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Posted on: Jun 08 2007
TVS Star City
It’s tough being a motorcycle in our market. Model lifecycles are down from decades to months, and grim competition means only the fittest can survive. Our Jan 2005 issue carried the very first Star test. But things have moved on and the Star’s come back with a City added to its name. Out comes our magnifying lens.:
Design, Engineering and Interiors:
The earlier Star was an outdated looking motorcycle, but the Star City changes that. It’s still not the best looking bike in its segment, but is better and has a far more pleasing dual tone appearance. Among the easiest changes to spot is the new bike having shed the Star’s clumsy-looking chrome metal mudguards for attractive modern plastic units. Also gone is the clumsy tube metal grab-handle, now replaced by a dandy alloy bit. The City’s silencer has been modified and it’s now got a new heat shield.
Blue backlit instruments are basic but easy to decipher. What’s most irritating is the fact that TVS has not offered a fuel gauge on this bike. But the Star City thankfully comes with comprehensive switches that now include a pass light switch and push to cancel indicators. Tall trademark TVS mirrors, great palm grips, quality plastics and rubber parts as well as decent control levers can all be taken for granted.
Performance, Fuel Economy and Handling:
The 4-stroke and air-cooled 99.7cc single overhead camshaft driven motor has received a few important tweaks. Always a sturdy engine, the Star City continues to deliver 7.5bhp at 7500rpm with a refined, reassuring feel. Kerb weight also remains constant at 108kg. Key changes on the rejuvenated bike are switching to a Keihin carburettor, and adding on roller rocker-arm followers. Peak torque output remains the same 0.76kgm at the crank built up at 5000rpm, so does performance. The new Star’s proven gearbox internals too remain unchanged, and all-up gearshifts remain just as feather smooth as on the first bike. A cable-controlled clutch feeds just the right level of progression and weight to a rider, and among the few changes on the new bike is a healthier exhaust note. The Star City manages a true top speed of 85kph, while it completes 0-60kph in 8.20 seconds, both of which are at par with its competitors. The revised motor has the ability to trundle away effortlessly from low speeds in high gears.
TVS bikes have always been known to be tidy handlers, and the Star City is no different, offering among the better handling traits and ride character within its segment. Riders will find the bike moulding them into an upright and commuter-friendly posture, with well thought out footpeg-to seat-to handlebars geometry. The frame skeleton is a single downtube with the engine bolted on and offers just the right rigidity. Another good thing is the Star City continues with a rectangular section swingarm.
This TVS deploys a fairly conventional suspension set-up, with a brace of telescopic front forks at front, and hydraulic twin shock absorbers at rear. As seen earlier on TVS bikes, the Star City also allows riders to adjust the rear shock absorbers via a convenient lever with no additional tools required for the job. While ride quality borders on a fine line between comfortingly plush and bouncy, the Spring-iN-Spring (S.N.S) equipped Bajaj CT 100 does perform slightly better. Straight-line stability never posed us concerns on this city bike, while cornering ability feels just as good or as bad as any other 100cc motorcycle. Braking is another area the TVS Star City could surely improve upon.
Mileage is a make or break deal and the Star City excels. Our bike made short work of heavy city traffic, stoplights and potholed roads to deliver 62.19kpl. On the highways, this miser’s delight turned in 66.4kpl.
Verdict:
The Star always offered the right stuff to please an Indian commuter, albeit in rather bare bones format. Its soft-spoken and slick-shifting motor, plush suspension set-up as well as staggering fuel economy are ingredients that made it competent. The Star City, while possessing all of these attributes, additionally offers far snazzier styling, and more frills to boot. The way we look at it, the Star City is safely on its path to becoming a superstar.
Source: autocarindia.com
