TVS Motor Company acquired Norton Motorcycles for Rs. 153 crores in an all-cash deal. This happened last year. TVS acquired certain assets of Norton through one of their overseas subsidiaries. According to ET Auto, TVS might launch the Norton Motorcycles in India. However, as of now, there is no specific timeline about when Norton will enter the Indian market. The report also says that Norton has already registered for four motorcycles which are Norton Fastback, Norton Commando, Norton Manx and Norton Atlas.
Other Indian motorcycle brands also tieing up with larger brands. For instance, Hero MotoCorp will be helping Harley Davidson in expanding its service, parts and accessories business. Bajaj Auto has also filed a trademark for the name Excelsior-Henderson. This happened in December’2020. The trademark was filed for motorcycle parts and clothing. Till now there is no update on this situation.
TVS Motor Company is also helping Tamil Nadu in the fight against coronavirus. The Indian motorcycle manufacturer donated 500 oxygen concentrators to the Tamil Nadu government. They will be donating an additional 1,100 oxygen concentrators in the next couple of weeks.
The RR310 is priced at Rs. 2.49 lakhs ex-showroom. It is powered by a 312.2cc, liquid-cooled, single-cylinder engine that is jointly developed by BMW. The engine produces 34 PS of max power and 27.3 Nm of peak torque. It comes mated to a 6-speed gearbox with a slipper clutch.
The engine comes with two pre-installed maps that you can choose by changing the riding mode. There are Rain, Urban, Sport and Track. In Rain and Urban, the power output and torque output is restricted to 28.5 PS and 25 Nm. Whereas in Sport and Track, you can use all of the 34 PS and 27.3 Nm. This is possible because RR310 comes with ride by wire throttle.
The riding modes can be altered through switch gears mounted on the left switchgear that operates the full coloured TFT screen. It is one of the most functional TFT screens that are available in the segment. It shows you your vehicle’s health information, post-ride analytics, vehicle status, gear shift indicator, tachometer and much more. It can also pick and reject calls as it comes with Bluetooth. It can also show you turn-by-turn navigation so you do not have to mount your mobile phone on the handlebar. TVS also offers Glide Through Technology PLUS (GTTP) that stops the motorcycle from stalling and allows you to cruise at very low speeds.
In terms of equipment, TVS offers up-side-down front forks and a rear mono-shock that has been tuned by KYB. It also runs on Michelin Road 5 W-rated tyres which are a huge improvement when compared to the BS4 model.