 Apache
is the name of the most fierce, Red-Indian tribe of USA, which
has killed more white men in the 19th Century than any other tribe.
If you get a chance, watch a Hollywood movie named “CHATO’s
LAND”. Chato is an Apache played by Charles Bronson. Chato’s
wife is raped and murdered by five white men, and the movie is
about Chato’s revenge, and how he single handedly overtakes
and kills all five of them one by one. How many bikes (whites?)
this Apache will overtake, remains to be seen.
This bike, the TVS Apache, was long in coming. In fact it was
overdue. The ever conservative TVS seemed loathe to load (overload?)
its bike(s) with things like 5-gears, disc brakes, mag-wheels,
self start and mach0 looks for fear of price overload. But given
the market demand spurred by youth and the success of the Pulsar,
This had to happen. And how! And when it came, it came with a
bang!
I am talking about the fierce looking 150 cc Apache, recently
launched by TVS. The technical specifications are as follows.
 The
cylinder dimensions are the same as the original TVS-Suzuki Fiero,
which became TVS Fiero, Fiero F2 and Fiero FX, which is the 147.5
cc, 4-stroke engine having bore X stroke of 57 X 57.8 mm. Styling
is the most aggressive on any Indian bike, and more ferocious
than even most foreign bikes. The engine produces 13.5 bhp (9.95
kw) of power at 8500 rpm and develops a peak torque of 12.3 Nm
at 6000 rpm at a compression ratio of 9.5. Built on a short wheelbase
of 1260 mm (Bullet==1370 mm), this bike has a 16 liter petrol
tank (with a 1.7 liter USABLE reserve) which feeds a Mikuni BS26
carburetor which is tuned for idling at 1400 rpm. This 136 kg
kerb weight ((Bullet==163 kg)) bike has a power to weight ratio
greater than 100 bhp per ton (101.16 bhp per ton to be exact),
which is claimed to be the highest in this class of bikes.
 The
engine features IE surge, i.e. Intake & Exhaust surge which
is created by having a resonator built into the air-cleaner box
as well as into the exhaust silencer. While other bike makers
call it Exhaustec (since it is there in exhaust silencer only),
TVS has gone a step further by building the same thing into the
air intake system as well. I call it Intec+Exhaustec surge. Ignition
is inductive, and digitally timed for precise and complete combustion
to give high fuel efficiency as well as high power. Combustion
efficiency is further enhanced by employing a twin-electrode spark
plug as well as the increased duration of the spark from 200 milliseconds
to 1200 milliseconds per spark. Roller cam followers are now almost
standard on all TVS bikes including this Apache.
Riding on black alloy 17-inch front wheels and 18-inch rear wheels
(same diameter as Victor Edge), the Apache has an option on the
rear tire. While the front tire (90/90 x 17) is standard on all
variants (and same as Edge), the rear has an option between 90/90
x 18 and 100/80 x 18. Having done some racing on this bike, my
recommendation is to go for the 100/80 rear tire because the road-holding,
cornering and flip-ability is much better with the 100/80 tire.
Using a 100/80 tire (instead of 100/90, which most others use),
lowers bike height and centre of gravity by @ ONE cm, which inspires
great confidence especially when you are riding above 100 kph
speed.
 The double cradle chassis is suspended on 105 mm travel telescopic
forks front, while 79 mm travel rear suspension is on mono-tube
inverted gas shockers with reservoirs. The 5-speed constant-mesh
gearbox operates thru a primary clutch which allows the bike to
be started (by kick or self) in any gear, while stopping is by
a 240 mm disc front and 130 mm drum at rear.
Electrics are backed by a 12 volt battery of 9Ah capacity for
the electric start version and 5 Ah for the kick-start version.
TVS bikes are known for their bright and excellent headlight beam
quality, and the 35 watt headlight of the Apache further proves
it. The 21 watt rear brake light further enhances night safety.
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