TVS Apache RTR 310 Road Test Review: Good-looking City Slicker

Can the Apache RTR 310 beat the fantastic KTM 390 Duke, or even the new 250 Duke?

When we first rode the TVS Apache RTR 310, it turned out to be a fun commuter, but it didn’t leave a good impression as a bike that you can use for everything (commutes, highway rides and touring). But then that was a short first ride and when we finally got the bike for a couple of days at our office, we put it through our usual set of tests and discovered quite a lot of things about it, some nice and some not so nice. Here’s what we thought about the most powerful Apache bike:  

Apache RTR 310: Design

The TVS Apache RTR 310 is actually quite an imposing bike in person, one that you just can’t help but notice. In person, its LED headlight actually looks quite big and that coupled with its aggressive design language definitely makes it stand out. Be it filtering through traffic or parking it in public spaces, the RTR 310 grabs attention and if that’s what you want, there’s no other bike in the segment quite like it. 

Even when compared to the new-gen KTM Dukes, the KTM Duke 390 and the Duke 250, the Apache still has a bit of an edge. Yes, the new-gen Dukes’ headlight design is also quite sharp and attention-grabbing, but the RTR 310’s headlight is actually bigger in sheer size. Also, the KTM’s orange colour scheme, as loud and flashy as it is, is something that Indians have gotten used to over the past many years. The RTR 310’s bright yellow paint scheme and overall design, on the other hand, is a lot fresher for us. That way, after grabbing people’s attention, the RTR 310 retains it just that little bit more than the new Dukes.   

As of now, the RTR 310 is offered in 3 colours: Fury Yellow, Arsenal Black and Sepang Blue. If you want something bright that stands out the most, Fury Yellow is definitely the one to go for. But if you want something on the other side of things, something that’s more subtle, the Arsenal Black looks quite nice and elegant. Those looking for something in the middle will like the Sepang Blue colourway. 

What Is The Mileage Of Apache RTR 310? What’s The Engine Performance Of Apache RTR310?

Let’s set some context first. The RTR 310 has the Apache RR 310’s engine but with some internal revisions, it makes about 1.6PS and 1.4Nm more than its sportsbike sibling. That makes it the most powerful TVS bike in production. What TVS has also changed on the RTR is the rear sprocket, making it bigger by giving it 4 extra teeth. Without getting into the boring details, what that has done is made the RTR 310 feel quicker lower down the revs. So while that makes it quite peppy right off the line, it can also feel a bit jerky. You see, 4 extra teeth are a lot and every time you roll on the throttle, the bike wants to just jump ahead and that makes on and off throttle transitions quite jerky. It can catch you off-guard every now and then and it’s not very pleasant. 

Sure, the throttle response dials down once you put it in the Urban mode and that jerkiness is gone. But then Urban mode is a bit too gentle and the acceleration isn’t really exciting. For someone who’s buying a sporty streetfighter bike in this segment, you’d obviously want it to be exciting. So switching to Urban mode isn’t really a long term solution. Funnily enough, despite this extra low end grunt, the RR 310 is actually still quicker than the RTR in all three of our acceleration runs. Sure, the margins aren’t large and the RR 310 has better aerodynamics (its fairing helps cut through wind better), but being the more powerful bike, you’d expect the RTR 310 to be quicker. Check it out below: 

Where the RTR 310 is actually quicker is in the roll-on figures, meaning it has more mid-range grunt and would hence require fewer gear changes to get good acceleration. But the difference between the two is too little to be felt in the real world: 

 And where the sprocket change really starts hurting the RTR 310 is when you reach higher speeds. For perspective, here’s a comparison of the RTR 310 and RR 310’s top speeds in the first 3 gears:  

 As you can see, in order to achieve better acceleration off the line, the RTR 310’s top-end performance has been compromised and it achieves significantly lower top speeds in each gear. In fact, even its top speed is a claimed 150kmph, as opposed to a claimed 160kmph for the Apache RR 310. Now, of course you shouldn’t really do any of those speeds on our roads, but this change has made the RTR 310 a lot more stressed at higher rpms. The bike does 100kmph in 6th gear at about 7000rpm and it’s quite vibey then. You’d expect a 300cc+ bike to sit comfortably at 100kmph for it to be a good tourer and that’s something the RTR 310 fails to do. At highway speeds, the bike doesn’t feel very pleasant and that makes the RTR 310 far from ideal for touring. Even those short highway rides left my hands buzzing from the vibrations. 

These vibrations are not only irritating, but can also cause the panels to rattle over a period of time, something that prospective owners will need to watch out for. 

But one bit about the RTR 310 that you’ll absolutely enjoy is the quickshifter. It’s smooth and very precise and never felt clunky. Now, both the 390 and 250 Duke also have quickshifters, but in our opinion, theirs is a little bit too sensitive. While it’s great when you want a good launch in maybe a race, it can be a bit jerky for beginners who might be using quickshifters for the first time. The RTR 310’s quickshifter is a lot more beginner-friendly because it’s not as sensitive. Even if you end up lazily hovering your left foot around the gear lever, it’ll not threaten to shift, something that can be the case on the Dukes’ quickshifter. The RTR 310’s quickshifter will shift only when you firmly put your foot on the gear lever and we think that’s a great way for beginners (like me) to learn to use quickshifters. 

A special mention also goes to the RTR 310’s traction control. Traction control is essentially a system that cuts power each time you accelerate too hard and when your rear tyre steps out, preventing a potential crash. The RTR 310’s TC system cuts the power in a seamless manner, where you barely even feel the lack of power for that millisecond. Every time I got too enthusiastic with my right hand, the traction control kicked in and the rear tyre was back in place before I could even realise it. 

TVS Apache RTR 310: Handling And Ride Quality 

 TVS has really been nailing the chassis and handling department of its Apache bikes and the RTR 310 is no different. It feels very light and changing directions is effortless. Between your legs, it feels quite compact and you can filter through traffic effortlessly. The Michelin Road 5 tyres are very grippy and we have absolutely nothing to complain about. The braking is quite nice too. There’s a sharp initial bite and then it’s very progressive. It’s not razor sharp like the Dukes and in sudden braking situations, you will have to grab the brakes a little bit more than what you’d do on the Dukes, but the progressiveness is again something that beginners will appreciate. 

What I really liked was the suspension. Now, my 68kg frame is used to getting tossed around on such sporty bikes due to their firmly-sprung, sporty suspension setups. Now while the RTR 310 is on the firmer side too, it actually absorbs bad roads quite nicely and for a bike in this 300-400cc segment, the suspension actually feels very nice in the city. 

But what was even more of a pleasant surprise was how well it handles bad roads at high speeds. On my weekend ride, I ended up going over big speedbreakers and potholes at speeds higher than what I should have, but the suspension absorbed it brilliantly. And not only that, even when I went through some nasty potholes at high speeds, never once did the bike threaten to go into a tank slapper (when the suspension doesn’t absorb undulations well, the front tyre goes out of alignment with the rear tyre and handlebar starts shaking wildly, threatening to throw the rider off the bike and cause a crash). The suspension just absorbed the bumps and resumed doing its thing like nothing happened. 

In terms of dimensions as well, the RTR 310 is quite accessible. Its 800mm seat height is easy to get on and the bike is quite narrow, so getting your feet on the ground is very easy. At 169kg kerb, it’s not really heavy and is fairly easy to move around at low speeds in traffic or even to push around in parking lots. In our tests, the Apache RTR 310 gave us a mileage of 28.49kmpl in the city and 35.34kmpl out on the highway. So irrespective of how you ride, the 11-litre fuel tank should give you more than 300km of range on a full tank. As for the ground clearance, 180mm is more than enough, even for our roads.   

TVS Apache RTR 310 Features Explained

Where do even start with the RTR 310’s features. Its 5-inch TFT console packs features that are not just segment-first, but possibly first ever on a motorcycle! So instead of boring you with long paragraphs, here’s a quick look at some of the most useful features on the RTR 310:  

Now yes, some of these sound like things you will never really use, but the good thing is that all the rider aids are well calibrated and will keep the rider safe. So as long as the fancy bits aren’t getting in the way of a good riding experience, we’re not complaining. One complaint though, would be that the console’s colours and layout changes each time you change the riding modes. That means your brain suddenly loses track of where each piece of data (like the tripmeter, odometer, average speeds, etc) is and you’ve to rewire it. We wish TVS had at least kept the layout the same for most modes. 

These things said, not every feature mentioned above comes as standard. The RTR 310 is offered with two kits and neither of them are cheap. Here’s what each one packs: 

Apart from these, if you want the Sepang Blue colour scheme (which does look very nice), you’ll have to shell out an additional Rs 10,000. 

Should You Buy The TVS Apache RTR 310? 

The TVS Apache RTR 310 is a good looking bike that handles well and is full of features. So if you want something that’s comfortable enough for just your everyday commutes and occasional highway rides, but something that does that in style and grabs a lot of attention, the RTR 310 might make for a good buy. 

But if you’ve bigger ambitions like touring, track days or even longer highway rides, the RTR 310’s vibey engine will bother you. And then when you start factoring the costs of the two aforementioned kits, it makes the RTR 310’s ex-showroom price (Rs 3,22,000) more than the 390 Duke (Rs 3,12,461)! For perspective, the 390 Duke is a whole lot more exciting than the RTR 310 and gets a quickshifter and adjustable suspension as standard. And given how the 300-500cc space has grown within the past 2-odd years, you might think that you can do better with that kind of money and you wouldn’t be wrong. Those looking for outright performance and sheer excitement will love the mad KTM 390 Duke or even the calmer but very capable 250 Duke (Rs 2,40,704). And if you want something more manageable (but still plenty fast), the Triumph Speed 400 (Rs 2,34,497, all prices ex-showroom Delhi) makes for an excellent choice as well.