TVS Star City 110cc 2012

Hi My Dear Friends,

This is my first post related to my star city bike 2012 Model, bought on August 06. This is my first bike ever, so my review related to this bike might be a review from a novice.

My main motto behind purchasing this bike is the cost for maintenance and capital cost as my daily journey clocks up to 50-60 kms per day. I guess this is the cheapest bike in india(where HH Splendor was also a few thousands more than this bike). I bought this for Rs. 52,000/- with bike cover, tank cover, helmet and 5 ltrs of petrol along with this. The customer service offered by TVS was also relatively better than Hero Honda in chennai. This motivated me to buy this than splendor.

Performance:

When it comes to performance of a bike in city traffic conditions, I would strongly recommend people(of my age group - 24 yrs) to buy 150+cc bikes due to the dense traffic and sudden-surprise-providing road conditions in chennai. The torque to speed ratio in star city is good for single riders. But when the pillion seat is occupied, you need to change the gear transmissions to run in a gear level lower than when you go alone. So think twice before you buy if you are a 6 footer and weighs around 80+ kgs like me.

Mileage:

Till today(after 8 months) my meter shows 8K+ kms. The average mileage that this bike offers is around 65 Kms per litre even under extreme traffic conditions, which is really appreciable. In city you never get an opportunity to raise speeds beyond 50kph. This bike under such conditions will deliver peak level performance, mileage and smoothness. Yes!!! the vibrations felt in this bike is lesser compared to Apache and HH splendor(I have practically experienced this).

Comfort:

The comfortableness offered by this bike is better when compared to 100 & 125cc bikes like splendor and flame. But when it comes to a continuous journey of around 25 Kms, there we realize pain near our neck and our back. But due to its poor engine capacity and its design factor, the comfortableness of this bike cannot be compared with pulsar, CBZ or other mono shock bikes. This bike is the King in this price range.

Brakes & Suspensions:

This bike comes with drum brakes for both the rear and front wheels. These brakes are not too bad for this design factor and a payload lesser than 130 Kgs. These brakes really perform well when the speeds are below 50 Khp. The Suspensions are also better on pits and speed breakers with a speed of 20-25Kph when compared to other bikes of this range(of price & specification). 

Lamps, Buzzers & Self Starter:

I bought this bike along with the buzzers for the indicators. Till today I never had any problem with the horns, buzzers or the head/tail lamps. The head lamps in this bike needs to be appreciated because it is as powerful as you can expect in small segment cars like Alto. In the high beam option, you will be the most comfortable biker in terms of visibility on an highway during night rides. The self starter is also good. I never faced any issues.

Battery:

This bike comes with a wet cell battery. You should change distilled water once in three months. Do not wait for the mechanic in the service center to change it. Do it yourself. It hardly takes a minute. And gives you utmost satisfaction that your bike battery is under proper condition and you are able to handle the situation even when it goes worse. Wait for my next blog on how to add distilled water to your bike battery.

Looks & Design:

As the saying goes "beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder", this bike looks good to me. The riding posture is old fashioned. Unlike flame and twister, we need to sit straight while riding on this bike. Hence it is not good for a long ride and with a person in the pillion seat makes your ride pathetic (if the payload is more than 130 Kgs).

Service & Maintenance:

TVS service centers are way better when compared to the services of Hero/Honda. And it purely depends on the service centers you visit. The service centers are equally good as Yamaha's and Bajaj's. Spare parts are comparatively cheaper than any other bikes. But in the contrary you need to compromise it with the quality of the spares. On the whole, it is less maintenance bike with easily available spare parts when compared to other models and other brand bikes.

Conclusion:

Go for this bike if you are not too tall and in the same way you are not too short as this bike is taller than apache. If you are 80+ kgs, think twice because it will perform best only if you are alone or your partner in the pillion seat not weighs more than 50 Kgs. Also never go for this bike if you are planning to sell it within a year as its resale value is worst. My friend struggled to sell it for 26K rupees after 10 months of usage. Be Happy to be a fuel efficient Rider! Go Green! Have fun!

Guys stay tuned for my upcoming blogs on Tips to maintain your bike and how to maintain your bike battery. Please add your comments below to get more information on your clarifications.