TVS Ronin Road Test Review – Small Budget Big Promise

The TVS Ronin is powered with a 225.9 CC with a maximum power of 15.01 kw@7750rpm and a max torque of 19.93nm@3750 rpm with a top speed or 120kmph. The bike we were riding today was the Top End model for which the differences are mentioned below. They at TVS claim that the Ronin comes with an all New engine, the perfect square engine designed with a unique dual cover with an enlarge cylinder fin area and enhanced capacity oil cooler which also helps in making the perfect sound for this motorcycle.

The TVS Ronin comes with a strong Low – Range and Mid – Range Torque, which helps the rider to shift fewer gears. We even tried a speed of 30kmph in the 5th gear with no stutter at all and then just gave a twist to the throttle, and the motorcycle immediately responded. The 225CC engine is highly refined, and actually, we did not feel any vibration until the 6,000 rpm mark. The engine is designed in such a way that the Ronin gets a very unique and soothing exhaust note, which gives the Signature Ronin Sound character. And when we got some great open stretch, the exhaust did growl, which gave us the thrill to push it further closer to the top speed.

The Ronin comes with a first in class Twin Spray Injector, which helps the bike for  greater control flexibility, enhanced cooling effect, knock mitigation, engine downsizing, extended lean-burn limits, and many more. The Twin Spray Injector also helps for any kind of terrain & gradient. TVS Ronin  Silent Start system is a first of its kind, and oh boy, that was one of our favourite things about the bike. It was as good as a feather touch I would say it was as sensitive as a touchscreen of a smartphone.

Let’s talk about the design and the riding characteristics of the TVS Ronin. A newly designed vertical stack compact round LED head lamp gives the Ronin a futuristic look with the T shaped Day Time Runnig Lights. Talking about the futuristic design the compact LED tail lamp with solid crystalline light bar is so well designed and must say 1 of the best tail light in its segment and maybe the best tail lights in any motorcycle today. The top end variant comes with a triple tone paint scheme, and the entry model comes with a single colour paint scheme. The tank of the Ronin is of 14lts and looks quite beefy from the side profile. The Ronin is very much planted, and the handling is also just amazing, especially with 2 riding modes, the Urban and the Rain Mode.

We got to ride the bike most of the time in the Rain Mode due to the weather conditions in Goa and must say the bike was behaving just fantastic. TVS Ronin comes with a single Channel ABS and a Duel Channel ABS. The Dual Channel ABS optimizes the breaking performance & stability for the normal use in the Urban Mode and in the Rain Mode enhanced safety with improved confidence on wet roads. This is again the only motorcycle in its segment where the riding modes can be changed on the Go.

The bike also has great seating posture and with that great cushioning to the seat for the rider as well as the pillion. The seat & the riding posture is also comfortable for long rides but may lack the power on the expressway as the top speed itself is just 120kmph. We also got a chance to throw the bike in some off-road terrains, and it was quite impressive.

With a great riding posture and a very comfortable seating, let’s talk about the suspension, which really makes a difference in the ride. The TVS Ronin comes with Showa Upside Down Front Fork and a gas charged Mono-Shock in the Rear. The Showa USD 41 dia. again, the first in the segment gives it a great damping control for that superior ride on all terrains. To support these suspension, TVS has specially designed Block Tread Tyres for the Ronin and the grip on that was phenomenal. We threw the Ronin around some twisties in the middle of some heavy rains, and the confidence it provided to the rider was remarkable.

With the combination of these remarkable suspensions and brilliantly designed tyres, Ronin is perfect for the Indian roads and surely will Gallup most of the Potholes in India. The newly designed instrument cluster is an asymmetric mono-pod design with a compact & a thin bezel on the TVS Ronin. The instrument cluster gives the rider a ton of useful information. The top variant of the bike offers smartphone connectivity through the SmartXonnect app on your smartphone. The features offered with the smartphone connect apps are Phone Battery alert, Ride Assist for stress free riding, Low fuel alert, and Voice Assistance. With this the speedometer also gives you the side stand warning, the riding modes, ABS on and off information, and many more. While using the Cluster, we did feel a slight lag in the cluster while changing the Riding Modes.

The differences in the models are that the starting model comes with a Single Channel ABS with a Single Tone colour. The Mid Variant comes with a Dual Tone Colour with a Single Channel ABS and the Top Model comes with the Triple Tone Dual Channel ABS and also comes with smartphone connectivity and the adjustable break and clutch leavers.

There is no direct competition to the TVS Ronin, but the price perspective we can compare it with the Bajaj Dominar 250, KTM Duke 200, and even to a certain extent, the Bajaj Avenger.

After riding the TVS Ronin all day in rainy Goa what I figured out is that the bike is really impressive and with the price tag of Rs. 1,49,000 for the starting Variant, 1,56,500 for the Mid Variant and 1,68,750 for the Top Model all prices are EX Showroom India will definitely change the game for TVS.

For the video version of our TVS Ronin ride review with loads of action , do visit our YouTube Channel MotorworldIndia, and do not forget to subscribe if you have not subscribed yet.

Words: Neville Barsivala
Photography & Video – Govind Gadekar