New Delhi – The craze for adventure bikes is increasing rapidly, and if we look at the two-wheeler industry, almost every company has at least one adventure motorcycle in its lineup.
TVS has also entered the adventure motorcycle segment by launching its new TVS Apache RTX 300. We rode this motorcycle across the hills of Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, covering nearly 120 kilometers on and off the road. After this extensive ride, here’s our detailed review and opinion about the bike.
Looks and Design
At first glance, the TVS Apache RTX might remind you of other adventure motorcycles in the segment, but if you observe closely, it appears significantly larger. The design looks quite attractive – a large fuel tank, tall windscreen, all-LED lighting, split seats, and block-pattern tires give it a bold and proportionate look. The bodywork is completely new, and the rear section also looks impressive. Since it’s a TVS motorcycle, the quality of panels, plastic, and switches used is top-notch.
Comfort and Ergonomics
The design of the TVS Apache RTX fully embraces the adventure motorcycle character, and the biggest USP of such bikes is their comfortable ride. It features an almost flat and upright handlebar with footpegs positioned downward. The seats are very comfortable. With an 835 mm seat height and 180 kg weight, it is manageable even for shorter riders. We rode it for over 100 kilometers around the Fagu area near Shimla, which included smooth roads as well as rough and off-road stretches. Despite this, the RTX never felt tiring.
Features and Safety
Nowadays, many two-wheeler manufacturers are adding advanced features to their motorcycles, but the TVS Apache RTX comes loaded with almost all features a rider might need, even some first-in-segment features that you won’t find in the KTM 250 Adventure or Suzuki V-Strom SX. It has a color TFT display that allows you to control traction and riding modes. There are four riding modes – Rally, Tour, Urban, and Rain. The screen also offers all the features found in the new Apache RTR 310, and all of them can be operated via the left-side switchgear. It even gets cruise control, which works very effectively.
One of the best parts of the new Apache RTX is the option to mirror Google Maps navigation – a feature previously seen on the new Himalayan 450. The handlebar also gets both Type-A and Type-C USB chargers. Whether you buy the base or top variant, a bi-directional quickshifter comes as standard. The headlight is quite powerful, too. If you opt for the BTO variant, you also get adjustable suspension, a tire pressure monitoring system, and a brass-coated chain.
Engine, Performance, and Ride Quality
The TVS Apache RTX 300 is powered by an all-new 299cc single-cylinder engine that produces 36hp and 28.5Nm of torque. When compared to the older 312cc engine used in the RTR 310 and RR 310, it feels slightly less powerful, but you’ll be impressed by its refinement. During our ride, most of the testing was done on narrow and uneven hill roads. We mostly used gears from second to fourth, and the bike easily reached 80 kmph in fourth gear. However, switching to fifth gear required lowering the speed and downshifting again due to the terrain – as you can imagine, mountain roads aren’t built for high-speed testing. We’ll only get a complete sense of its highway performance once we conduct a full road test.
The engine performance felt decent overall, though we occasionally wished for a bit more power – especially during overtakes, where it felt slightly underpowered. The gearbox, however, performed excellently, providing smooth upshifts and downshifts without any issues. In terms of mileage, the Apache RTX 300 can easily deliver around 35-40 km/l.
As for ride quality, the motorcycle’s chassis feels very balanced. Built on a steel trellis frame with a detachable subframe shared with the RTR 310 and RR 310, the RTX behaves like a true touring machine. With 180 mm of front and rear suspension travel, it offers an excellent ride experience. The front uses a 19-inch wheel with a 110-section tire, while the rear gets a 17-inch wheel with a 150-section Eurogrip tyre. These tires provide good grip and confidence on rocky and uneven surfaces. In Rally mode, the rear-wheel ABS gets automatically deactivated, and traction control can also be turned off, enhancing the off-road experience. Even under hard braking, the motorcycle feels stable and confident.
Price and Verdict
The base variant of the TVS Apache RTX 300 is priced at Rs 1.99 lakh, the top variant at Rs 2.14 lakh, and the BTO variant at Rs 2.29 lakh (ex-showroom). At this price point, the RTX offers an almost perfect package with more features than the KTM 250 Adventure and Suzuki V-Strom SX. Its road presence is impressive, too. The only thing we wished for was a slightly more powerful engine, which would have made it even better.