The Hindu Business Line : A new Victor on the road

A BEAMING Sachin is again looking down at us from those massive hoardings put up by TVS Motors. Only this time, it is not the same old Victor that he is endorsing, or just another souped up variant.

For TVS Motors, the decision to launch a 125cc variant of the Victor must have been a logical and easy one to make. It could not make much of an impact in the 150cc segment with its Fiero and successor Fiero F2, as it managed in the 100cc+ with its Victor. And, with the market moving towards a mid-segment between the entry level 100cc and the bigger 150cc+ segments, TVS, too, hopes that the average low-end bike buyer will want to upgrade to this cusp segment.

So, it was as a natural extension of the Victor, by now an extremely strong brand, that TVS decided to showcase the new 125cc bike. The Victor GLX also has TVS's stamp writ large on it. The company's new-found confidence at manufacturing quality bikes with in-house technology and its maturing design capabilities are evident on the Victor GLX 125.

Design and build

In the Victor GLX, TVS has borrowed a number of design cues from the Victor GL and the Fiero F2 and managed to polish them. The near hexagonal tail-lamp and the body side panels at the rear, the large headlamp and the fuel tank which has been rounded off at the edges and moulded to give it a larger profile are all design elements that remind you of the GLX's older siblings.

The Victor GLX also continues to toe TVS' customary conservatism in design. Without any radical departure from a highly utilitarian focus for its bikes, the Victor GLX continues to exude sturdy build quality and user-friendly features in a neat package which, however, may not look as unique as the Yamaha Fazer. The GLX's practical features include its focus on clear visibility, with the large, clear-lens type headlamp that houses 35W/35W halogens and the clear-lens tail-lamp (which does resemble the Hero Honda Passion's).

The broad fairing and tinted fibreglass combo house the instrument cluster which is configured into a dual pod structure displaying the speedo with a trip-meter, an engine rpm indicator and a fuel gauge. The stepped design seating in the Victor GLX is thicker than some of the other competing bikes and offers considerable support to the rider.

The broad seat and the slightly chubbier body panels carry the design theme through to the tail and culminate in the aluminium die-cast grab rail. The turn indicators, identical to that in its predecessor, is housed in chrome-plated plastic and are set closer to the body — both at the front and at the back — to avoid breakages while being parked in cramped slots. The switches and knobs have good quality plastic and are user friendly, with the exception of the fuel tap, which feels flimsy and a shade too tight. Neatly moulded foot-rests that have been mounted on aluminium die-cast sub-frames, chrome-plated exhaust and heat shield, the plastic cowls covering the gap below the fuel tank and engine, and dual tone decals add to the neat, crisp look of the GLX.

The GLX's styling is not radical like the Fazer, but pleasing to the eye. TVS is also attempting to attract young buyers with candy-floss colours, dual tone decals and greater attention to detail. The bike also comes with drum and disc brake options that also have a few other differences in the colours being offered and the instrument panel layout.

Chassis and suspension

The chassis is a single down tube frame type, with the same, sturdy rectangular swing arm that first caught user fancy in the smaller-engined Victor GL. Together, with the stiff chassis and the specially-designed Ceat tyres, the box profile swing arm enhances the Victor GLX's stability during both straight runs and through deep turns.

The suspension set up features a telescopic oil-damped fork in front with a travel of 105mm and a hydraulic, five-step adjustable type suspension with coaxial springs at the rear.

GLX's stiff chassis, good suspension, rubber engine mounts, vibration damping handlebar weights and the well-cushioned seating give a crisp, vibration-free feel.

Engine and gearbox

Compared with the Victor GL's 110cc engine, the new GLX's 125cc engine is nearly 25 per cent more powerful. The new four-stroke, air-cooled 124.8cc mill's dimensions includes a 3mm deeper, 54.5mm bore and the same 53.5mm stroke length. The engine develops a peak power of about 10 bhp at a high 7,500 rpm and a maximum torque of 9.5Nm at 5,500 rpm. But what could make the Victor GLX's engine different from the rest of the competition in this emerging segment is the company's VT-i technology; this was first put to test in the TVS Centra, the fuel-efficient entry-level 100cc bike launched earlier this year.

The VT-i technology was explained in detail when this column profiled the Centra (Business Line, April 11.)

But in a nutshell, the technology, developed by TVS, is an amalgam of smaller new technology features that go to reduce friction and fuel wastage, especially while the bike is decelerating (or when the throttle is being shut-off).

A few of these features that go on to boost the bike's fuel efficiency, while also boosting performance, include the unique digitally mapped and controlled four-stage ignition timing, temperature sensor in the oil sump and the solenoid valve for the throttle that cuts off fuel supply during deceleration. This 125cc VT-i engine is fairly well supported by a four-speed constant mesh, slick-shifting gearbox. Though a five-speed transmission may have added a bit more bite to the bike, TVS feels that the Victor GLX can hold its own as a four-speeder, especially, because the bike is essentially for in-city use.

With the VT-i technology to boot, the Victor GLX comes close to a few 100cc bikes in the mileage department. Our test bike came up with a respectable 54 km per litre after more than a fortnight of weaving it through cramped city driving conditions. The GLX also packs in a respectable value at Rs 48,000 (ex-showroom) for the disc brake version and Rs 45,000 for the drum brake version.

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