TVS APACHE RR310

The TVS Apache RR310’s 2020 update is more than just cleaner emissions!

- ROHIT PARADKAR

Let’s start with a bit of a backstory. At the 2018 OVERDRIVE awards, we were at the Madras Motor Race Track in Chennai to execute the judging process.

As you would expect there was a big line-up of motorcycles from that year to ride around. By the end of it, I was fixated on the BMW S1000RR. “What a motorcycle!” I kept exclaiming in my helmet. I couldn’t stop riding it until the sunset forced me to. Not like it was the only fast machine available to us that day – there were amazing Triumphs and Ducatis too. But nothing came close to the excitement benchmark that the S1000RR set for me that day. Yet, one bike that managed to stand out and put a smile on my face on every lap I took it out, was the TVS Apache RR310.

Yes, it’s nowhere as manic, not as powerful, nor as sharp a handler as the S1000RR. And yet it is so enjoyable. The way it lets you push your limits, you know it is cut from the same fabric as the S1000RR – and no I’m not hinting at the BMW engine or TVS’ relationship with the Germans. I’m talking about this being a true supersport. Even though we have often called it an all-rounder which is just as good at sport touring or commuting – it doesn’t feel like a compromise in the supersport universe. If you were to chart a natural progression course in the supersport genre, starting from the YZF-R15 all the way up to the liter-class stalwarts like the S1000RR, the RR310 fits right in as the second step you could take on the way up. In the wake of the BSVI emission norms, the motorcycle has been given yet another update – and in typical TVS fashion, it is quite a sizeable one. A BSVI compliant engine, new electronics, a jazzy new dash, smartphone connectivity, a new two-tone colour scheme and new rubber!