[SS338]

Introduction: -

I was in the market for a new two-wheeler to commute from my stay to office after landing a new job in Bengaluru. The company provided transportation was expensive for the distance that I had to travel and the inconsistency of finding Rapido's and similar bike taxis during peak office hours only added fuel to the fire. I was only looking for a vehicle for doing duties of taking me from point A to point B, with a little bit of sporty flair added as a bonus. I did not intend to purchase a vehicle for doing highway and touring duties as I am a little sceptical in riding a two-wheeler on fast highways from a safety stand point and prefer a car over 2-wheeler for the same.
As some of you might have guessed, I have recently joined TBHP officially and only used to go through the forum for any advice that I needed, be it for me or for my friends. However, I was taken aback when I was not able to find even one ownership thread or buying process thread in the forum for the segment I was looking into. And rightfully so as the majority of the intended customers of the segment just go to a brand which they trust and just select a vehicle and purchase it without much research. There were a few threads on Ola's here and there and but nothing apart from that. So here are my two cents summarising my buying decision and jot down the ownership experience and review of my purchase.

TL;DR: TVS Raider 125 SX Initial Impressions

I have driven the bike for over 150kms in the last 15 days since I bought it, mostly in city traffic for commute to office and visiting some friends on weekends. Here are some of the pros and cons I felt after a little bit of driving, along with some interesting observations and a little bit of deep dive into the techy instrument cluster.

What I liked: -

• The sound of the motor and the exhaust. It has a deep bass to it and it might easily be one of the best sounding 125cc bikes out there.
• The top end performance is good and the engine pulls very linearly upwards from 4K RPM. This is a stark contrast to other commuters which focus mainly on bottom end.
• The gearing is short and it helps in moving cleanly from a standstill. Even though it doesn’t sport TVS’s GTT officially, the bike does move in 1st gear without any throttle input.
• The horn is loud and headlamp is bright, all necessary for the urban jungle. Whereas the headlamp is focussed nearer to the vehicle in my Jupiter, the Raider has a long throw especially in the high beam, which is sufficient for speeds up to 70~80.
• The integrated ISG is a cool addition and silently starts the vehicle. It is nowadays getting common with more brands using the same tech, but still a thoughtful addition nonetheless.

What I disliked: -

• It is a high compression engine, but still I was surprised when I noticed some heat dissipation near my legs when in a stop-go traffic environment for more than 5-10 mins. It is not uncomfortable in any shape or form though.
• The absence of low-end torque makes it presence felt especially when carrying a pillion. The bike has a tendency to stall and does not move cleanly from a stand still when carrying a pillion.
• The centre stand is a company fitted accessory but it reduces the ground clearance by a good margin. You have to have clear the speed breakers in 1st gear at absolute walking pace when carrying a pillion, otherwise they scrape through. Need to get the rear suspension adjusted to its tightest setting and see if it helps.
• There is no way to disable the auto start stop in Eco mode, which is an inconvenience in traffic conditions. You can mitigate the same by switching to power mode, but this changes the low-end throttle map and makes pulling from standstill even more challenging.
• The rear brake bite is poor, although the CBS ensures that the front brake is engaged as soon as you press hard enough on the rear brake pedal. And once the front disk engages, the braking performance is spectacular.

The Instrument Cluster (Including App, Maps, Connectivity): -

• The instrument cluster is very bright and has ambient light sensor which it uses to automatically switch to a dark theme at nights, so as to not blind the rider. I keep it on the 4th brightness step out of total 5 which works well in Bengaluru daylight.
• The TVS connect app is buggy, no doubts there. It does not auto connect to the cluster, even though the manual says so. You have to manually connect it by pressing the connect button in the app and the animation it plays every time it gets connected takes its own sweet time to get over. However, once connected the connection is rock solid.
• The app records the live engine RPM and speed through the bike's cluster and the location through mobile’s GPS, which is presented in a shareable form at the end of the ride.
• The cluster stays on for a few seconds even after you turn off the key/bike. It displays the ride statistics in that time such as distance travelled, average speed, fuel consumed, time taken etc.
• The turn-by-turn navigation works good enough. It is smart enough to dynamically adjust the distance to next action (turn/U-turn) depending on the speed. If you are moving slow, it goes as low as showing to take a turn in the next 5 metres. On the other hand, if you are travelling fast, it just goes down into intervals of 50 metres for examples.

The ride stats page


The share page for sharing any ride

Buying Decision: -

Initially I hunted in the used market, visited a few used bike dealers and some known dealers such as Beepkart, etc. However, I was not able to trust the used dealers especially in a new city and the offerings from Beepkart, although fresh looking, were a fair bit overpriced.
So, the natural choice was to look for new bikes & scooters around the 125cc segment. I also added a few EVs in the mix as my office parking provided charge points which would essentially mean that my running costs would be free. I started researching online by visiting each brand’s website and checking the models available, their features and prices. Although I had a fair bit of idea about the current market situation and what all models are available, I just wanted to get an idea about the pricing as the road tax in Karnataka is high compared to my home state. I set my budget to around 1~1.5L. Brands such as KTM, Bajaj, RE, Yamaha, Ather, etc were automatically ruled out as their cheapest offerings were even out of budget. Finally, I narrowed down to a few bikes and scooters from TVS, Hero, Honda, Suzuki and Ola.

Let me jot down the pros and cons of the few offerings that I considered and why were they eventually rejected: -
Hero: -

1. Xtreme 125R – A new (6 months old) offering from Hero with a styling that did appeal to a young person like me. However, I visited 2 dealers and both of them said that there is a waiting period of 2-3 months if you order it now. Seriously, waiting period on a 125cc from Hero?? The showroom experience was also nothing to write home about. The staff was busy in their own work and they were also not keen to providing a test drive for their other 160cc models.
2. Super Splendor/Glamour - We already have a Super Splendor at home. But personally, I do not like the designs of both the bikes as they now getting a little bit out of fashion.
3. Xoom/Vida - Xoom is slightly less powerful than what I would have liked and Vida is overpriced for the range & features it offers. TCO according to my running was coming a fair bit higher for Vida compared to Ola let’s say.

Honda: -

1. Shine/SP125 - Both of their design is also getting old at this point similar to commuter designs from Hero.
2. Unicorn 125 - Unicorn did offered ABS, however front ABS in a 125cc is a bit overkill and nowadays almost all of them come with CBS which further reduces the importance of ABS. The price was also expensive compared to the feature list it offered, such as analog dash, etc.
3. Activa -They are literally everywhere on the road and personally I do not like their driving dynamics and front heavy feel. Also, the feature set is rather paltry.

Suzuki: -

1. Burgman/Avenis - Personally, I don’t like how Suzuki’s scooters look with their smaller rear wheel. No doubt burgman is a handsome looking machine, and so is its price, very expensive compared to what it offers.

Ola: -

1. S1 Air - I had my eyes set out on this, as amongst all the EVs this is the most value of money. And as a result, it naturally leads to a large number of sales from bike taxis to delivery riders everybody using this particular model from Ola. This was very apparent on my showroom visit. The showroom was stinking, there were only 2 people managing the whole floor and the service area was crowded with many people waiting to get their vehicles repaired. There were many vehicles standing outside as well waiting for their turn to get repaired. They didn’t have any test drive vehicle; the manager offered me a test drive of S1 pro from one of his colleagues. The instant acceleration in hyper mode was very impressive however the I found the throttle map to be a bit inconsistent and the scooter was getting confused in what to do in slow crawling traffic and on an incline in front of the showroom, where it refused to move even with more than half of the throttle open.

TVS: -

1. Ntorq - It’s an impressive scooter with a likeable sound that it makes. Having driven it extensively in the past, the riding dynamics are spot on, I knew. However, the top model didn’t offer the best engine tune, which is only offered on the 2nd best model, and the top model’s price is very similar to that of its cousin Raider.
2. Jupiter - Already own one at home and it is a very sorted scooter with very decent riding manners and a bright headlight, silent start, etc. Though I feel the design is slightly catered towards a little bit of more mature audience.
3. Raider -Personally, I am a fan of gizmos and the big connected screen instantly appealed to me. The sound that it makes is even better than Ntorq and I liked the top end performance it offered when I test rode it. Although the top model only offered a screen with navigation for INR 10K extra, which could easily be achieved by a 200Rs mobile holder, but still I chose to go with the top model. Such is the human mind, I guess!!

Buying Experience: -

A phone call from home informing me that 7th of July is an auspicious day prompted me to visit the showroom instantly. A test drive was offered almost instantly and the SAs also were very friendly and knowledgeable. I asked them for an evening delivery and they confirmed that yellow top end is available in their stockyard. They accepted credit card as a form of payment and I chose to go with that because why not. Did the payment and left. Visited at 5pm in the evening and there was a rush for deliveries due to it being an auspicious day. My vehicle was 12~13th in the queue. I used that time to match the Chassis number and visually inspect the vehicle and odo. Took delivery around 6pm as it also rained for some time in between. Offered them a box of sweets, clicked some pics and left. Overall, I would highly recommend Trijal Motors in Marathalli and SA Abhinandan. The documents, RTO, number plate everything was taken care of by them and everything worked like a clockwork.

Price Breakup: -
Ex-showroom - 1.09L
RTO/Road Tax - 23K
Insurance - 7.5K
Mandatory accessories - 800
Complimentary - Helmet
Total - 1.42L on road


During delivery


Mandatory Pooja, joined by another Apache 160 4V

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Haze]

Originally Posted by SS338

[*]Xoom/Vida - TCO according to my running was coming a fair bit higher for Vida compared to Ola let’s say.[/list]

TCO? Whats that?

[*]Unicorn 125 - Unicorn did offered ABS, however front ABS in a 125cc is a bit overkill

There exists no such motorcycle called as a "Unicorn 125"

[anivy]

Originally Posted by Haze

TCO? Whats that?

TCO - Total Cost of Ownership

[para_7k]

Hey,

Congratulations on the TVS Raider. TVS seems to have nailed it with the positioning and the features with both Raider and Jupiter 125. I am seeing so many of them in the roads off late.

1.42L is a steep price for a 125cc motorcycle. The base variant of the RTR 160 2V might come around the same price. Not questioning your decision but I feel TVS can price it better.

I do agree on your observations with the TVS dealers. Even in Pune, they were very professional and handled everything clearly. Service, though is a totally different story.

Coming to the vehicle itself, my concern as you also mentioned is that TVS has tried to extract maximum power and with that kind of exhaust note, a lot of people tend to rev it hard from day one. This causes premature wear of certain parts and some doubts on the long term reliability of the engine.

Whether modern engines require run-in or not is debatable but I would suggest you to take it slow and do not do any spirited runs atleast until 1 or 2 oil changes. I wouldn't be saying this on a Honda or Suzuki probably

Again, congratulations and wish you many happy miles with the mini bumble bee

[NB_4763]

Originally Posted by para_7k

1.42L is a steep price for a 125cc motorcycle. The base variant of the RTR 160 2V might come around the same price. Not questioning your decision but I feel TVS can price it better.

This is the main reason why I prefer second hand bikes. Our maid's husband wanted to buy a New TVS Raider. While it's a good bike,paying that much for a 125cc no matter what features it has doesn't make sense. He was a little hesitant to buy as it was over his budget but he really liked the bike. He asked my suggestion and that's when I told him "Why not look for a second hand bikes ? "

His immediate response was it's very risky to buy one. I showed him my bike, asked him to take for a spin and also guess how much i bought it for. His guess price was 3x more than the price I bought and was shocked when I revealed the price. He changed his mind on spot and told me to look for some bikes under 1 lakh

After searching bikes for him for 2 months we settled for an RTR 200 4V ABS (Race Edition) for just ₹70k (Single owner, 20k Kms Run).

[paperpuli]

Congrats on getting the Raider!

I had booked it back in 2021 for around 1.2L but the dealer kept saying it wasn't in stock for 6 months Switched the booking to the NTorq for the same price and got that in a few days.

Still feels like the one that got away whenever I see it on the roads though ��

[RD410]

Congrats on your new ride! The heating you are experiencing is from the big catalytic converter in the exhaust bend pipe, near the engine head. It's not just Raider, every Bs6 2 wheeler heats up more in traffic.

Originally Posted by SS338

[*]Unicorn 125 - Unicorn did offered ABS, however front ABS in a 125cc is a bit overkill and nowadays almost all of them come with CBS which further reduces the importance of ABS.

I am sorry, but there's no Unicorn 125. I think you are referring to Unicorn 160.

Originally Posted by NB_4763

After searching bikes for him for 2 months we settled for an RTR 200 4V ABS (Race Edition) for just ₹70k (Single owner, 20k Kms Run).

My friend had purchased brand new Apache 200 for ₹1.10 lakhs on road in 2017. But today, you won't even get an Activa for that price. Blame the tax revisions, pollution norms, etc. But this is the sad reality now. And the used market is not the same as it used to be post Covid 19. Earlier, it was a buyers market. You could get genuine, well kept used vehicles without much effort. But post Covid, it's become a sellers market. There's so much fraud happening, that it's become quite frustrating.

[para_7k]

Originally Posted by NB_4763

This is the main reason why I prefer second hand bikes.


After searching bikes for him for 2 months we settled for an RTR 200 4V ABS (Race Edition) for just ₹70k (Single owner, 20k Kms Run).

I didn't have such good experiences with Second hand bikes, so I am not getting into it now. However, yes, the pricing is too steep and manufacturers like TVS here focus on giving maximum power and maximum gizmos that they compromise on the core - Engine Refinement and Longevity. I am not saying they are unrefined or do not last, but compared to Japs, they don't feel like built to last.

These oversquare engines which are rev happy and sound throaty as well forces many unsuspecting new riders to ride hard which can in turn result in premature blown gaskets and other issues.

I almost made up my mind to get a Honda CB200X but ended up getting the RTR 200 4V. The reason ? Honda showroom guys attitude. I mean like, we are living in 2024. All RTO processes are online now. These Honda guys want me to hunt a shop nearby and take a "Xerox" of all documents

They also mentioned the price as 1.77L OTR but increased to 1.82 after reaching the showroom. They mentioned "mandatory accessories" such as saree guard, mirror etc.

Anyway, I walked out and went to the TVS showroom. Just like the OP mentioned, the TVS sales guys are on a different level altogether. Everything was taken care meticulously and I gave them only soft copies. There was no requirement for a "Xerox Nikalke aa jao" for any document.

The RTR 200 4V is a great product. Loaded to the brim with features. But, the engine is not the most refined. However, I am very careful and will baby it and only open it up gradually.

Back in 2008, I overrevved my Pulsar 180 UG3 before the run-in and ended up blowing the head gaskets and seals. Somehow got them to replace under warranty. There were no ECMs or computers back then that would have captured my over enthusiastic revving. If it was today, they would have found using an OBD.

Compared the CB200X, the RTR 200 4V is VFM at 1.76L. Just a single variant. The engine needs some pampering though

And yeah, that's a sweet deal you got the RTR 200. Wish him many happy miles.

[SS338]

Originally Posted by Haze

There exists no such motorcycle called as a "Unicorn 125"

Originally Posted by RD410

I am sorry, but there's no Unicorn 125. I think you are referring to Unicorn 160.

Thanks for pointing out, there was a mixup on my part; as I tried to pen down the research part of the post from whatever I was able to remember.

Originally Posted by RD410

Congrats on your new ride! The heating you are experiencing is from the big catalytic converter in the exhaust bend pipe, near the engine head. It's not just Raider, every Bs6 2 wheeler heats up more in traffic.

Thanks RD410.
That is a BS6 trait, I see.

Originally Posted by para_7k

Hey,

Congratulations on the TVS Raider. TVS seems to have nailed it with the positioning and the features with both Raider and Jupiter 125. I am seeing so many of them in the roads off late.

Whether modern engines require run-in or not is debatable but I would suggest you to take it slow and do not do any spirited runs atleast until 1 or 2 oil changes. I wouldn't be saying this on a Honda or Suzuki probably

Again, congratulations and wish you many happy miles with the mini bumble bee

Thanks para_7k.
Even, I am planning to take it slow as of now. More so, I am myself finding that crusing at 50 in 5th gives you the most relaxing drive on this machine.

[SS338]

Wanted to share the 1st service experience, but chose to wait since adding a few accessories were also planned as I did mention in my initial 1st impressions post.

1st Free* service

Promptly took the bike in on the weekend after the 1st month got over for the 1st service. Although the recommended kms were 750~1000, I was only able to complete 500kms. I was surprised at the amount of load that the Marathalli service centre handles. Even being early at 9.30 on a weekend, I was 40th in the queue as per their number tags.
The SA was prompt in asking if I had any special asks, to which I mentioned about stiffening the rear shock; as it comes with a 5-step adjustable rear mono-shock. He also asked me if I would like the vehicle to be wax polished, to which I said yes; as I was under the impression that it is a free of cost add on. I have always seen my Jupiter being polished by some chemical after the service at my home city & it was always free. Later on I got to know that this was a paid add on at about 250Rs. Although it does give a good shine to the color, have to agree.
After about 3hrs, the queue finally reached to 40. The technician was quick, old oil was drained and topped up from a new bottle. Rear drum was taken out and cleaned, all the other moving parts were cleaned and greased as well, such as levers, stand and footpegs. Chain was cleaned and lubed. Surprisingly, the air filter was not cleaned, to which they replied that they will only do after 12K kms as per the manual; which is again not the case as per my home's service centre. I guess to each their own.
Obviously, the request made to the SA was only for name-sake purposes and it didn't go through to the actual technician. When i asked them to adjust the rear shock, initially the guy was a bit hesitant. But when I told him, I regularly carry 2 up, he tried but was not able to rotate the shock support to the 5th position (by default it comes positioned at 3rd slot). Then the works manager said that they will need to open the seat and side panels as well, to pull the spring from top and rotate it, and this will take time and requested me to visit on early morning weekday; as there were a lot of vehicles in the queue that day. I agreed nonetheless, visited them 3 days after; and it was a fairly simple job. I was out in 15 mins.
Didn't noticed that a lot had changed after the oil change, but atleast the scraping issue had gone over some of the large speed breakers. Earlier I was contemplating about removing the centre stand, but looks like it will not be required anymore.


All nice and shiny after the service

A short visit to Adiyogi, Chikkabalapur

Had an impromptu plan to visit Adiyogi on the long weekend. There were just the 2 of us, one on the Ntorq (even newer that my Raider) and I on my own bike. The onward journey was slow due to the traffic while exiting the city and also because we both were getting accustomed to our new vehicles at higher speeds. Even though many folks have gone to their hometowns and outstation, there was still a lot of crowd at the top. We just reached when the lightshow was about to begin and therefore, all the lights were turned off. Somehow, managed to find a parking spot in the dark and rushed to the main ground.


Some pics after the show got over

The food joints had huge queues & as a result decided to have dinner on a Dhaba on the highway. The return journey was uneventful and faster as well, even after having to take a break due to 15-20 mins of rain midway.
Overall, the bike performed well especially in the mileage department. Had seen a speedo indicated 62 while going and 64 kmpl while entering Bengaluru late night during the return journey. The Ntorq while carrying the same engine even in a lower state of tune, was approximating around 40~45 kmpl based on the fuel gauge (there is not speedo indication on the Race edition, I believe). Didn’t carried speeds over 70 as the run-in period ends at 1000kms and there are still some kms to go. Although, having driven the Ntorq in the past, it is little bit smoother and less buzzy at higher speeds compared to the Raider.


The return journey stats (connected to navigation only after the dinner stop at Dhaba & hence, the initial part of downhill journey is not recorded).


Odo after the trip (750kms up almost)

Tyre hugger and Seat cover installation

Had planned to install the tyre-hugger (or rear mudguard) even before the purchase, as the rear tyre and bike design are kind of skinny. Placed the order on a nearby accessories shop for both, which had good Google Maps reviews. Although it was slightly expensive compared to similar products on Flipkart, but since I somehow had to manage the installation from someplace if I bought it online myself, chose to go ahead with them. Since this is not a TVS official accessory, the service centre folks rejected to do any sort of installation.
The procurement got delayed by a few days by them, although the product quality and mounts are atleast of a solid quality; compared to what I saw on Flipkart and YouTube videos. Since, officially there are no mounting points for the tyre-hugger, the guy decided to fabricate a small clamp to support it in two places, one obviously on the axle nut and other on the chain cover mounting. How shortsighted of both of us that initially we installed it on the left-hand side and didn’t realise it will come in contact with the saree guard when the rear shock will get compressed on some bumps, let’s say.


Wrongly installed tyre hugger

As soon as I hit the road, I realised we had made a mistake. When I saw other bikes, I realised the reflector was also on the top compared to the bottom and that’s when it stuck me that it needs to be installed from the right. Went in again and it was quick 10 min job to shift it to the right-hand side. Unfortunately, the clamp for the second support had to go as there are literally no mounting points on the right-hand side. Hope it does not get loosened over time.


Correctly installed

And that's it for now. See you soon with new adventures of Bumblebee !!

[SS338]

Just wanted to share this event in the life of Bumblebee, which unfortunately also marked a significant event in my personal life as well. I am someone who had never been involved in an accident or fall on any kind of motor vehicle yet: touchwood:, except on bicycles, on which I have crashed a lot in my childhood.

The Fall

It was the two eventful days for the southern part of India as well as for Bengaluru, when I was met with an accident. I was returning from office on the evening of the day prior to orange alert (the day when it actually rained heavily ). Inside the tech park roads in where I work, there was a huge line of cars waiting to exit from the gate. That section of road is covered by huge tin sheets on both sides, the kind of those we see when Metro construction if going on. There was just enough space on the left for all the 2 wheelers to pass. While I was making my way peacefully, suddenly 4-5 construction workers emerged out from front of the one of the cars on my right from inside of one of those gaps in between the tin sheets, just one car length ahead of me. While I was doing relatively less speeds (30~35 kph), 1 car length is just not enough distance to stop from such speeds. The roads being properly wet also did not help.

Since, there were 4-5 of them, I could not even had swerved to avoid as would have been the case if there was only 1 person. I pressed the rear brake pedal as hard as possible and avoided using the front brake knowing that the roads are super wet; CBS came into play just at the wrong time and the front wheel also got locked in no time. I collided with one of the guys and fell. Since the speeds were low, it did not result in a nasty one. Just a few scratches on knees & toes and few on the plastic parts of the bike; or so I thought.

A few of the security guys rushed to help. I was in no state to create a scene or scold those people, since they might also have been injured and I considered it as both of ours mistake. While I was able to get up and drive again immediately, I noticed something off. The bike was not tracking centre. Similar to when the steering alignment gets off in the cars. Now, this could be as small as bent handlebar or as huge as the frame mounting somewhere being bent.
I was nervous the whole night, thinking about the costs of repairs as well as fearing that the bike will never be as new again once it will be opened up fully for the handle/fork/frame repair. Also, the fall resulted in my confidence getting lower, although it was not entirely my mistake, but sometimes you do go in a state of shock or something similar for a small time. Sometime later my parents actually told me that you have insurance of the vehicle and to use that (It never occurred to me, how dumb of me) and that did give me some peace of mind.

Insurance Process with ICICI Lombard

The next day I was at the service centre. I chose to go with a relatively new one near my office in case I have to drop my vehicle. The service centre was relatively empty. One of the service guys told me to initiate the claim online while he went on a small test drive. He did confirm about the bent handlebar, identified the other scratched parts and told me to come back once the surveyor visits. He told me that the repair estimate will be around 5~6K.

TVS provided me with an ICICI Lombard one at the time of purchase. Their contact centre and website are as shitty as it gets, on the other hand their WhatsApp chatbot and website chatbot are as excellent as it gets. Don’t know what’s the obsession with chatbots these days. (Disclaimer: The views represented here are entirely personal and not associated with my employer in any shape or form. P.s. – I work in a similar field: p). I was able to get the claim open through WhatsApp, uploaded all the docs on the website after 10-20 tries and a surveyor was assigned. I contacted him and given the orange alert; he was also not in field for a few days. 2 days later he confirmed he will be visiting the service centre and I also went there. The guy seemed relatively newer and helpful. He clicked a few pics of the damages, shared his details with the service centre manager and left. Now this time the service centre folks also told me about the fork and cone set damage. Now this is because of seeing the insurance or because of test driving by someone who is more experienced from their team, I don’t know.

I am apprehensive because, fork repair and overhauling are purely a repair job for which they don’t need to replace any parts and get to charge any amount they like, I think. The final estimate came out to be around 11K, including a few plastic and metal parts which were scratched, a headlight assembly change (since the front headlight glass was scratched slightly and it does not come as a separate part) and labour charges of normal repair and fork overhauling.
The breakup was something similar to this – Headlight (3.5K), Labour incl. both (3.5K), Rest of parts (4K)

Attached below are the images showing part damages.





I chose to leave the crash guards unreplaced as those are meant to take damage and scratch and there is no point replacing them. Since, this being a new and small SVC, they did not have a cashless tie up with ICICI. I paid 2K advance to let them order the parts. Sometime later I enquired with the claim manager whether labour charges are covered and he said yes, however on the matter of headlight since it comes under as a plastic part, depreciation will be applicable on it, since my policy was not a zero dep one. Since the scratches on it were relatively minor, and not coming in the way of headlamp throw, I chose to remove this part from the claim, by letting the service centre know.

Repair experience and a few doubts

I visited the next week when the parts had arrived on a Saturday. They told me to come back and collect the vehicle in the evening. I visited them in the afternoon as well. The front forks had indeed been gone to some repair shop nearby and I also took a look at the other newer parts. I visited in the evening and my vehicle was the last one of that day. I indeed have to commend the folks at the service centre. The technician, manager, clerk as well the security all chose to extend their shift by half an hour just to fulfil the commitment made to me. Once I was fulfilled by the repairs done and after taking the test drive, the invoicing was done. The final bill came to be under 8K, owing to removal of expensive headlight and missing visor piece which the SVC incorrectly procured of a lower model, which did not fit.

I also told them to tighten the brakes, chain, lube the chain and wash the vehicle. I was not charged even a single rupee for all of this. While returning, the bike definitely felt like as new as when I took it out of showroom. I will definitely recommend this service centre. It is Vega Automobiles on ITPL road near Mahadevapura.




(All decked up and ready to go)

I had a few queries about the claim reimbursement amount as well the process. Even after going through other similar T-Bhp threads and online, I was not able to find much details about these. If some forum members can shed some light on it, it would be of great help: -
1. How do I know if my insurance is a normal one and not a zero dep one? I am going by the words of my claim manager purely. Nowhere, something like that is mentioned in the policy docs.
2. There is conflicting information on internet about the depreciation value. Somewhere, it is written that plastic and nylon parts are valued at 50% & 25% respectively, while somewhere it is mentioned that if vehicle age if less than 6 months, depreciation percentage is actually 0?
3. The claim manager is asking the invoice to be in the name of ICICI, otherwise GST won’t be refunded?

[starman]

Hello SS338,

I also had a similar fall last week, the damages to the bike are also very similar and I wanted to share my experience.

This happened on 1st December at the entrance of a flyover in Hyderabad (the new steel bridge from VST to Tank Bund). There was a slight drizzle, nothing extreme. I was trying to overtake a car and speeds were approximately 30-35 kmph. I suddenly lost grip of my front tire and I tried to slow down. The bike stabilized while I was braking, but as soon as I let go off my front brake, the tires lost grip again and this time I was not able to stabilize the bike and crashed. Luckily, because of the low speeds and my gear I was not injured and the kind people nearby helped me. When I checked, the left side of the handlebar is bent slightly upwards. I checked with my dealer if they can bend the handlebar back to default position but they said its not possible and they'd have to replace the handlebar. As this is the only vehicle I've got I decided to just live with the bent handlebar as its not a big deal. Later I got to know that there were oil spills in Hyderabad that day and many other bikers skid and fell.

I had another incident when I was coming back home after my 2nd service, the bike was freshly washed and the tires were still wet. I decided to drive back home anyway as the dealership is less than 2km away from my house. I was taking a left turn at maybe 15kmph and the tires lost grip in a very similar fashion but managed to balance it.

I don't know whether its my driving style or the tires, but there seems to be an issue in low speed + wet/slippery conditions. I'd advice anyone with the Raider to be cautious in such conditions.

[revhappy]

I have been living in Singapore last 16 years and I have ridden Bajaj Pulsar 180/200 imported from India.

In Singapore the roads are really smooth especially the car park ramps are smooth cement. The default tyres which comes with Pulsar are crap and the 1st thing people do there is to replace them with Bridgestone tyres.

I myself had a fall in the car park ramps, when it was wet and I got the tyre changed immediately.

The stock tyres in India are very hard and are meant for long lasting. But the grip is crap and if roads are wet then God help.

Funny thing is I used to ride a Pulsar 150 from 2003-2009 with stock tyres before moving to Singapore and I didn't have any issues.