TVS Apache RTR 4V Or Honda Hornet 2.0 Cheapest Bike In The 200cc Segment

TVS Apache RTR 4V and the Honda Hornet 2.0 is the cheapest bike available Indian market in the 200cc segment. Before you consider buying one of them, you need to know which is the best bike for both bikes.

Let's start with design, Honda hornet's design is fresh out of the blocks so obviously it garners more attention, the gold anodized U folks immediately offer the bike an up-market feel. rest of the design remains more or less similar to the original hornet 160 with some minor changes here and their .the led headlamp well-sculpted tank with sharp cuts and creases the stubby exhaust with a good quality heat shield and the x-shaped tail lamp offer a perfectly cohesive design in every aspect. The RTR 4v also got a minor design update with the bs6 model. The headlamp has now been re-designed. We get full led lighting now, with multiple lighting elements and the led DRls sit like eyebrows of an apex predator.  looks are purely subjective but considering the overall fit and finish and the overall build quality or the kind of materials being used the TVS RTR takes a slight edge because on the hornet there is an overload of plastic and fiber. The RTR has also used fiber and plastic material, but the material used for the panels seems to be of slightly better quality. The double-barrel exhaust on the RTR gives out the traditional base heavy exhaust mode that the RTR bloodline has always been known for. so in terms of sound engineering, the RTR sounds better to the ears. The seat foam used on the RTR feels slightly more upmarket and the stitching is of superior quality too, on the hornet the seat is slightly harder which initially might feel a little uncomfortable until you get used to it. the clip-on handlebars on the RTR again feel much more premium when compared to the regular street fighter handlebar on the hornet. the ergonomics are spot-on for both the bikes, both the bikes offer upright seating posture with the rider triangle being perfectly established, both the bikes offer a comfortable riding posture in order to not strain your back even after long rides add to this a perfectly tuned suspension and the ride quality is equally amazing on both the bikes, but need to note that the USD forks on the hornet are an absolute steal no other brand offers USD forks from Showa suspension in this price range, and this is a major plus that works for the hornet and the same translates into offering superb front-end feel while pushing the bike to its limits .the clutch feel is light on both the bikes but the clutch travel is longer for the RTR so the effort taken to pull in the clutch especially in city traffic might tend to wear you down the hornet, on the other hand, offers a shorter clutch-travel so the clutch is easy and effortless to operate. The speedo console on the hornet is just kind of meh nothing really special going on here we do however get all the relevant info including a gear position indicator and a battery voltmeter. the RTR on the other hand races ahead here it has the best-equipped meter console in this price range with average speed top speed not 260 timing lap timer gear position indicator Bluetooth connectivity and also turn-by-turn navigation along with call and SMS alerts apart from this we also get a host of app-based features like GeForce experienced lean angle and a whole lot more.

Talking about the engine, powering the Tvs Apache RTR 4v is a 197.75cc single-cylinder oil-cooled fuel-injected b6 compliant engine, that puts out 20.5ps of max power at 8500rpm and 16.8-newton meters of max torque at 7500rpm we get a 5-speed gearbox. the hornet on the other hand comes powered by a single-cylinder four-stroke fuel-injected bs6 compliant 184.4 cc engine, that puts out 17.3 ps of max power at 8500 rpm and a max torque of 16.1-newton meters at 6000rpm we get a 5-speed gearbox, the RTR is well and truly ahead in terms of performance. the RTR gets a full valve engine, the engine doesn't feel strained even at higher RPMs, the hornet on the other hand is more about good initial pickup and superb mid-range. surge now it's not that the RTR doesn't have good pickup the RTR literally flies off the mark right from the word go and we can cruise effortlessly at 110 kilometers per hour, on the hornet the cruising speed would be around 100 kilometers per hour. The throttle response on the TVS RTR 4v is phenomenal and this is further amplified by the superb exhaust sound emanating from the double-barrel exhaust, the hornet sounds sporty as well but the RTR clearly wins the sound battle. the throttle response is good on the hornet as well; it is nice and seamless thanks to the dual throttle cable setup. refinement is good on both the bikes the RTR 200 is the most refined bike that TVS has made to date it is buttery smooth with zero vibrations even while doing speeds of over 100 kilometers per hour, the hornet being a honda is no exception refinement comes naturally in their bloodline so the hornet is super refined as well all through the rev band but since it is not meant to be a top-end machine it just feels a little strained if you continue to keep the throttle pinned at redline.

Talkinga about the equipments,  both the bike gets petal discs, and both the bikes get a 276mm disc upfront, however, the RTR gets dual-channel abs as standard, but the hornet only gets single-channel abs. RTR offers a slipper clutch in this price range which no one else does, now this provides for a lighter clutch pull and helps you do faster downshifts without running the risk of the rear wheel locking or hopping now the hornet hits back hard in the suspension department because it gets USD forks from Showa suspension which offers much better front end feel and it is slightly on the stiffer side, but that is what translates into better cornering stability and better high-speed stability .now the RTR 200 gets 37 mm telescopic forks which do their job judiciously but they fall short compared to the USD forks. on the hornet the chassis construction the rear monoshock and the swingarm are well-tuned and well designed on both the bikes they offer great stability and surefootedness even at triple-digit speeds. The tires we no longer get the Pirelli tires option for the RTR we do however get the pro torque sr high-performance race-spec radial rear tire that offers better control, better stability, and longer life. the hornet on the other hand gets a wider 140 section rear tire and we get specially developed extra max tires from maxis now these are made using the world's strongest aramid fiber and come with dual-compound technology that minimizes rolling resistance while offering better stability and longer life .the tank capacity remains the same for both the bikes at 12 liters, seat height is easily accessible even by shorter and average height riders for both the bikes. Another major plus for the hornet is that it is incredibly lightweight weighing a mere 142 kgs, the RTR on the other hand weighs 153 kgs which gives the hornet the weight advantage in terms of mileage. although there is no official claim made by both the companies, the hornet might end up offering slightly better mileage because it puts out lesser power and it's also a lot lighter than the RTR.

The price of the TVS  200 is priced at rupees one lakh twenty-seven thousand five hundred, whereas the hornet is priced at rs one lakh twenty-eight thousand five ninety-five. so the RTR enjoys the price advantage of being priced so aggressively, so the RTR despite offering the dual-channel abs a slipper clutch getting a four-valve engine offering more power and torque and also offering better quality is still more affordable and is priced lower than the hornet 2.0 which makes it an absolute value for money proposition.