EXCLUSIVE: TVS Retron Juicy Details Revealed

While we still have a long way to go before TVS puts its Dakar learnings into a production motorcycle, we are likely to get a small dual-purpose motorcycle from the manufacturer soon. The TVS Retron has just been spotted roaming the streets of Hosur and if our sources are to be believed, it will be good for some soft-roading.

While not much can be deduced from the spy shots, our source has told us that the Retron is sort of like a scaled-down Ducati Scrambler. What backs up the claim is that one can spot the offset-mounted console (which is likely to be a colour TFT unit), just like it is on the Italian bike, albeit on the left side. It is hardly going to be a surprise when we tell you that the headlight is going to be round (Isn’t that a staple retro element?) and there will be a teardrop-shaped fuel tank as well.

One can notice how upright the rider is on the Retron. The single-piece, relatively flat seat is just like the Scrambler’s with the underseat LED taillight and turn indicators giving off a slight Husqvarna vibe.

Details regarding the motor are scant but it is likely to be based on the 197.7cc air-/oil-cooled 4V motor from the Apache RTR 200 4V. The Retron’s engine will be upscaled and heavily retuned to suit its urban scrambler DNA, with the key emphasis being on providing a meatier torque band. It wouldn’t surprise us if TVS plonks in the same 220-odd cc motor from the Zeppelin R concept shown at the Auto Expo 2018. Our source has informed us that the motor was also supplemented with a mild-hybrid system, just like the one shown on the Zeppelin R.

And what makes it even more interesting is that the Retron might just be using a belt drive and not a chain and sprockets. One can spot the absence of a sprocket at the rear and the large black panel might just turn out to be a large pulley, used to drive the rear wheel. We saw this being used on the Zeppelin and hence, the belt drive mechanism will be fully covered.

A revised version of the split single-downtube frame of the RTR 200 will be used here on the Retron, which will be sprung by a USD fork and a monoshock. It gets alloy wheels at both ends that come wrapped in dual-purpose tyres.

TVS is expected to launch the Retron by mid 2022 and we hope it is priced around the Rs 1.50 lakh (ex-showroom) mark. This sub-250cc space is going to heat up soon as the Bajaj Pulsar 250F (launch details here) will be arriving in around a week’s time. Exciting times ahead for Indian motorcyclists, right?

Image credit: Rushlane