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S. Muralidhar

FOR nearly a decade now, the Hero Honda Splendor has dominated the 100cc motorcycle segment. After pioneering the launch of four-stroke two-wheelers, when the other two-wheeler manufacturers did not see a future for these bikes, Hero Honda nearly monopolised the market with Splendor. Later, though competition did come up with bikes in that segment they were not much more than just pinpricks to the Splendor.

The Splendor has gone on to become the world's largest selling bike. Hero Honda has perfected the product at every stage, adding more value and making it more reliable, so much so that the Splendor has been an "aspirational benchmark" for potential bike buyers in the entry-level 100cc segment. The fuel-efficiency, the fit and finish quality, and the value-for-money equation of the Splendor all looked unbeatable... Till now.

Splendor beater?

However, for this giant of the biking world, the road ahead could get rough. And it is an even more important point that real competition for the Splendor has come from not one of the other Japanese collaborations, but from (what has seemed till now) less likely quarters — a wholly indigenously developed bike, manufactured by an Indian two-wheeler company.

Enter the TVS Centra. The new 100cc bike from TVS Motor Company that unrelentingly focusses on the key features, which the entry-level bike buyer wants.

After its spat and split with erstwhile Japanese collaborator and equity partner — Suzuki Motor Corporation — TVS Motor Company has been suffering for want of a four-stroke, entry-level bike. The two-stroke TVS Max 100 and its variants could not help the company reach a larger, nationwide target customer base. So, all through the last two-three years, as the 110cc TVS Victor kept the company busy and its cash register ringing, its development team was quietly working on building an innovative, technologically superior, super efficient 100cc engine. The final package, by mating this engine to an entry-level bike that again has many firsts to its credit, could be TVS' best bet to take on the Splendor.

Centra theme

The TVS Centra's central theme is to capture the attention of the mileage and value-for-money conscious entry-level bike buyer for whom the Splendor has been closest to the best. At first glance, the TVS attempt to draw the entry-level bike buyer with the Centra almost seems extreme and on the face. A large fuel tank, chubby body panels, larger (than is the norm in this segment) bikini fairing and headlamp housing, broad seat and the puny tyres are all clearly features that TVS hopes will attract the entry-level bike buyer.

The reason why we feel that these features almost seem to border on the excess in terms of focus on economy is because the first impression you get when you look at the Centra is whether the design theme has been compromised for want of better fuel-efficiency.

If we may draw parallels, it looks a teenager who has tried on his father's XL-size blazer. A large tank and body panel, on a pair of puny tyres give it that look. But, overall, TVS is spot on with this product's positioning and focus. The buyer in this segment is less conscious about looks and more mindful of the mileage that he can get from the bike. Once astride the Centra, it is easier to appreciate why TVS chose to offer the looks and features that we have listed. The larger, multi-reflector headlamp enables the Centra to offer class-leading lighting. Together with the fairing, the fuel tank and the broader body panels give the Centra the looks and feel of a bike in the executive segment. As we drove through the crowded, two-wheeler infested streets of Chennai, we had to tackle a number of questions from curious onlookers. Yes, of course, there were a few who also thought that the Centra's fairing and headlamp looked like that of the Hero Honda Passion and the tail lamp to that of the Bajaj Aspire. Apart from a bit of inevitable design similarities, the Centra has enough to keep the aspiring bike buyer riveted. Despite the puny tyres, we felt confident while cornering and taking tight turns on the Centra.

Thanks to its well-balanced construction, this bike from TVS will probably score better on the handling and ride quality parameters over the other entry-level bikes. The Centra could make do with slightly broader tyres at the rear, but the thin tyre has, of course, been retained to reduce rolling friction and thereby boost the bike's fuel efficiency even further.

Heart of the matter... VT-i

The heart of the Centra that could potentially make this the benchmark among entry-level bikes in terms of technological superiority and fuel-efficiency is the new VT-i (variable timing - intelligent) engine that TVS has developed. The new VT-i engine technology is the first time that the concept of variable ignition timing has been applied to such effect in a two-wheeler engine. The technology is already available in the gasoline car engines of Honda's new City and Toyota's Corolla.

To look at, the Centra's 99.8cc engine is almost identical to that of the Hero Honda Splendor. But that is where the similarity ends. The VT-i engine in the TVS bike is deceptively simple from the outside, but hides from view a host of new technological features that enable it to offer class-leading fuel-efficiency.

Essentially, the Centra's VT-i engine revolves around three primary parameters that ensure optimum engine efficiency, which, in turn, enables the bike to squeeze out the most mileage from every drop of fuel. The three parameters are: Friction reduction, complete combustion of fuel, and controlling the amount of fuel to exactly meet the driver's requirements and, thereby, eliminate wastage of fuel. Lower friction and complete combustion of fuel also ensures lower emissions.

The VT-i engine's technological prowess comes from the microprocessor control system that features four different ignition maps to handle specific requirements of the rider, including a map that enables the engine to warm up quickly during a cold start. The microprocessor, a kind of engine control unit, senses the engine requirement, based on sensors that feed it information, such as engine temperature and rpm level, and adjusts the ignition timing accordingly. As a result, the engine is able to offer high fuel efficiency and an ultra wide torque band, while still coming up with a decent 7.5 bhp of maximum power.

During cruising and low-throttle operation, the microprocessor, and so the engine, is programmed to follow an economy ignition curve, thereby delivering the highest fuel economy. Other ignition curves are programmed to deliver different requirements of the customer such as cold starting, high acceleration and so on. Dual mapping was a feature that TVS was already offering in the Victor. The dual mode engine operation — economy and power — was, therefore, already available.

Now, with the VT-i engine, TVS has also been able to avoid fuel wastage during cold starts by giving the engine a new temperature sensor and a third ignition timing curve to quicken the engine warm up function for optimum combustion and near-zero fuel wastage.

The mapping in the microprocessor of the VT-i engine also produces a dual spark at the spark plug compared to the single spark in a conventional engine. A clever way of skirting the difficulty of fitting two spark plugs that a small engine does not allow. Bajaj's Pulsar uses two spark plugs in its 150cc and 180cc engines to ensure better combustion of fuel in the engine chamber.

In the TVS Centra's VT- engine, the timing of the two sparks from the same spark plug are controlled by the microprocessor, thereby, ensuring a total burn.

So, together with the processor's ability to bring up the engine to optimum operational temperature, the twin sparking, and differential mapping for economy and power modes, the engines produce a wide torque curve and better fuel efficiency. Despite this high focus on fuel efficiency, the Centra's engine is also refined and manages to beat most of the competition in its sprinting ability.

In the Centra, the fuel wastage issue has been further addressed by cutting fuel intake by the engine during the deceleration of the vehicle.

Excess fuel tends to get wasted during deceleration, as the air supply to the engine is reduced, even as it continues to suck in fuel. In the VT-i engine, the cut off controller sensor senses deceleration and operates a solenoid valve to allow air from the air filter to flow in, thereby reducing fuel wastage.

Another fuel-efficiency boosting parameter — friction reduction — has been achieved through a combination of new, unique technology features. The VT-i engine manages to nearly eliminate friction, which usually causes considerable loss of mechanical efficiency in conventional engines.

The exterior surface of the piston in the VT-i engine is coated with tin that boosts its anti-friction property. The piston rings are also specially-designed thin section rings. The combination of the two features reduces friction and improves the mechanical efficiency of the VT-i engine.

Further, in the VT-i engine, the valve rocker, which is a mechanical device that allows the camshaft to actuate the inlet and exhaust valves uses a roller cam follower to cut down friction.

Conventional engines suffer from friction caused by the mechanical transfer of energy. The increased mechanical efficiency of the VT-i engine translates to better torque delivery at low engine speeds and boosts fuel economy.

Can it be on top?

The bottomline is that the "hi-tech" engine enabled the Centra to come up with an amazing fuel efficiency number of about 72 km per litre in city conditions.

We put our test vehicle through the worst stop-and-go traffic of Chennai and despite the lack of any particular "fuel-efficiency conscious" driving, the Centra came up with the magical 70-plus mileage. For a vehicle packed with so much technology and such class leading fuel-efficiency, TVS has got its pricing right at Rs 37,000 (ex-showroom).

The litmus test for the TVS Centra will be how it can overcome the brand image that the Hero Honda Splendor has built over the years. It has the stuff to cross the hurdle, and the VT-i engine will give the bike the boost that could potentially take it past the Splendor's stranglehold in the market.

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