[madhuperiasamy]

Originally Posted by v1kram

A short update, the new bus (LPO 1512TC) mentioned on post # 57 is giving a mileage of 3.4kmpl which is similar to it's predecessor (BS2 AL). It's been 10 days since the bus has been inducted and it seems there was a minor niggle with accelerator cable which has been sorted out.

Operational problem - Accelerator Cable cut
on 26.10.2012 - at 9 pm
60 passengers - women and children stranded late in the night. Made alternate arrangements with a lot of difficulty.
This complaint has earlier been reported with other vehicles too - see post #77
Hope TATA takes concrete action soon.
Complaint registered with TATA toll free - Complaint number - 17340976106
Shall report on swiftness of action taken.
Lasting solution needs to be taken soon as this is one situation any operator can ill afford and dreads.

[TheARUN]

Thanks for the prompt updates, very bad from TATA, still using a cable for the accelerator, they can use a shaft directly connecting the pedal to the engine

Also, was at a tyre shop to buy bike tyres, a set of 10:20 MRF costs 35,000. Kitting out a Bus with new tyres will cost 1,00,000 and @ 80,000 kilometers of life and assuming there are two retreads, the cost per kilometer just for the tyres is going to be 4 per kilometer!

The mileage is really low, 3 is what the VOLVO B7Rs of yore used to deliver, all STCs are at 5 (every Depot has a mileage dashboard with the names of the top Drivers and the frugality they can squeeze from their machines)

Just the fuel and tyres cost 20 per kilometer, add on maintenance, salaries, taxes and Capital servicing costs, wonder how the guys make money

[madhuperiasamy]

The Ergo Pack Cluster



Driver console

[SAE40 in veins]

This is not the Ergo Pack as was being referred in the earlier posts. This is the normal standard cluster found in LCVs and some HCVs. Ergo Pack AFAIK has round dials.

[v1kram]

Couple of LPO 1512C chassis (first picture - chassis in the center and a TATA chassis in the second picture) belonging to fellow BHPian Dr. Madhu is getting ready for body built in AE Coach.

[teamveevee]

Originally Posted by v1kram

Couple of LPO 1512C chassis (first picture - chassis in the center and a TATA chassis in the second picture) belonging to fellow BHPian Dr. Madhu is getting ready for body built in AE Coach.

Is it an old picture, or Dr Madhu is getting another bus? Still waiting for Dr Madhu's ownership thread!

[dhandapanik]

Originally Posted by teamveevee

Is it an old picture, or Dr Madhu is getting another bus? Still waiting for Dr Madhu's ownership thread!

Madhu is getting 2 more new buses for his city buses running in karur. Those are being built at AE.

[SAE40 in veins]

Dear Madhu ..... Now that a month has passed, do you hav any updates. Is the bus running fine

[v1kram]

Originally Posted by teamveevee

Is it an old picture, or Dr Madhu is getting another bus? Still waiting for Dr Madhu's ownership thread!

As said by Dhandapani, these are two additional chassis been bought for city application as the previous bus was for Mofussil service.

Originally Posted by dhandapanik

Madhu is getting 2 more new buses for his city buses running in karur. Those are being built at AE.

Originally Posted by SAE40 in veins

Dear Madhu ..... Now that a month has passed, do you hav any updates. Is the bus running fine

Dr. Madhu may not be available for further comments (may be for a week or so) since his father passed away all of a sudden, it would take some time for Madhu to be back to normal.

[ramzsys]

Saw another Madhus bus(this is a town service i guess, from Karur to Sengal) getting ready, with almost the same decals as the first one

[v1kram]

Originally Posted by ramzsys

Saw another Madhus bus(this is a town service i guess, from Karur to Sengal) getting ready, with almost the same decals as the first one

Two buses for town service (in karur) were getting ready with same decals (with a change of color), pictures would be posted soon. Chassis pictures were posted in post # 125.

[v1kram]

Two new twins based on LPO 1512TC chassis.

[teamveevee]

Originally Posted by v1kram

Two new twins based on LPO 1512TC chassis.

Congratulations....Still waiting for the ownership thread on the first one..By the way how the first one is doing, how the performance so far, met expectations on maintenance, mileage etc?

[v1kram]

Originally Posted by teamveevee

Congratulations....Still waiting for the ownership thread on the first one..By the way how the first one is doing, how the performance so far, met expectations on maintenance, mileage etc?

The first bus is performing good as of now (apart from accelerator cable issue, which has been changed now), short update on owner's view will be posted soon by Dr. Madhu.

[madhuperiasamy]

Hi All,
Apologies for the long abscence.
All three Tata LPO 1512TC s are doing good except for some persistent nibbling issues in the 1st one. One closer scrutiny the second 2 seem to be have the "new recipe" engine. Ill elaborate with pictures later.
This post is a short review on the performance of the "old recipe" vehicle running from Coimbatore to Pollachi for stage carriage operations.
First of all the mileage has improved compared with the AL BS3 which we ran earlier. It averages 3.7 now compared to 3.2 of the AL..
The vehicle underwent a valve and timing check following which the mileage improved to 4.25 but the party lasted hardly a week with the mileage dropping again. Same driver, same load, same route and pilferage checked with a differential flow meter (report by Vikram follows). Any explanations? I could find none expect for some clutch complaints.
Second the drivers complain of a drop in the pickup as compared with the AL BS3 which may be explained by the lower powered engine but it looks like the "old recipie" too has something to do with the issue. Tata has promised to set it right in the next 2 weeks. Keep watching for news.
Next the drivers have been complaing of insufficient braking. Considering the Coimbatore - Pollachi route to be one of the busiest in the state this is one complaint that any operator will dread. This despite the NGT Brakes with wider shoes.
The accelerator cable broke a second time. ABT has given me a fourth spare for keeps. Quality of parts??? Whatever happened to the guys at QC at TML - they better buck up soon.

That's it for now. Will keep you posted.
PS - Do I need to start an ownership thread or can we continue in the same thread?