TVS Apache RTX 300 first ride review: The new segment disruptor?

TVS needs little to no introduction in the road racing space. But did you know that the brand has been just as big, if not bigger in off-road racing classes too. It was the first Indian OEM to enter the Dakar Rally. It also has countless national off-road and rally championships under its belt. TVS has always celebrated its road racing success by way of the machines they launch for you and me to buy. But what about an off-road or adventure-oriented machine? Well, it's taken its time, but TVS has finally launched its first ADV and it's called the Apache RTX 300. The ADV is also the first bike to feature the company’s brand-new engine the RT-XD4 that was showcased at the Bharat Mobility Show earlier this year. Is the TVS Apache RTX 300 everything you would expect from the brand or does it fall short?

TVS Apache RTX 300 design

In terms of styling, the Apache RTX 300 is quintessentially TVS. The designers are using what TVS is calling a mono-volume design that means that the whole bike follows a continuous design and looks like one whole unit rather than multiple smaller components put together. To a large extent, they have achieved this with the styling of the ADV. At the front you have a new quad-LED headlight system which also has an auto-intensity function that supposedly adjusts the throw of the light based on the ambient conditions and need for illumination. The headlights are baked into a nice large fairing that starts at the front and continues till the tank, going in line with the mono-volume design. Above the lights is a tall windscreen and below the lights, you can option a short ADV-style beak if you want to. Behind the windscreen, you’ll find nestled the 5-inch colour TFT screen which is the same unit from the RTR 310 but gets bespoke animation and UI. Then you have the tall-wide handlebar with familiar switchcubes from the 310s. The 12.5-litre fuel tank is wide and flows nicely into the seat allowing you to grip it with your legs well. The seats are split units, with a long and wide one for the rider and a stepped unit for the pillion which looks quite accommodating as well.

The colour we rode had the frame finished in white which contrasts the green and grey of the fairing plastic seamlessly. The rear is made up of a sort of floating tail light with indicators on either side. The exhaust unit on the motorcycle looks well designed and ties up the ADV styling quite nicely with its shape and size. On the whole, fit and finish levels are great and the design of the Apache RTX is quite beautiful. There’s also clear inspiration from a bunch of big ADVs from international brands. Which, I will leave for your imagination to conjure up. But the bike looks stunning, that’s for sure.

TVS Apache RTX 300 engine and performance

Powering TVS’s first ADV is the brand-new RT-XD4 engine that was showcased at the Bharat Mobility Show at the start of the year. The engine is an all-new unit, designed and developed by TVS. It is a 299cc, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled unit that puts out 35.5bhp at 9000rpm and 28.5Nm at 7000rpm. The engine is mated to a six-speed gearbox and a slip and assist clutch that ensures light clutch operation. Based on the variant that you get, there’s also a slick bi-directional quickshifter. Crank the starter button and you’re greeted by a bassy, single-cylinder exhaust note, like you would expect from a TVS motorcycle. Get going and you will immediately realise that the motor is a lot more refined than the 310s. Gears one to four are relatively short while five and six are taller for better touring ability. That being said, in our ride in the mountains around Shimla, we didn’t really get to explore the touring abilities of the motorcycles. But doing 95kmph in fifth gear, the motorcycle was quite refined which suggests that cruising at 100-120kmph should be fairly easy to do. This we will confirm when we get the motorcycle for a proper road test. Out in the twisties, the engine was quite a bit of fun and it enjoys being revved past 6000rpm and at the same time, the gearing is such that it is plenty tractable too and you can easily chug along at 30kmph in fourth gear and roll on to pick up the pace without any drama. This tractability really helps when riding off-road, allowing you to trundle along in a single gear and focus on the ride rather than shifting gears. Something amateur off-road riders will deeply appreciate. If you are an experienced rider though, you will definitely crave a livelier low and mid-range. Below 5500rpm the engine doesn’t rev very quickly and while plenty tractable, the power delivery isn’t very snappy. So, if you want to blip the throttle to jump a small rock or get the tail out, you’ll need to be above 5500rpm, something beginner riders will not be too comfortable with. But apart from that TVS has done a good job with the engine and for the sort of people buying it (mostly beginners), it will be plenty.

Refinement-wise, there are a few vibes that creep in every now and then but they aren’t the kind that will come in the way of a good ride or induce fatigue. So I'm not going to complain about that just yet. I’d like to spend a little more time with the bike before coming to a verdict on that. Like the 310s, the RT-XD4 also makes use of electronic throttle bodies which means ride-by-wire. That has allowed TVS to give the bike four riding modes – Rain, Urban, Tour and Rally. There are two power maps as well with a softer map for Rain and Urban and a more sharper map for Tour and Rally. I would’ve preferred if the sharper map was actually for Rain and Urban and there be an even more aggressive map for Rally and Tour. But this is something that more experienced riders will enjoy and that rider will likely buy a more powerful motorcycle. So as it stands, TVS has done a good job with the calibration of the ride modes. Some motorcycles did have fuelling inconsistencies but TVS said that it is being worked on. As far as electronics are concerned there is a disengageable traction control system and dual-channel ABS that can be turned off at the rear. The quickshifter works very well as does the gearbox that offers smooth and tactile shifts. The best part is that the electronics are not linked with the ignition and if you’ve turned them off and then turn off the ignition, they stay off the next time you start the bike.

TVS Apache RTX 300 chassis, ride and handling

Underpinning the RTX is a new split trellis frame and a cast aluminium swingarm. The frame is attached to a 43mm USD fork setup and a monoshock at the rear. TVS has gone for a more touring biased 19-inch front and 17-inch rear wheel setup and the tyre sizes of the 110/80 front and 150/70 rear reflect the same. Unlike with the RR and the RTR, TVS has opted for WP suspension instead of Showas. This seems to be a good call because the ride quality of the Apache RTX is by far its best attribute. Wheel travel at both ends is 180mm and that coupled with the wheel setup bestows the bike with 200mm of ground clearance. We were riding in Theog, Shimla and rode around that entire section and took a long off-road trail as well. The road conditions in and around Shimla right now are deplorable and that means that the suspension had to cope with serious abuse and it took it all like an absolute champ. It did a stellar job of ironing out most of the undulations and only the real sharp ones managed to unsettle the bike and even that was very slight. The ruts and potholes were back to back which makes it even harder for a bike to settle. But the RTX hardly needed to slow down for this. Bear in mind that our bikes had the BTO kit which meant adjustable suspension. But I left all settings at stock position to get an idea of how the non-adjustable would work and I was deeply impressed.

Even in terms of the ergonomics, TVS has done a stellar job. The saddle is a little tall at 835mm, but I don't think that will be too much of a problem for shorter riders. The footpegs are mid-mounted and the handlebar is set up such that it was comfortable for me to sit or stand and ride, giving a commanding position for both. Over a 100km of mostly bad roads and off-road riding and there was no fatigue to speak of. Riding in the twisties revealed that the inherent Apache DNA thrives in the RTX’s chassis as well making it a lot of fun for sport riding too. It transitions from left to right really nicely and holds the line rather well. That coupled with the suspension setup means that mid corner undulations don’t really bother you or the bike. Braking is solid too with a 320mm disc and a four-piston radial calliper at the front and a 240mm disc and single-piston calliper at the rear. TVS has set up the brakes such that you don’t have a very sharp initial bite and that makes a lot of sense given that this motorcycle is meant to go off the road too. The only real limitation on the chassis front are the TVS Eurogrip dual-purpose tyres. While they held up well on tarmac, riding on low traction surfaces, the tyres don’t hold up too well. According to TVS, RTX stands for Rally, Tour, Extreme. Given that it has a 19-inch front wheel with a wide tyre, I consider the bike more for touring than for hardcore off-roading. That being said, on the trails we were riding which wasn’t that challenging but not particularly easy either, the RTX held up really well. The only two things I wish were different was more snappy power down-low and better tyres. Apart from that the suspension setup and ergonomics meant that the bike was actually fun off-road and will allow you to explore really remote places with ease. Would I recommend that you go for level two or three trails with the bike. Well, no. There are better bikes for that. But is the RTX a good all rounder? For sure.

TVS Apache RTX 300 features and variants and verdict

The TVS Apache RTX 300 has been launched at an introductory starting price of ₹1.99 lakh for the base variant, while the top variant which introduces the quickshifter is priced at ₹2.14 lakh and the BTO (built-to-order) model with adjustable suspension, brass coated chain and TPMS can be had for ₹2.29 lakh (all prices are ex-showroom). You also get cruise control, switchable traction control and ABS and other electronics from the RR and RTR series. It gets all the connected features you can think of and like the Himalayan 450, TVS has also introduced full map mirroring on the screen. At this price, the TVS Apache RTX 300 is a serious value-for-money contender. It offers a true-blue adventure tourer experience with very little by way of flaws and it also looks stunning in the process. Yes, TVS is quite late to the ADV party, but they’ve taken their time with it and in the process have delivered quite the motorcycle. For those beginning to explore touring and adventure riding, the TVS Apache RTX should be very high up on their consideration list.