2022 KTM RC 390 vs TVS Apache RR 310 Touring Test Comparison Review: The Best All-rounder Is…

Speaking of which, despite the not-so-great Metzeler H-rated tyres, the stopping power on the RC is incredible. The bite is fierce and it doesn’t take much effort to bring the bike to a halt in an instant. In contrast, the RR 310’s braking system isn’t that powerful. The lever feedback is promising, allowing the rider to modulate the braking process well, but it is still just a notch below the RC in our books.

Comfy Cruising

Touring in India comes with its own sets of challenges, the primary one of them being the poor road conditions that one does stumble upon. So, when the roads did turn out to be full of craters (yep, not potholes but large craters), is when you would think these two bikes would struggle. But that surprisingly again wasn’t the case.

Both of these bikes handled bad roads pretty well. On the RC, you could go over the really bad stretches of roads without much care. The revised suspension tune makes sure that the rider isn’t frazzled when they encounter bad road surfaces. The rear end does have a slight extra sensitivity that makes it a tad bit bouncy over the sharper bumps, but hey you can tune that out to a great extent by spending a good afternoon twiddling with the rebound settings.

But having said that, the range of flexibility offered by the fully-adjustable components on the RR 310’s BTO package is incredible. You can find the right settings for your weight, riding style or riding scenario. It has just the right balance between suppleness and sportiness to make you feel at ease over any sort of road obstacles.

These two being supersports come with the obvious committed riding postures and there’s no escaping that. On the RR 310 BTO, the lack of leverage offered by the Race kit handlebars does reduce your comfort levels over long distances. You don’t grip the tank as well as you can on the RC and thus, end up putting the entire weight of your upper body on your wrists.

The RC surely has a bit more aggressive forward-arching upper body stance. The seat height is taller and the pegs are fairly rear-set. But you don’t end up complaining about the posture as much because it feels very natural. The seating area is quite spacious and the seat texture fairly grippy. And the flatter pillion seat meant that loading luggage wasn’t that much of a problem.

While the RR did allow us to route luggage loops beneath the pillion seat, the area isn’t flat. As a result, the tail bag continued to slide forwards, eating up into the rider’s seating space and thus locking him into one spot.

The Best Is…

Both! Confused? Let me put you at ease. The KTM RC 390 now costs Rs 3.13 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), while the TVS Apache RR 310 is priced at Rs 2.65 lakh. At these price points, these two bikes now have carved out their own segments: sub-400cc and sub-300cc. And both of them are the top dogs of their own class. There isn’t a way we can justify spending roughly Rs 60,000 more to get the RC 390 or vice versa as both offer unique riding experiences that buyers will appreciate.

Personally, I would have the RC 390 and am willing to shell out more for the extra performance, features and electronics. The tyres are an easy fix. What does sell me on the bike is the higher performance threshold that it possesses. For my riding capabilities, I feel the RC 390 will keep me engaged for longer.

The RR 310 is still a great bike for those stepping up from the likes of the Yamaha R15 v4 and stuff. It has the right balance of poise and performance that will teach you well without scaring you silly. And the jump up to the RC 390 does feel significant.

So, the decision is pretty clear, right?