Duralife engine, 9.2bhp, 10.0Nm torque, gas dampers, attractive colours and smart alloys should mean traffic-cutting abilities. Sushant Balsekar wonders, how?

An eARLY-morning ritual: Hurl myself out of bed an hour before I swipe in at the office, quickly soap the skin, on to breakfast, wash it down with coffee, mount my trust- worthy two-wheeler, which I hope will fly over the traffic jam. But alas! The latter is but a dream. I'm sure this is everybody's dream and everybody's reality? You're cursing and swearing and wanting to spit. And when you finally reach your destination, you wonder how much fuel the old boy has been drinking. Apparently, TVS Motor now has a solution for us. The new Victor Edge, the ‘traffic cutter.’ They claim this bike can do what others cannot – cut through traffic! And how does the Edge manage to do this? A rebored engine with less power but more torque is expected to give you the requisite heady performance. New dual-tone finish that makes other riders stop and look. Five spoke alloys that make the ride lighter, thanks to the proven aluminium tech and gas shocks that remain unfazed by the craters on our roads – a perfect recipe to make a two-wheeled jet plane. I haven't ridden this jet plane of a bike as one was not available but its positioning seems intriguing enough to whip up a quick preview.
That's one way of looking at it. But the Edge's maker wishes to get just one point across, that the Victor Edge is capable enough to cut travel time and we really don't know how it does so. All right, let's make yet another attempt to understand this. You see a hundred vehicles in front of you just like Sauron's wicked army and you have to battle it and get to the other side. Just throttle hard and the army will let you pass? Well I'm not Moses and I do not carry a staff while riding. Also, if you choose to ride through in real-time conditions you could perhaps knock off a few wing mirrors sticking out of cars.
Conduct a reality check and you'll find out it is next to impossible to cut through traffic just like that. What one could expect is a drivable engine, a good suspension and a comfortable riding position that could reduce the trauma. That is precisely what TVS gives you with the Victor Edge. The Duralife engine is the same as the one that powered the 100cc Victor GX; just that this one is expanded to squeeze in 25cc more. Torque, as compared to the existing Victor 125 GLX, is higher in the Edge to enhance pulling ability through traffic and make gear changes less frequent. The suspension of course helps with gas dampers providing a better ride than hydraulic telescopes. And the stylish vinyl that finally lures you to the bike over regular commuters.
The Victor Edge is a great looking bike with some fantastic cosmetic features. I’d buy it for its looks, handling, comfort and fuel efficiency and not because it's a traffic cutter.
In retrospect, I wonder whether this traffic cutter would have been a better option to the Honda CR-V, which I was stuck in for close to 30 hours during the 26th July floods in Mumbai; I would have reached home early and would be sipping on good spirit, trying to revive myself after a tiring day.