[audioholic]

Superbly detailed review. Loved your attention to detail and the eye for the minute stuff.

Originally Posted by N33raj

They are LED units and upon closer inspection I can see 2 main rows of SMD type emitters: one for low and one for high. TVS does not mention the wattage of the lights but I found them to be bright inside the ASC.
Attachment 1713762

Attachment 1713839
Eh? What? Me no understand!

From your picture of the insides of the headlight assembly, it is stated that the Low beam is rated at 15.5w while the high beam is at 31W. As you correctly said, it is an array of SMD LED of which half is used for the low beam and the rest for high beam. Not sure if it is 31W watts for both left and right or per side. If it is the latter, then it is going to be a superb setup. OTOH, the LED lights of both the Dominar and the Duke arent that great.

But that text on the headlight assembly is so crude it looks like a pre-production piece. Who on earth writes stuff like 'New Driver PCB', Anti fog lens etc on a production piece? Its like some R&D prototype with different variants being brought in for testing. Hope this is for the first lot only.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by N33raj

What you will like:

• Smashing looks! Looks like a Ducati in the Red colour scheme.

• Engine has the show as well as the go.

• Equipment like USD forks, ABS, bi beam dual projector LED headlights, digital meter console, FI system, Michelin tyres, etc.

• Reverse inclined engine. Something to talk about when with friends.

What you won’t like:

• Missing equipment: slipper clutch, adjustable levers, switchable ABS.

• Paint, fit and finish is still not to the mark; squeaky panels.

• Small 11 litre fuel tank, limited range if going touring.

• Black colour will need lot of TLC to keep looking good.

Brilliant post buddy. Thanks for taking the time to note down such detailed observations. These are the kind of posts that really bring out the value of Team-bhp.

Originally Posted by N33raj

The handlebar has the usual mirror fitment point (the one near the switchgear) available on both sides: in the red bike they are covered with small caps while in the black one they are exposed.

Thats bad attention to detail. Looks like the aftereffect of parts sharing with some other cheaper bikes in the stable.

Originally Posted by N33raj

I had an issue with the gear shifter; well two issues rather. One was the false neutrals and clunky shifts; the other is more of a design thing: the oil filler cap is ahead of the shifter lever and my size 12 shoes were touching it while downshifting

Even Powerdrift (and I think OD?) said gearshifts where clunky in the new bikes but settled down well later on. So we can give TVS the benefit of the doubt?

Size 12 shoes are rather rare too.

Originally Posted by N33raj

Then there is the issue of mud spatter. Due to the yard being dusty, the good folks had sprayed copious amounts of water to keep the dust in control; this also resulted in small puddles and I took this as an opportunity to test out the mud guards. This is what happened

Is that a radiator guard displayed in the first picture. Good if everything is placed underneath the guard.

Originally Posted by N33raj

The fit and finish was not up tp my expectation or I suppose I went there with high expectations. Panel gaps are mostly uniform but not always.

Now that is something hidden by the media folks which all mentioned impeccable attention to detail.

Originally Posted by N33raj

Split seats with the pillion's being one storey up. Gets a lock for the seat. Not much useable space inside anyway. Can keep my pet mouse or its food but not both.

Originally Posted by audioholic

OTOH, the LED lights of both the Dominar and the Duke arent that great.

Which bike does better than the Dominar when it comes to stock lighting setup? Agree regarding the Duke LEDs though. Surprisingly bad compared to the Bajaj.

[AtheK]

Great pics buddy and a lot of attention to detail. If we add a drive experience to these pics, we have pretty much a full review available.

I guess the bike with the scribble (Was it black or red), might be the test drive vehicle and not to be sold to the customer. The sticker job should be a 2 min job which dealer should be able to complete, but puts doubts on the QC carried by TVS itself.

I am worried about the misalignment/gaps of some panels and the paint job on some contact points. It's giving me second thought of picking the bike from first lot, as you mentioned. I guess i will not follow up with the dealer anymore, and let him call me if he wants to deliver the bike to me in first lot. I will spare myself some extra calls to get hold on it ASAP.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Which bike does better than the Dominar when it comes to stock lighting setup? Agree regarding the Duke LEDs though. Surprisingly bad compared to the Bajaj.

I am surprised you are telling this owning a Versys. The twin H7 lights on my Ninja illuminate brilliantly. Especially on the highway the range of high beam is equivalent to a car. Check below pic for reference



I wonder if the LED high beams can penetrate to this level. Its only in the low beams that they stand out.

EDIT: Added link to a post which has the video on the Dominar headlights http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...ml#post4148055

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by audioholic

I am surprised you are telling this owning a Versys. The twin H7 lights on my Ninja illuminate brilliantly. Especially on the highway the range of high beam is equivalent to a car.

Don't be surprised. Versys lights are pathetic. I'm probably the only 2016 owner still having only stock lights.

I recently did a ride to Kodachadri and back. I'm still on stock lights and I survived by tagging along with either the Dominar or the other Versys in the group (With Cyclops and added aux). Infact, the Dominar riding behind me was lighting up my path more than my lights could.

Coming back to the RR310 - a BHP'ian friend got a chance to check it out at night and was very much impressed. So having good hopes for it.

[Bhatman510]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Superbly detailed review. Loved your attention to detail and the eye for the minute stuff.



From your picture of the insides of the headlight assembly, it is stated that the Low beam is rated at 15.5w while the high beam is at 31W. As you correctly said, it is an array of SMD LED of which half is used for the low beam and the rest for high beam. Not sure if it is 31W watts for both left and right or per side. If it is the latter, then it is going to be a superb setup. OTOH, the LED lights of both the Dominar and the Duke arent that great.

But that text on the headlight assembly is so crude it looks like a pre-production piece. Who on earth writes stuff like 'New Driver PCB', Anti fog lens etc on a production piece? Its like some R&D prototype with different variants being brought in for testing. Hope this is for the first lot only.

More like the supplier. Lots of times info like that comes from the supplier of the part and it gets missed by QC. I have had my fair share of first article parts that are deemed good by QC for production and are tracked internally, but end up not being cleaned up for production. Tsk tsk on the production line support.

[stanjohn123]

I'm honestly a bit worried after reading about these funny quality issues and also me being in the first slot :-(. Should have booked a bit later.

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by stanjohn123

I'm honestly a bit worried after reading about these funny quality issues and also me being in the first slot :-(. Should have booked a bit later.

If you are having 2nd thoughts, cancelling your booking would be the prudent decision. Peace of mind is more important than regretting later.

Cheers,
Vikram

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by stanjohn123

I'm honestly a bit worried after reading about these funny quality issues and also me being in the first slot :-(. Should have booked a bit later.

The quality issues listed seem not too bad. Obviously after screaming about how great the build quality would be, it is a bit of a let down, however I don't think it is any cause for worry. All seem like basic things that can easily be rectified over time with visits to the mechanic. As long as nothing is mechanically wrong with the bike, I don't think you have much to fear.

[stanjohn123]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

If you are having 2nd thoughts, cancelling your booking would be the prudent decision. Peace of mind is more important than regretting later.

Cheers,
Vikram

Yeah once the initial ownership reviews are out, will have a clear idea whether to cancel or not. Issue is the distance of service center which is 600 Km's away. Can't go there frequently to fix niggles and issues.

[su1978]

Without any prejudice to anyone or without meaning any offence to any of the fast bike owners- Kindly suggest if we as members of this forum, are we not bound by the moral responsibility to drive safe for the sake of ourselves and our families? On our day to day commute, how many of us start revving the engine and hit the top speed or do a 0-100 dash immediately on the roads. Am sure about the fact that most of us normally like to drive at a comfortable cruising speed of 70-80, which as per me is good enough speed for bikes on Highways.

Not sure about the idea of TVS of bringing in a bike that is inspired by racing genes. Are they not aware about the fact that India neither does have the infrastructure(maximum speed is 100 on most of highways- be it Taj expressway or Agra-Lucknow Expressway) nor road sensible citizens(majority)? However, my above statement is not an indicative of the fact that we do not need bikes with more power. Yes, we do have a market for them but the end responsibility lies with us about how do we handle it. Am sure that this machine will fascinate youngsters(18-30 age group). The day i buy any such bike which is just meant for racing, i will ensure that i have a race track in front of my house to satiate my thirst for speed.

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by su1978

). The day i buy any such bike which is just meant for racing, i will ensure that i have a race track in front of my house to satiate my thirst for speed.

I guess you took the "racing genes" too seriously.

Apache RR310 or any other bike from the 300cc segment is NOT a race bike/ fast bike. They are beginner A2 license material abroad.

300cc motorcycles are adequately powered, thats it. They arent very fast or dangerous that one needs a race track to enjoy them. Infact an average C2 segment sedan will outrun all the 300s on the highways.

[su1978]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

I guess you took the "racing genes" too seriously.

Apache RR310 or any other bike from the 300cc segment is NOT a race bike/ fast bike. They are beginner A2 license material abroad.

300cc motorcycles are adequately powered, thats it. They arent very fast or dangerous that one needs a race track to enjoy them. Infact an average C2 segment sedan will outrun all the 300s on the highways.

This is exactly what i am pointing towards. My concern is not only on racing. But how responsibly we use the available power at disposal. If i have a Lamborghini, it does not mean i will try to outrun a Hayabusa. My basic concern is that in a country where there is absolutely no road sense, how safe are we on so called fast bikes, for that matter even if they are 300cc ones. As a country, we are not even responsible to ride a 100CC Hero Honda Splendor. Have you ever observed how do youngsters drive even a scooty?
More-so after watching the TV commercials of Apache, those buying it will have have this mindset that they are driving a racing bike and will drive like crazy all over the road. Have we ever analysed how many accidents happen due to over-speeding? There is another article on this forum where a biker hit an 11 year old girl wherin she has died and then the rest of bikers passing thru that route were thrashed. The bike in contention was a KTM. There are many posts on youtube where we find accidents involving bikes being driven at a very high speed in india. Do you recall the accident involving son of our former Cricket Captain?

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

Infact an average C2 segment sedan will outrun all the 300s on the highways.

True. And a lot of accidents happen when such average C2 segment sedans cross path with two wheelers that are too slow for the general pace of the highway.

I get scared when I ride my 100cc scooter more than any other vehicles I own. The way cars and big vehicles overtake from the rear sometimes send a very numb chill down my spine. I'd rather have a machine which can keep up with traffic and then depend on my skills rather than be a sitting duck on the road hoping the cars and big vehicles on the road spot me well and fine to avoid running me over.

300cc is very good for India as per current infrastructure scenario IMO. An easy highway cruising speed of 100 - 120 kmph where the machine and rider is relaxed, with enough grunt left for emergency overtaking should be all that is needed for India.

Ofcourse, some people will always be there to misuse it to the limits. But they would probably do that regardless of the bike they own.

Originally Posted by su1978

There are many posts on Youtube where we find accidents involving bikes being driven at a very high speed in india. Do you recall the accident involving son of our former Cricket Captain?

There is a thread on cars too. Even a Nano can exceed the speed limits possible, but we have all sort of cars coming out like the vRS etc which are way too fast for our infrastructure. Not that they are all crashing because people use it responsibly too.

If we start avoiding vehicles because someone out there caused an accident with it, soon we could start avoiding all traffic and start walking instead.

[Doge]

Originally Posted by su1978

This is exactly what i am pointing towards. My concern is not only on racing. But how responsibly we use the available power at disposal. If i have a Lamborghini, it does not mean i will try to outrun a Hayabusa. My basic concern is that in a country where there is absolutely no road sense, how safe are we on so called fast bikes, for that matter even if they are 300cc ones. As a country, we are not even responsible to ride a 100CC Hero Honda Splendor. Have you ever observed how do youngsters drive even a scooty?
More-so after watching the TV commercials of Apache, those buying it will have have this mindset that they are driving a racing bike and will drive like crazy all over the road. Have we ever analysed how many accidents happen due to over-speeding? There is another article on this forum where a biker hit an 11 year old girl wherin she has died and then the rest of bikers passing thru that route were thrashed. The bike in contention was a KTM. There are many posts on Youtube where we find accidents involving bikes being driven at a very high speed in india. Do you recall the accident involving son of our former Cricket Captain?

You solved your own riddle. If the people you mentioned​ can't handle a splendour then the problem lies with the people and there's nothing a manufacturer can do.