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S. Muralidhar

I WOULD like to buy a motorcycle for personal use. At the moment, I am trying to decide between two bikes — the TVS Victor and Hero Honda Splendor. My budget for the bike is not more than Rs 42,000. Which one of these would be the better choice? Please advice.

The number of bikes that you can choose from will increase, if you are ready to stretch that budget or if you are willing to look at bikes that are slightly stripped down variants of their more expensive cousins. The more expensive ones in your scanner could be the Hero Honda Passion Plus, the Bajaj Caliber 115, Yamaha Libero and the Bajaj Wind 125.

The slightly less sleekly produced (stripped down) variants that you may also want to consider depending on your tastes and expectations from the bike are Boxer CT K-Tec and Hero Honda CD-Dawn.

However, if you have already considered these options before zeroing in on the two you have listed above, then read on to get an idea about the comparison between the two bikes.

Within the constraint of the budget you mentioned, the two choices are probably amongst the top five in terms of performance, ease of maintenance and "no frills" design.

But in terms of "contemporariness", the two are pretty much in the extremes. The Hero Honda Splendor was introduced in 1994 and has been a best seller since, becoming the world's largest selling bike. On the other hand, the TVS Victor was introduced in 2001 and, its user friendly, seemingly very India-specific features, such as tall rising position, large headlamps and broad comfortable seating, have also made a roaring success during the last two years.

In terms of design, fit and finish quality too, the TVS Victor would score over the Hero Honda Splendor. However, in terms of sheer value for money or bang for the buck that the Splendor represents, it could also be a compelling buy. Being part of the world's largest biking team also means that maintenance costs are low. It is one of the most tried and tested bikes in its class in the country.

The Splendor is low slung and its 97.2cc four-stroke engine puts out 7.5PS of power, compared to the TVS Victor's 109.3cc engine generating 8.1bhp. The Victor's ground clearance is also marginally higher, though it loses out to the Splendor on the wheel base parameter, with the latter being 30mm more at 1,230mm. The Victor's kerb weight is also 4 kg more than the Splendor's 109 kg.

The TVS Victor is also a no-frills bike focussed on offering the rider higher safety, more comfort and sturdiness for a longer life. But if you are small made (in terms of height), the Victor's high saddle position may be something that you will have to check out before the decision is taken.

Despite its smaller engine, the Splendor nearly matches the Victor in the acceleration parameter, however, the latter's fuel efficiency is better. The TVS Victor can be expected to offer 65-70 km per litre.

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