TVS Apache RR 310 unveiled
It's basically a fully-fared version of BMW's G310R
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54 years 8 monthsAs promised Indian firm TVS has unveiled its Apache RR 310 single-cylinder sports bike
this morning.
And just as we expected, the result is basically a fully-faired take on BMW’s G310R. If
BMW ever opts to make a sports version of the G310, this is basically what it’ll be like.
The Apache RR 310 traces its roots back to last year’s Akula concept bike, and remains true
to that machine’s style. But underneath it’s almost indistinguishable from the BMW that
spawned it and which is built alongside it at the TVS factory in India.
The engine is the same reverse-cylinder single. TVS puts the capacity at 312.2cc, while
BMW rounds up to 313cc on its specs, but the dimensions are actually the same. Both bikes
make the same 34hp, although TVS says its peak is at 9700rpm, BMW at 9500rpm. Torque is
also basically identical; 27.3Nm at 7700rpm for the TVS, 28Nm at 7500rpm for the BMW
equivalent. A different injection map, perhaps?
The bike’s frame is also the same. Don’t be fooled by the way the section near the pegs looks
different to the BMW’s – on both bikes it’s just a plastic cover over an identical steel
structure. The Apache does get a different subframe, though, to accommodate pillion pegs
that hang from it rather than extending from the main frame as on the BMW.
Being a sports bike, the Apache gets rearset pegs, clip-ons and a higher, 810mm seat. Its
wheelbase is also a fraction shorter than the G310R’s at 1365mm, probably a result of new
yokes. The Apache’s top yoke in particular appears to hint that a BMW G310RR could also
be on the way – it’s a carbon copy of the design used on the S1000RR, albeit with the clip-
ons mounted above, rather than below, the yoke.
The Apache also gets its own, vertically-arranged LCD instrument panel, which is rather
more stylish than the G310’s rectangular, landscape-layout dash.
Wheels and the ByBre (Brembo’s cheaper sub-brand) brakes are also the same, although the
Apache gets sawtooth discs front and rear rather than simple circular ones. ABS is standard.
Weight, at 170kg wet, is around 11kg more than a naked G310R, which is little surprise
given that the TVS is carrying a lot more plastic bodywork. However, that bodywork also
helps the Indian bike to a higher top speed of 160km/h (99mph).
Will the Apache be offered in Europe? Understandably the firm’s main target is the
comparatively huge Indian market, but at the bike’s unveiling TVS President and CEO KN
Radhakrishnan said that the 310 RR is “positioned to fulfill the ever-growing aspirations of
the new age customers globally.”