[Samurai_RX8]

The bike was actually a lot smaller than I thought it would be. The rear looks rather off, IMO. Really like the offset instrument cluster, I haven't seen something like that since Jawa 42.1. Side indicators are almost identical to that of the BMW G310R.
Overall, I think it looks pretty good.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by bblost

I like the name Ronin. Hope the bike sees the same kind of success the Samurai once had in India.

I guess they are subtly reminding us of the Japanese DNA of their bikes. It was a naming convention they had when partnering with Suzuki. Samurai, Shogun and then Shaolin.

I bet they will name the next model Daimyo!

[Indraneel Bhat]

Originally Posted by lovlyfella

Ronin satisfies almost all my requirements, except the weight. It felt easy to drive. Engine was very smooth. Was pretty agile on the road. But moving the bike physically (putting the stand etc.) was a bit of challenge.

How big a challenge is this going to be? Is it something that I can adjust over a period of time? Any other factrs/bikes to be considered?

Hello lovlyfella,

The Ronin is about 160 kgs. Sir, you will get used to the bike's weight. Don't worry.

The Hornet is also a capable machine (141 kgs).
I'm 5'6" in height and own a Jawa 42 v2.1 and I love it!! It weighs 183 kgs approximately

But my advise would be to test ride, test ride, test ride. Your heart will tell you what's best for you.

[ajay0612]

Originally Posted by lovlyfella

My Profile:- 50 years, 'healthy', 5 foot five incher, non-muscular.

Ronin satisfies almost all my requirements, except the weight. It felt easy to drive. Engine was very smooth. Was pretty agile on the road. But moving the bike physically (putting the stand etc.) was a bit of challenge.

How big a challenge is this going to be? Is it something that I can adjust over a period of time? Any other factrs/bikes to be considered?

Ronin is tailor made for you. I have observed skinny fellows buying REs first and then build a bit of muscle to match it . Maybe it is right time for us to do pushups and buy dumbbells .

My only dilemma is that I like solid colored Ronin but it comes with single channel ABS only. (I don't have experience with any ABS bike but would like to have comfort of safety provided by dual channel ABS).

[neil.jericho]

I dropped into a nearby TVS showroom to check out the Ronin. There were 3 bikes on display. Some thoughts

- The bike is definitely small. You cannot get around its diminutive proportions. My theory is that TVS deliberately did not design a motorcycle that had proportions similar to the Royal Enfield Bullet / Classic 350 and the Honda CB 350 / RS. Had they done so, customers would have compared the products side by side and said, "Why does the TVS only get a 225 cc engine?". The battle would have been lost then and there. So, maybe TVS is on to something with this 8 / 10 sized motorcycle. I just wish it was a 9/10 sized motorcycle.
- The styling of the final product is a designer's nightmare within a nightmare within a nightmare. If I had to guess, the following is what actually happened
Product manager to design team : Guys, I want you to come up with 5 options for every design element. So, give me 5 headlight designs. 5 tank designs. 5 exhaust designs. 5 paint schemes. We have to show different options to the higher ups.
Final decision maker in TVS to the Product manager : I will take Headlight #1, Instrumentation Pod #3, Tank #2, Exhaust #5 etc.
Product manager to the baffled design team : You heard the boss, put it all together and give us the final design!
There is zero cohesion in the design. Its like me loading my plate with 10 dishes from 10 different cuisines from 10 different parts of the world and expecting to get a lip smacking meal. I think most people are being kind to TVS on the design front.
- I found the display to be just too busy. Just because you can display all that information, doesnt mean that you should. That offset display unit is disproportionate in size and sticks out like a sore thumb, both literally and figuratively. Speaking of sore thumbs, that humongous chain guard feels like it came off a BMW GS1200.
- For all of Mr Sumbly's fancy marketing talk about the bike appealing to everyone and it being all about exciting unscripted stories, TVS has chosen the most boring colours for the motorcycle. These are paint schemes that will only appeal to mature enthusiasts. TVS knows what they are doing. The people who will actually buy the Ronin will not look anything like the people featured in TVS's commercials.
- Considering this audience and the size / proportions of the seats, I dont think too many people will be comfortably doing 2 up touring.
- The build quality looks to be pretty good.
- The bike is as much a scrambler, as I am an astro-physicist. P.S - Im not an astro-physicist.
- Once you sit on the bike, you understand that the detailed technical breakdown from the launch, was not fluff. This feels like a well engineered product from a company that is renowned for being an engineering company. The ergonomics are good. You can tell that TVS has spent a lot of time in making this a motorcycle that is going to be comfortable for long rides.
- Car enthusiasts talk about a car shrinking around you when you drive it. Ive never understood it. In the showroom, when you sit on the pint sized Ronin, it suddenly feels like a normal sized motorcycle. So, its the opposite of the car shrinking around you sensation. Neither makes sense but I cant explain it any other way. In the real world, when you are commuting to work and are stuck at Silk Board junction where you are side by side with normal sized people on normal sized motorcycles, you will probably feel silly being seated on the smaller Ronin.

TVS seems to have put a lot of effort into the product but it does appear as though siloed teams have worked on the product, the positioning and the launch event. It is all disjointed. You dont find this confusion with a Meteor, for example.

I really dont know how this lifestyle motorcycle fits into TVS's overall philosophy. I really dont know what this motorcycle is trying to be. I think I have a fair idea of what it is, though. A test ride should help clear things up. The good thing for TVS is that people are genuinely interested to know more about the product. How many of them will convert to actual sales? That remains to be seen.

[Gansan]

By small do you mean it is Splendor/Shine sized or even smaller?

[saifybhp]

Originally Posted by Indraneel Bhat

After 12 amazing years of joining Team-BHP, this is my first proper review post. Why did I wait 12 years? Well, in a word, INTIMIDATION - The well researched and detailed articles that I have come to read and expect on this forum are of a very high standard. I was never sure if I could match up. Well, as they say, "you can't learn swimming on land", so here goes....
...

Thanks for your review. I got to see the top end of this bike at RPM TVS, Electronic City, Bangalore.

TBH, the Galactic Grey, variant looks far better as compared to any other color I got to see.

The adjustable clutch and brake levers really seemed like a necessity. I'm 5'10" weighing 85kgs and the seat height was not an issue for me.

Yes, the bike looked good. I could not get to ride i had seen the bike at the service centre and not in the showroom and the keys were in the showroom.

[Indraneel Bhat]

Originally Posted by Gansan

By small do you mean it is Splendor/Shine sized or even smaller?

A bit bigger than the Honda Unicorn or Hornet maybe? Definitely bigger than a Splendour or Shine.

[amvj]

Ronin improvise

Original



Altered

[HTC]

For some reason, TVS ronin gives me 'Jhonny Bravo' vibe. Huge muscular at front with those bulky forks and as you go back, it gets skinny. The side box is so 'splendorish'. They should have launched TVS version of GS 310 adv bike instead of this.

*image cridit: 'Creator: mage 19M'

[drt_rdr]

Originally Posted by shancz

[*]Ergonomics :
Sitting on it and playing around with the lights and stuff it all fell easy to the hands, nothing felt weird, not even the offset console and I am not sure why.

I'm thinking that's because the hoopla about the offset console is just a lot of noise.

The offset is not some extreme amount. It's still right in front of the rider. It's mounted right on the handlebar clamp. I mean, if it were a twin pod, you'd be looking at the tach in that position. Same with a semi-digital dash too. A lot of us are already used to looking at such positioning. Only thing is we've probably never noticed it because they give a false sense of centered-ness even though the individual information is still in slightly offset positions.

[*]Retro Done Right :
The front and rear mudguards, side panels, are all metal with some elegant brushed aluminium elements. These are going to age well and I am not expecting a lot of rattles.

When I noticed that, it pleasantly surprised me that the bike is not unnecessarily heavy even with so much metal in place. They put all this fat looking steel on the bike AND crash guard+mainstand as standard fitment, yet were able to get the bike to weigh just 160kgs wet. My respect for TVS went up a notch when I realized that. Retro done right indeed. Functionally atleast.

BTW, my intentions for my handle were nowhere near as well thought out as TVS's intentions for their bike.

Really appreciate the detailed looksee.

---------

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

The bike is definitely small. You cannot get around its diminutive proportions. My theory is that TVS deliberately did not design a motorcycle that had proportions similar to the Royal Enfield Bullet / Classic 350 and the Honda CB 350/RS.

I'm glad TVS did what they did, because I suspect that's one of the reasons they were able to keep the weight at reasonable levels despite all that chunky metal on it. The wheelbase is also closer to the RTR than the REs and Hondas.

The styling of the final product is a designer's nightmare within a nightmare within a nightmare....There is zero cohesion in the design...

That's a bit too harsh. But yeah, there's no denying it's a bit of an odd mish mash of retro and modern elements. To me, it looks all right though and I think it would look exponentially better with just some minor changes.

But TVS could've been much bolder in its choice of retro. I mean, rather than take inspiration from what seems like some nebulous, generic retrobike tropes, they could've just taken things forward from the bikes they made themselves like the Shogun.

Can you imagine the Ronin as a chunky Shogun-inspired bike? Same bike, but with:

>The sizeable yet angular tank of the Zeppelin + the angular tail panels.

>Rectangular LED headlights! They could fit a T and a V and a S inside there and give it a body coloured bikini fairing as an accessory The Suzuki V-Strom 1050 and Katana carry their almost rectangular headlamps amazingly.

>Youthful paint schemes with loud 80s, 90s inspired graphics shouting RONIN running all over rather than these RE reject paint schemes.

Granted this wouldn't be the same kind of fun as a 100kg 2T tiger beetle that the Shogun was, but it would stroke the Indian nostalgia in another way!

RE can keep peddling their brand of nostalgia for whoever wants it. But let's get some relatable nostalgia from the likes of TVS, Bajaj and Hero.

Too bad what's done is done. But fingers crossed that TVS is reading this, and we get a TVS Shinobi soon which is what I just described but with the 310 platform underneath.

-----------

@mods: Can we merge the other Ronin thread into this one? There's some good bits of chatter on there too.

[shancz]

Originally Posted by drt_rdr

- I'm thinking that's because the hoopla about the offset console is just a lot of noise.
- Only thing is we've probably never noticed it because they give a false sense of centered-ness even though the individual information is still in slightly offset positions.

- I felt the same looking at the pics but then I sat on the bike and from that perspective it didn't appear so.
- Good point, especially true for twin pod clusters

A friend who also owns a Fiero did take a TD and his observations :
- Off the line the acceleration feels like a big bike, the roll ons were impressive too.
- No noises and the bike felt well built, the only sound you hear while riding is the exhaust note.
- Exhaust note is impressive.
- He said the compact dimensions, acceleration and the exhaust note reminded him of the Fiero in a way

He did a back to back TD of the CB350RS and said that he would choose the Ronin over the CB350RS in the city anyday, he seemed very impressed with the bike.

Based on his inputs, I have a strong feeling that this will impress you too.

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

- Speaking of sore thumbs, that humongous chain guard feels like it came off a BMW GS1200.
- The people who will actually buy the Ronin will not look anything like the people featured in TVS's commercials.
- Considering this audience and the size / proportions of the seats, I dont think too many people will be comfortably doing 2 up touring.

- Yes, forgot to mention that, that is one element I won't mind taking off.
- Bullseye, explains my liking towards it.
- Agree, not enough space.

[Nimz]

Has anyone in this forum booked the Ronin yet? Any initial ownership reviews? After the flurry of the initial test drives in rainy Goa there are no detailed.road tests forthcoming from the auto mags either.

[null]

Can someone comment on the seating comfort for 2nd person/rear? That pillion seat does not seem to be adequate from the photos. Appears like its good for a solo rider.

[Nimz]

Originally Posted by null

Can someone comment on the seating comfort for 2nd person/rear? That pillion seat does not seem to be adequate from the photos. Appears like its good for a solo rider.

In my short TD this was the observation. My wife felt it was shorter than the FZX we had seen just then. However it is relatively lower in height including the rear foot pegs. She had no comments on the comfort as it was a very short TD.