May 26, 2008

TVS Flame: Oh no, what happened?

TVS Flame 125 image from tvsflame.com


Finally, I got to ride the TVS Flame, and I must say, that it is as much a 'triumph' of marketing as it is a blip on the otherwise unblemished radar of TVS R&D. Everytime I look at the bike, I find that the looks are the best part of the bike. Which, as you can imagine, is a dangerous place for a new product in a highly competitive market to be in. Handling is good and all that, but that engine, and its ability to not go anywhere while making an utter racket deflates all the possiblities. The Flame feels best ridden at 40 kph in top gear (which is fourth, unfortunately, not fifth). Uh oh. At the moment, in my personal 125cc ratings, the Honda Shine and the Yamaha Gladiator remain the motorcycles to purchase. Sorry, TVS, better luck next time. Aag lagegi? No, actually, I'd beg to differ.

3 comments:

EvolutioN said...

Guess that whole brouhaha with Bajaj, and the impending pressure of the launch date coupled with the pressure of changing the engine at the last moment did it in...

I must say, when i saw 10.5 bhp for a 125 cc engine on a TVS bike, was surprised myself, since yam with the gladiator was offering 11 bhp, with equally good looks...

:( TVS fan let down... hope they catch up soon...

Love, laughter n keep the Faith,

S

Payeng said...

The engine vibes on the new Flame (with mono spark plug) were quite disturbing when I took it for a test ride..

What's wrong TVS..?? Its difficult to imagine that the butter smooth engine of the Fiero (TVS-Suzuki) came out of the same stables.

Anonymous said...

this is the beginning of the end for TVS..
Actually maybe not the beginning, more like the middle..