One of the reasons the Samurai and the Shogun have passed into annals of Indian biking is because of their strong, reliable and highly efficient motors. Even at this very early stage of the game, the same can be said about the Victor. The 109.2cc motor is fairly conventional. But clever thought in blending various parameters to complement each other have resulted in an engine which is smooth and unruffled on one hand and capable and strong on the other. An instance of this complementing of technologies for overall benefit comes by way of using a high - 9.3: 1 - compression ratio which with the type of fuel we get in our country can cause havoc. However, thanks to the digital ignition, engine knocking is all but eradicated by optimising the ignition curve to take care of such an eventuality.
  
The decision to go for a longer stroke (53.5mm in a 51mm bore) was taken right at the design stage because the ultimate aim of the engine designers was to provide the bike with the widest possible torque band and therefore endow it with superb driveability. I would like to digress a little here to inform that this engine started life - on paper and computer - as a 75cc horizontally laid out unit for a step-thru. With evolving market scenarios and customer preferences, it was decided to knock off the step thru project and go to a proper 100cc plus engine with a vertical cylinder layout which has now seen the light of day in the Victor.
  
Vinay Harne told me that his team had employed a whole host of computer software to design the engine including the Boost software from AVL of Austria for the wave action experimentation for the air box which plays such a crucial role in the engine's Performance. This software does highly complex mathematical simulation of wave action so as to determine the tract length from air box to carb as also the tuned length of the exhaust and the volume of the silencer box. Various methods can be employed to derive either more torque or more power. This software, said Harne, helps come up with 32 different iterations of tract lengths and tuned lengths in 4 days as against ten times that or more lead time earlier!
  
Playing with valve sizes, valve angles and also spark plug placement and angle is another route towards developing a torquey motor. Harne and his men however preferred to go with the long stroke, small bore route. Having ridden the bike more than any other outsider to date, I can stick my neck out and state the results have been highly illuminating.

The engine breathes thru a Mikuni VM18 carburettor and develops 8.1bhp (at 7250rpm). Max torque produced is 8.1Nm (at 5500rpm).
  
As was a trend initiated with the Fiero, TVS has again zeroed in on the ignition system to help enhance various parameters and also to make one operate optimally in one or the other depending on the mode of operation the rider desires.
     
The two most crucial parameters are obviously Performance and Fuel Efficiency. Thanks to the use of a rider switchable digital ignition system, it is now possible to ride the Victor in either a genuine 'fuel conserving' mode or if power is needed, then you just switch over for a strong steady stream of horses. All this activated by the sensible operation of the rider's right wrist - a dual cable mechanism in the throttle activates a switch depending on how far the rider wrings it to keep it in the fuel saving mode while on crossing the five millimetres of throttle travel will see it move into the power mode once the 8mm safe limit is transgressed. It is a simple but neat mechanism in that the rider decides which of the two ignition curves he should bring into play for the engine to perform as fuel efficiently or powerfully as possible.
  
The engine also features SAI (secondary air injection) so as to convert hazardous carbon monoxide into the less harmful carbon dioxide.
  
The transmission is another item borne straight out of the racing programme with the Shaolin. Arvind Pangaonkar worked on the five-speed gearbox made specifically for competition and this forms the basis of the Victor's transmission system but with one cog less. A wet multiplate clutch is employed and there is a simple but effective star and roller mechanism with built-in arrestor to avoid overshifting of gears when attacking a set of challenging roads.