns, i.e. the wedge shape vs curved profile. the so called razor sharp handling is actually a stupidly designed tyre. the theory would be that the flat part of the wedge would provide more traction in a straight line and the flatter edges would have more grip when leaned over. sadly, they didn't consider (or care about) the transition between straight and leaned. at the end of the day, a bike that is able to make up for the riders faults is much better than one that accentuates them. it wasn't an entirely pleasant experience for me. i love feedback from the bike, brakes and tyres but this was way off. I must mention that i actively countersteer ALL THE TIME, years of practise have thankfully made that possible, so a wider tyre or longer wheelbase wouldn't make it that much harder for me. but the way the fi suddenly drops into the turn was unnerving at first, now i'm used to it, but it's still not perfect; just need to change that damn rear tyre. But i still agree that the 180 would be different so i'll reserve the rest of my comments till after i test the bike.

but praful (and the rest with the same thoughts), please don't be naive and think that the psychological aspects aren't important. truly great riders are the one who are able to master their minds and fears while still being able to think rationally.

cheers all, i truly believe that today, the rtr 180 is one of the best bikes you could buy even when you consider the r15.

again, the zapper q is a very smooth curved profile as compare to the 100/80 tvs stock rear tyre.

not really. every other bike i've owned including the rd350, cbz, p180 and bajaj boxer were easier to 'cut' in slow(er) city traffic. the rtr is a PITA in rush hour traffic. it surely excels in corners and on the track but not traffic. partly to blame are the low-reach clipons, forward weight bias and the crappy lock-to-lock turn limit of the bars. but the rest of the bike makes up for it when you get that little open space in the traffic.

p.s.

the lines in bold point entirely to the longer wheelbase and wider rear tyre since the bike doesnt really lean when 'cutting' in traffic. But the wider bars should make it easier ... maybe it would be even harder if the bars were the older length.

[OT ]

Hey ! you can NEVER have too much beer ! (all this is after only 5 pints of tuborg . freaking thursday party of all things)

[/OT]

p.p.s. NOBODY badmouths renny's fi! (that's why this went on so long)

p.p.p.s. i spent more than 30 mins reading, multiquoting, typing and editing (and spellchecking (so i'm OCD)) this reply. i'm sure that tomorrow i wont remember any of it so pls excuse.

Absolutely true!!

Ok, enough of the flickable thing.2 days back i got a call from theTVS Service Department of the showroom(or region, i dont know). The guy asked me about the service experience during the 1st service and enquired about the performance of the bike/any issues being faced.I told him about the tappet noise and vibrations from the handlebar.He quickly asked me to bring the bike the next day and will give a thorough look at the bike.Also asked me to give a service rating in the point scale of 10...I gave 8 points..He said next time he will make sure that i give 10 out 10!!

i was thinkin where are you and here you came........

+1 to all the lines in bold....





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I rode both the bikes back to back once again after seeing your argument.
The 180 was just out out of its 1st service&had clocked somewhere around 1.2K kms. Engine was still very tight. Brakes were screeching a bit, donno why in a new bike though.
Coming down to the real point, I noticed the slightly longer handlebar end weights. I took both for a spin on a twisty road to test the new swingarm&rear tyre. I tried cornering at about 80kmph. The 180 felt more stable and confidence inspiring on cornering than the 160. I think it is due to the extended wheelbase.
That said, I could hardly find any other difference other than a small heavier feeling in the front of the 180, but that could be because the 160 is a year old, has a slightly loose fork&no mirrors.
Whatever it is, both are killers as far as handling is concerned, I think 180 has a slightly bigger bike feel to it.

Hey guys , I got my White 180 yesterday , wanted to write here - i had internet prbs. 1st day i had some speedo prbs , will come back at nite and give a detailed explaination of the prb , bye bye

Hmmm..brother i was about to the say something like that!!...except for the speedo problem everything else is same in my case( even the internet problems)..
Got the RTR a day before yesterday.Internet at my place was not working so it took time to send in the report.
The bike is just amazing!!..Handling is just too good and i felt it as flickable and user-friendly like the A150...I am still following the first 1000KM restrictions i.e riding it at a max. speed of about 50-60kmph and the tacho is always kept below 4k mark..
But yaar,i wish to share a problem that i've been noticing since the very first day of the delivery of the bike..The idle RPM is around 1200-1400 mark but when the bike is not in 'N' mode or at gears the idle RPM crosses 2500 mark.Secondly, i rode the bike for about an hour yesterday and the engine produced heat like hell as it's not a single cylinder but inline-4 engine!!!

OK Guys , Yesterday The Speedo showed me 160 when i was going at 40 , it was fluctuating like hell , so i stopped the biked for a min and then started again , in 1st gear i reached 0-80 in less then a sec.when i reached aprox 20 the speedo was in 3 figures,i was !@#^#%$ wanted to screw those guys. i went to the showroom today , while i was going i realized that the speedo was working fine. i told the mech there wht happ , he said thtz highly impossible.then i showed him the top speed mark , it was 160 then he atleast gave a thought abt what i said and asked me to go to their service center and the mech their saw my bike , took a test drive and said its fine , if the prb comes up again then contact us . now ur speedo is absolutely fine!!!!
Should i live with this because its working fine now or shd i fight and get it replaced???

My bike

These are the pics. Any suggestions abt the speedo ???
ps:no speedo prb again after the 1st time

If it happens again, fight and get it replaced.

Where'd you take those pics?

It was raining ot the bike was just washed, because evertime my bike is washed at the service center same thing happens till the bike is completely dry also the neutral light is always lit very dim and while the bike is actually in neutral it is very bright. All this happens in wet conditions.

Thtz Vizag for u my frnd , we have many good beaches , i might also add small but more beautiful beaches than mumbai. it was on the way to my coll

Point Noted , thnx

ditto on my fi. it goes away after 15 mins of riding though.

mumbai beaches are as dirty as a pig's arse. any other beach in india would be better. small is good too, less people go to small beaches.

Congrats, dude for your newest acquisition.Dont forget to click some pics of your bike besides the awesome beaches and the brilliant city roads of Vizag.

And about your speedo issue, force them to get a replacement the next time it occurs.

Ride Safe.