2016 TVS Apache RTR 200 review, test ride

User-friendly

The Apache RTR 200 comes with a 197.8cc four-stroke, air and oil-cooled, single-cylinder unit. This is capped by a four-valve head, driven by a single overhead camshaft. A balancer shaft is in place to iron out all vibes. Fuel injection is an optional extra, or you can buy the RTR 200 with a Japanese supply, Keihin CV carburettor. Peak power made is 20.2bhp at 8,500rpm, and there’s 1.85kgm of maximum torque available at 7,000rpm. TVS has worked hard to ensure the torque curve stays as robust as possible throughout its wide powerband.

The RTR series has from day one offered a gruff exhaust note, and the 200 takes this a step further, with a louder, throatier note audible the moment you fire up the engine. The bike we tested was fuel-injected. Its engine displayed sporty, rev-happy character that encourages you to ride hard. There’s good low-end grunt and a strong mid-range. You don’t need to pull the Apache RTR 200 all the way to the top of its powerband to derive the best from its 20 pony strong herd. Although the 200 revs freely to about 10,000rpm, shifting at around 9,000rpm is good enough to gain quick performance. Down the TVS test track straight, we saw the Apache RTR 200 achieve an indicated 114kph in 4th gear, going on to achieve close to an indicated 120kph in 5th, before running out of road.

Although TVS assured us this would be immediately fixed, and involved only minor ECU adjustment, we faced a bugbear on the fuel-injection equipped bike, with fuelling not as sorted out as expected. When braking hard and banging down through the gearbox for engine retardation, the RTR 200 engine felt as though you were still riding with throttle slightly open (when in reality it was completely closed), as revs refused to chop-off as completely as we wanted. This made hard braking harder work, and not as confident an experience as expected.

The five-speed gearbox is toe-lever operated to provide smooth shifts in a 1-down, 4-up pattern. Power transfers to the rear wheel via an exposed drive chain, its plastic shroud smartly integrated with the rear wheel hugger. TVS claims the RTR 200 can achieve 0-60kph in 3.9 seconds, which we can confirm after a more detailed test.