TVS Radeon Review: A Stylish Commuter
Design & Styling: TVS Radeon is slightly different in appearance from the bikes of its segment. Clearly, its distinctive presence and premium elements make it unique from design point of view. If you look the bike from the front, it looks similar to other bikes in commuter segment.
The front of the bike is dominated by boxy-headlight with the LED daytime running lamp embed at the lower side and flanked by clear-lens indicators. The chrome surrounding the whole headlamp unit makes it more attractive and appealing.
The best view you can get of this bike is from the side. It is entirely different looking and appealing at the same time. The first thing that I personally noticed is its knee tank pads which is usually not an element of commuter segment bikes. Another eye-catching element is its engine crankcase which is painted in a champagne gold shade. The brown-coloured seat that you getting is largest in the segment and comes with contrast stitching. The whole exhaust is surrounded by chrome, giving premium-ness to the bike.
Coming to the rear of the bike, tail lamps replicate to its closest rival supported by indicators. Chrome has been used so much in the bike and the rear also gets its dose of chrome. The grab-rail or luggage holder is also very similar to splendor. The Radeon comes with matte-black alloy wheels shod with TVS Duragrip series. The detailing on the elements and fit & finish of the bike is something which TVS has really worked upon. I mean it does not look like just another commuter bike.
Features: We found nothing new in the features section of TVS Radeon apart from side stand indicator and neutral gear indicator. It is equipped with an analogue instrument cluster with speedometer and fuel gauge. Apart from speed, fuel and trip meters, the cluster also shows Power/Eco mode, side stand indicator and neutral gear indicator. The side stand indicator also produces a beep sound if you try to start the bike without closing the side stand. Almost every bike in the segment has all the basic feature set that TVS Radeon comes with.
Engine and Performance: TVS Radeon gets its power from air-cooled, 109.7cc single-cylinder engine. It is the same unit that we have seen in TVS Star City Plus and Victor. It churns out a maximum power of 8.3bhp at 7,000RPM and a peak torque output of 8.7Nm at 5,000RPM. The riders of commuter bikes always want to more mileage to save the fuel cost and this bike doesn’t disappoint. After riding the Radeon for more than 300km mostly in city traffic, because its a commuter bike after all, It still returned the average of 60-kmpl all the time. The ARAI Claimed mileage of Radeon is 69kmpl. The fuel tank capacity of the bike is 10 liters including the reserve.
Let’s talk about its performance, the first gear is very short and you have to quickly shift to the second to keep on moving. The bike is very smooth to ride at 50-60 kmph speed. Once you go beyond the 70 kmph speed, the bike will shift you in vibration mode. 0-60 kmph can be achieved in lesser than 9 second and maximum it can go up to 90 kmph at full throttle. To control this much speed you will need brakes and the bike comes with synchronized braking technology (SBT) which is combined brake technology. The brakes are very responsive and up to the mark. Coming to the exhaust sound, it is not that loud that we need to mention but still it sounds better than its rivals.
Ride and Handling: On a Sunday we went riding the bike for 70km in one go. It included city traffic, little bit of highway and congested roads as well. The bike didn’t disappoint us at least in terms of handling. Manoeuvring through congested roads was easy. TVS Radeon gets telescopic suspension at front and twin hydraulic shock absorbers at the rear. The bike can effortlessly handle small potholes and patchy roads. The weight of the Radeon is just 112 kilogram which helps you to beat the traffic. The seat is comfortable and two people can easily and comfortably sit on it.
Verdict:
The TVS Radeon comes packed with good features and its retro style design differentiates it in the overcrowded commuter segment. It rivals with Hero Splendor Plus, Bajaj Platina and Honda 110 CD Dream DX. All these bikes are nearly same in terms of performance but if you are looking for style and looks, this bike makes its value for itself.
(Pictures Shot on: Samsung S10 Plus)
