Worth buying? TVS Victor features, mileage, price in India

The new Victor caters to a carefully chosen sub-segment of the vast Indian commuter motorcycle space. This is what we think of it.

The TVS Victor is back from its sabbatical. Although the new gen motorcycle has nothing in common with its predecessor, it is looking to take full advantage of the nameplate’s positive brand recall in what is a highly competitive two wheeler segment in the country. Positioned above the Star City in TVS’ commuter portfolio, the Victor 110 primarily targets mature audience who don’t mind paying a little extra for useful features and good performance. So, with the new TVS Victor 110, the company is venturing into a slightly upmarket commuter sub-segment with the hope of incremental sales.

Design
The new TVS Victor 110 adopts a design which is modern but not distinct. If there is an unofficial norm for commuter motorcycle styling in India, the new TVS doesn’t deviate much from it. In other words, none of the elements bear striking resemblance to anything we have seen before and yet the overall design feels vaguely familiar. You get the drift?

The angular headlamp houses LED pilot lamps and the bikini mask features a nice looking tinted visor. The sporty fuel tank gets pronounced knee indents, decals and modern fuel filler cap. The generously proportioned seat sports contrast red stitching while the neat tailpiece houses an interesting brake light.

The alloy wheels, engine, rear brake lever and other hardware are finished in black. The new victor is high on material, paint and build qualities. We particularly like the way handlebar grips and switch gears feel.

Engine and Gearbox
The 109.7 cc air-cooled 4-stroke mill is the latest unit of EcoThrust series. The engineers have incorporated quite a few measures to keep NVH under check and to deliver usable torque between 3,000 and 7,000 rpm. The three-valve engine is paired with a 4-speed gearbox.

At 9.6 PS at 7,500 rpm and 9.4 Nm of torque at 6,000 rpm, the new Victor promises to deliver performance of a 125 cc commuter. It’s hard not to notice the vibrations at idling but they are quickly ironed out once the motorcycle gets going. The engine has a meaty low-end torque which would prove to be a boon in city traffic. It pulls neatly on top-gear from speeds as low as 30 kmph and responds to increase in load without forcing you to downshift. That’s a great advantage to have in a commuter.

That’s not all. The motor feels properly peppy when wrung hard and goes through the rev-range quickly. It feels best between 4,500 and 7,000 rpm beyond which, vibrations creep in on foot pegs and handlebars. As far as speed is concerned, the motorcycle runs out of breath beyond 90 kmph.

The 4-speed gearbox shifts in all-up pattern and has a very good feel. The ratios further enhance the motor’s versatility. To sum it up, the powertrain is sprightly, refined under normal riding and offers excellent driveability.

Ride, Handling and Braking
The new TVS Victor 110 is held together by a single cradle tubular chassis which is suspended by conventional telescopic front fork and twin hydraulic coil-spring shock absorbers with 5-step adjustment. The 17-inch alloy wheels come wrapped up in specially developed TVS Remora tyres (2.75×17 – front; 3.0×17 – rear). The base variant gets 130 mm front and 110 mm rear drum brakes while the top-end variant gets 240 mm petal disc upfront.

We rode the motorcycle on TVS’s rather bumpy test track at Hosur in second softest rear suspension setting (default). A real world test would’ve given us a better feel of the ride quality but from what we experienced, the Victor is a fairly comfortable motorcycle.

Grippy tyres and a well balanced chassis makes up for impressive handling characteristics. The bike can be flicked quite easily and it retains its composure even when subjected to mid-corner bumps. Suffice it to say that the equipment is more capable than what a typical target customer would expect when it comes to overall dynamics.

Coming to braking, the performance of the drum brake variant feels inadequate to say the least. It feels more so after riding the disc brake variant which offers a strong bite and decent feel. The bike comes to halt in straight line under panic braking and locks up only when the brakes are abused. If you’re planning to buy the new Victor, we strongly urge you to go for the disc brake variant.

Features

Being a premium commuter, the Victor has quite a few interesting features up its sleeve. Under the skin, it employs a bigger air-filter and a carburetor with larger venturi than industry norms to extract high outputs. The bike also gets digi-analog instrument console with tachometer, speedometer, odometer and fuel gauge. Other noteworthy features include LED pilot lamps, hazard indicators (the switch is located where the engine kill switch usually is), handlebar end-weights, a long seat and an alloy grab rail.

Verdict

The new TVS Victor 110 blends right into the crop of commuters that are on sale in India as far as aesthetics are concerned but it does boast an individuality by virtue of its performance and dynamics. It easily comes as a top choice if you’re looking for a feature rich urban commuter with good overall quality, higher-than-segment-average performance and excellent dynamics without compromising on the running costs.

Prices
New TVS Victor 110 Drum – INR 49,490
New TVS Victor 110 Disc – INR 51,490

This article first appeared on rushlane.com