Learnt new things about my Apache RTR 310 at TVS Care Craft Camp

How the quickshifter and the Limp Home mode work was explained in detail. We were also given a small overview of what makes the heated/cooled seats tick.

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Updates after first service & TVS Care Craft Camp

First Service

I got the first service done at Bharath TVS Jayanagar, Bangalore. It set me back by 1100 Rs. This was done on April 10th. During the service, I mentioned the brake bite issue and the clutch stiffness. They adjusted it promptly and told me to take a test ride. The changes have now made the clutch easier to operate. They mentioned the adjustment was done to the cable and now the feedback is properly sent. My next service is due in August.

TVS Care Craft Camp

I got a call from TVS Motors last week asking if I would be interested in attending a Care Camp at their Institute of Quality and Leadership, Anekal. I happily agreed as this would be a new experience. The agenda was to invite the owners of the current flagship and teach them about the bike, explain the effort that went into designing it and have a hands-on DIY session for fixes that could be done by the rider.

The journey to the camp

Their TVS IQL center is also their R&D center which is located in Anekal. It's near the Karnataka Tamil Nadu border, located just 20 km south of electronic city, and about 50km from my location. Only the last 8km is worth mentioning as it is flanked by fields on both sides and looks beautiful. The majority of the section is the usual Bangalore Hosur road that is swamped with traffic any time of the day.

Upon entering their beautiful premise, we were made to submit our phones at the gate due to security reasons. Their R&D facility is in one of the buildings and they test new advancements extensively there at the track located at the far end of the compound. We were guided to the tent where we gave our bikes to their engineers and walked the last 200m to the "Dr Washio" Classroom.

I was late by 30 minutes and reached at 1030 owing to a wrong turn and going 10km in another direction. The hall was already buzzing with activity as other riders had started a discussion with our instructors for the day. Mr Mithilesh was the Product Lead for the RTR 310 and the other gentleman, whose name I could not catch, was leading the services. For those who, like me, have forgotten 10th and 11th standard Physics and Chemistry, this was a refresher. How the quick shifter works (hall effect) and how the Limp Home mode works, were explained in detail. We were also given a small overview of what makes the heated/cooled seats tick and what 11th standard chemistry has to say about this (heat exchange anyone?).

After a brief round of introduction, we sat through the session where feedback was taken on the positives and negatives of the bike. Each feedback was treated with 100% sincerity. That is when I noticed the last row of people sitting in the classroom were wearing TVS shirts. It then struck me about the true nature of this camp. The programmers from the TVS connect app, the lead designer for headlamp and DRL, the Quality assurance head and GMs of many franchises of TVS were in attendance and were paying close attention to concerns.

The camp was split into 3 sections: Theory, changes to bike and DIY hands-on bike.

• Theory: This session in the classroom covered the bike's features in detail. Many of us lamented the lack of feature knowledge in the showroom. The feedback was noted. We went through slides of what makes the RTR 310 engine tick and the advancements in tech that made this bike possible.
• Changes to the bike: We were called to their facility to receive an ECU update and vibration dampers. A stripped-down bike was shown and the changes that were to be done were explained in detail. Changes to ECU would mean a more aggressive response and reduction in lag we felt earlier (which in my case led to the bike "coughing at times" on urban mode 50-60kph") and new dampers which aimed to reduce the vibrations in the mid-band.
• DIY session: This session was post-lunch, but was by far the most exciting session. Post lunch while most folks tend to tune off for a bit, the 25 of us were listening in rapt attention to our instructor as he showed us part by part, the sections of the engine and covered the Preload adjustments, chain lube cleaning and clutch cable adjustment. We were instructed to measure the angle of the quick shifter (21 Degrees) and also to calculate the unladen sag and the laden sag to ensure that the difference is in the ballpark of 42mm or 30% of travel for optimal setup.

Post this session, all of us were corralled back to the classroom where we had a fun trivia session with the 1st and 2nd prize winners getting a TVS smart connect S20X Bluetooth intercom while 3rd and 4th getting t-shirts. The trivia was based on what we had learnt during the day and the basics from the owner's manual.

As the day came to a close our bikes were lined up ready to go. A video was taken of a slow rollout of all the bikes present and we were itching to test out the changes in engine mapping. I rode back the 50km with a wide grin plastered across my face. The response was crisper and the exhaust note at higher revs was pure music to my ears.

I need to ride it more extensively and feel the nature of the changes made in various settings.

If anyone from our forum was there yesterday or going today, please do chime in with your experience.

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