TVS Apache RTR 160 4V SmartXonnect

What is it?

The TVS Apache RTR 160 4V is one of few options in the local market that can claim actual racing provenance. Developed by TVS's team of engineers with over three and a half decades of racing experience, it's fast, aggressive, and can be a difficult beast if you don't know what you're doing. 

What's new?

The 4V has been introduced to our market a year prior but has received some updates for the new year. The bike spots new tank graphics, now with more checkered flags. A more notable update is the new headlight housing, which is now fitted with a LED headlamp. The front turn signals have been moved up creating a more aggressive look. The seating position remains as it was, with the wide padding accommodating many types of buttocks. A brand new addition is the SmartXonnect intelligent instrument cluster, which requires its own separate paragraph. 

The SmartXonnect system

As it is, the SmartXonnect system is currently the most advanced motorcycle instrument cluster in the Bangladeshi market. When connected to its proprietary android app — found under the name "TVS Connect – Bangladesh" in playstore—via Bluetooth, the system will greet you by name every time you start your motorbike. It will also show your phone's charge, unread messages, incoming calls, and missed call alerts. Users can also access the app's setting to set up automated replies to incoming calls and messages, which can be sent by pressing the "I" button found on the left switch cluster.

In addition to phone functions, SmartXonnect also provides turn by turn navigation through its app. When the rider selects a destination in the app, the screen will mark the path with directional arrows as well as the distance to the next turn. In addition to basic navigation, the app also contains the location of a vast amount of fuel stations and the bike will try to direct the rider to the nearest one if low on fuel. Besides these features, the map also displays restaurants, hospitals, and few other items, but as of the time of writing this article, TVS is still working on properly implementing them for Bangladesh.  

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Because of the bike's "racing DNA", the app also contains a couple of neat features for those who like to push their riding skill to the limit. The first is the race telemetry, which is pretty much designed for those track days we dream of having in our country's nonexistent race track. If records lap time, top speed, g-force, and all that good stuff. The other is the Lean angle mode which uses the phone's internal gyroscope to record the bike's lean angles, allowing the rider to hone their corner attack techniques.

How's the ride?

It's fast, rowdy, and doesn't like you very much. The 4V was made to be fast and exciting, which it achieved at the cost of novice friendliness. Given gas, the bike will accelerate at a rapid rate —0-60 kph in 4.7 seconds if marketing to be believed—, with the double-barrel exhaust taunting you to go faster. As soon as you approach a corner at speed though, you will realize that the wheels really don't turn well, as the engineers pretty much expected the rider to have mastered the art of shifting body weight. If you aren't used to leaning, don't try to attack a corner with this. That said, the strong brakes and tires allow you to quickly slow down before a corner, with the oil-cooled 4 valve engine rapid recovering speed after you clear it. Experienced riders will have a blast taming this beast, others need to adopt a more gentle approach.

Verdict

If you're looking for a motorcycle with a car-like infotainment system, the 4V is what you need. The fact that it comes paired with a fast bike with a great sounding exhaust is a nice bonus. Just make sure you know what you're doing before you give it the full beans, because the bike does not play nice with reckless riders.   

Specs

Engine: 159.7 cm3 SL, 4 strokes, oil-cooled (16.5 PS, 14.8 Nm of torque).

Transmission: Five-Speed-Manual

Brakes: Disk (270mm front, 200mm rear)

Suspension: Telescopic oil damped Fork, SHOWA Monoshock

Features: LED head and taillamp, Daytime Running Light, SmartXonnect digital instrument panel,

Price: BDT 196,900/- (Double Disk)

Photos: Ayan Rahman Khan

For details, contact TVS auto Bangladesh LTD