Problems with the RTR Fi and wonderful TVS customer care!

Since a week after getting the RTR Fi, I was facing an issue with the fuel pump. It was leaking petrol on the engine. Wanted to rectify this issue and so took it to RAMKAY.

They replaced the pump under warranty but still to no avail. It was still leaking fuel. Called up RAMKAY and they took the bike from my home under breakdown service. Even after repeated calls and talking with the Service Manager and Chief Mechanic I did not get a proper response. all I got was "Parts not in stock. Will take two weeks". Got really frustrated and searched for some email IDs which I could use to complain about RAMKAY to TVS. Just while scouring the net, I checked out a link: http://www.consumercomplaints.in/complaints/poor-service-and-dealer-also-poor-in-response-c91834.html and got a few mail IDs as follows fromt that link: HS.Goindi@tvsmotor.co.in, response@tvsmotor.in, Ananda.Krishnan@tvsmotor.co.in, Pradeep.Bhatt@tvsmotor.co.in, aj.ashoke@scl.co.in, BV.Sridhar@tvsmotor.co.in

At that time I did not even know if they were valid IDs. So just took a chance and sent the follwoing mail to them:

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Hi,

My name is Aparajith. I took an Orange RTR Fi with Engine No. : XXXXXXXXXXXX and Chassis No. : XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, vehicle registration no. TN22 - BD - XXXX on 9th Jan 2009 from Ramkay Agencies, Adyar, Chennai. Since then the bike is giving me problems. From the next two days I noticed the smell of petrol coming from below the tank. Since I had brimmed the tank, I thought it was some overflow. But soon the smell started getting stronger and once I checked the pump, I was shocked to see fuel leaking from the pump itself. It was actually flowing on the engine, around it and also on the electricals near the engine.

I took the vehicle to RAMKAY Agencies on the 23rd of January, Saturday. The mechanics checked the pump and said its an issue with the pump and replaced the pump alone under warranty. It immediately started leaking again the next day. This time it was actually dripping on the engine. I called up RAMKAY with lots of disappointment and they came home, took it back under their breakdown service on the 27th of January.

Ever since I have not got my vehicle back. Every time I call up RAMKAY, they give me some lame excuses for the delay. Ramkay's complaint is always that the parts are out of stock. I wanted the tank and pump to be replaced together so that the problem does not occur again. But the Service Engineer does not heed to my words. The Chief Mechanic was callous enough to say that nothing will happen and I can take my bike back. I was totally aghast and asked him the possibility of fire, to which he replies that the chances are less. Do you expect me to take chances with a 75,000 rupees bike that has done just 300 kms and my life?

Overall I must say that I am very disappointed with RAMKAY and TVS product quality as a whole. I bought this bike as it was your flagship product and one of the best performance bikes in the country. This was not what I expected especially from TVS, one of the most reputed, indigenous and long - standing manufacturers of India. I also have a Yamaha R15 which has done close to 5500 kms and I must say I have not taken it to the service centre except for the free service. I do not know whom to contact or what to do with regards to my RTR. Please do not consider this as my threatening note, but if this problem is not sorted out immediately, I do not have any other option other than taking help from the Consumer Court and sorting out this issue. I will also not hesitate to take help from my friends working at motorcycle journals.

Hope you will look into this issue and give me a proper reply and solution. Expecting your reply at the earliest.

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I immediately got the following mail from Mr. Ananda Krishnan:

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Dear Mr Aparajith

At the outset, I, on behalf of team TVS extend apologies for the troubles you have faced so far. It is always our endeavour to provide our customers with superior quality and unfaltered service .

I am forwarding this mail of yours to Mr BV Sreedhar, Head of Service TVS and to Mr A Illango, GM Service - South Zone for an immediate action.

Please be assured that you will get our best attention and services always and deeply regret for the inconvenience caused.

Best regards

R Anandakrishnan
VP - Business Planning

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Looking at the signature, I was floored. Inadvertently I had alerted some of the highest officials possible. I got a call in another 40 minutes from Mr. Illango. He apologized for the trouble and asked me to describe all that had happened in detail. He heard it for a good 10 minutes patiently and then replied back as follows: “Sorry for all the trouble Sir. I already checked with RAMKAY about your issue and they said the same things. I just wanted to double check. This is to inform you that the pump has been dispatched to RAMKAY and they are actually fixing it. I will send across one of my representatives immediately”. I asked him the reason for the problem and how two subsequent pumps manufactured by a reputed company like DELPHI could fail especially since it’s also doing duty on the 220 AFAIK. He immediately replied back saying: “The problem is not with the pump itself per se. Its actually got to do with the mountings. The RTR has two rubber O-rings to seal the pump inside the tank – one inside and one outside. The inner O-ring had been wrongly mounted leading to the fuel leakage. Even ur old pump is fine. So I have asked them right-away to take personal attention”. He then asked me details on why I had bought the vehicle. I said “I have an R15. I test rode the RTR and did not like the vibes. But the Fi had lot less vibes. Also I know about the advantages of the Fi, so I bought this for my brother for his primary commutation and touring. Without this vehicle he is forced to use the bus”. He replied “I assure you that this problem will not recur. If you had told this we would have given you a standby vehicle. But we should have given you the standby vehicle without you asking for it. Its our mistake.” He then paused for a sec and said “This problem itself should not have occurred in the first place. I will assure that you get the vehicle by today.” This felt good. It actually showed that the guys there are taking some sincere steps to solve the issues. But the episode is not yet over.

By around 3PM Mr. Velmurugan, Head of Service, Chennai Circle called me up and said “Sir, ur vehicle is ready. I was actually at some other place but I was asked to attend to ur vehicle and so am now at Ramkay. The guys here have fixed it and tested it. There is absolutely no leakage. But since this problem has occurred twice for u, I do not want to take any chances. Am taking it to the TVS Office and want to have it under observation overnight. Is it OK with you or do you want the bike immediately?”. I replied “Sir, all the time gone is gone. I have already waited close to a month for this problem to be rectified. What is with one more night? U please have it under observation. Just make sure that this problem is solved”. He then asked me to come directly to him in case of any other issue and assured that it will be solved in the best manner possible.

In another hour or so, Mr. Ananda Krishnan himself called me up. He wanted to know the progress on the issue. Now you don’t expect a VP of a company’s division to call up a customer personally and ask them about an issue sent to him through e-mail. This is some really good gesture on his part. I told him of the progress that has taken place since morning and all those people who had called me up. He himself then said a sorry for all the trouble caused and asked me to contact him in case of any unresolved issues.

I just came back after getting the vehicle and I must say that the reception has been nothing less than extraordinary. I was also asked to give a letter of satisfaction. I gave a letter stating that at the moment there is no leakage and there are no visible damages and will come back in case of any issues. I tried to rev the bike till 11K rpm. I rode it thru horrible traffic for a good 20 mins and tried to check for the power missing between 2 - 3K. I could not find it. Will have to check it more. And the revviness is just amazing. Now Mr. VelMurugan himself called me up and asked me to provide a feedback after another 2 days of usage. I am more than happy to do it.

Now THIS is how you treat a customer. Am actually more than satisfied with TVS right now. Of all the vehicles I have owned and used(Pulsar, Platina, Yamaha, RTR, Scorpio), this was THE BEST service that a customer could ever expect. This treatment sure made me FEEL LIKE GOD. With such good products and amazing customer service, am sure TVS will scale much greater heights. Am writing this for all those people who have problems with their products, please understand that there are ways like this through which you can get all your troubles sorted out. Unless you write about it to higher levels and raise your concerns, there is no way that the higher management will understand the flaws and attempt to correct it. It is not the company or the product that is flawed. It is more to do with those bloody a$$holes called mechanics at the ASC’s.

Kudos to TVS!! You guys sure deserve more than a pat on ur back!!!!!

For all those guys at Chennai, you can contact Mr. VelMurugan in case of any issues with ur bike (especially RTR and its Fi variant) at 9444448694. He encourages people come to him for any genuine issues and tries to resolve them through the ASC’s.

The same weekend I and Sai went to meet Mr. Velmurugan personally at the TVS Office, Mandaveli. A good guy, we had a nice informal chat and pushed off. Now u guys know how a problem should be resolved from RAMKAY!!! ;)

My Ride(s)

Well, my previous posts should have pretty much be defined to you all now that I bought a 1 lakh+ rupees bike called the R15 manufactured by YAMAHA. The pics of which are here:
















I also did a 300 km trip with it and got very accustomed to the bike as well. I normally service it at Ambal motors, Purasawalkkam (who do a pathetic job BTW).

I also hit the race tracks once and the bike does handle amazingly well. Although it could do a lot better with another 7 - 8 bhp it still does good.

http://picasaweb.google.com/appuji/MMSC#5230739446909952274

On one end, here I am enjoying a 1l+ bike whereas my brother had to make do with a 30K+ 100cc commuter named PLATINA from BAJAJ. I specifically got the bike for him to learn over a 2 year usage. Job done. He has learnt to use it and will hold his own in the crazy traffic. So after much thinking and discussion, decided to get him a new bike. I actually decided on the RTR Fi primarily 'cos I wanted the bike. ;) So yeah, I asked my brother who happily replied Avenger.
After sternly warning him of "NO BAJAJ", and a test ride later he was satisfied with the bike. I got the Orange RTR Fi for him on January 12th, 2009. The pics are here::

My Career Front...

Well yeah, as of now am an employee of ARICENT Technologies(Holdings). I joined here on October - 23rd, 2008 just two days prior to Diwali. I had quit WIPRO for various reasons. WIPRO is a huge company, I do not deny it. I also do not deny the fact that its a great company. I have great respect for Mr. Azim Premji and admire him for all his endeavours and his achievement. Its just that the managers I met there ruined my life. My earlier posts would have mentoined my frustration. Well, lets not go over that again. Also the project there were not so good. I wanted to specialise. I wanted better growth which frankly is very tough in a company like WIPRO with a sea of people. Besides the compensation was really pathetic. It literally can be equated to peanuts. And besides I wanted to frankly have much better challenges. I had also completed 2 years which was a perfect time to start looking out.

So one fine morning, posted my resumes on job portals. Had lots of offers and email everyday. Started attending telephonic interviews and understood how an interview for experienced people is conducted. Learnt it and kept improving every interview. Also kept learning and improving my technical knowledge. After a few failed interviews at level - 1 or at the next level, finally landed up an interview at ARICENT. Took up the interview and cleared it. So after I got the offer letter and accepted it, put down my papers at WIPRO. After all discussions and stuff later, I finally came out of WIPRO and joined ARICENT on October - 23rd. ARICENT is an IT services company specializing in tele-com software. Its also a fairly small company compared to the huge sea that is WIPRO. This was the kind of job I was looking for. Besides I got a really good pay hike as well. Thanks to recession no other offers came up. So I quit WIPRO and joined this place. As of now, the job seems to be going good! Lets see how it all materialises further in the near future as far as my career front is concerned.

I had also vowed to complete SCJP by the end of 2008 to my dearest friend. So with all the knowledge of interview preparation and a few more books I took up SCJP. Now I have to tell you that I have always been a bit low on self-confidence. Since I had cleared the interview and also had cleared a WIPRO internal JAVA certification, my confidence level was improving. Took up the exam on Dec - 26th and got 78% and cleared it. I did make the mistake of not reading the dumps more throughly. But cleared is cleared and 78% ain't bad!!! So am very happy now. Got the certificates only recently.

Next am planning to attack the next step of JAVA Certification, namely SCJD. Heard that its really tough. So preparing quite hard now.

List of updates....

Ok between Spetember 29 2008 and February 19, 2009 a lots of things have happened. Lets have a prelude here and explain things that require a seperate post as required.

1. The first and most obvious thing is that around 140 days have passed since the last update here.(OK, that was a poor joke)
2. Second, its no more 2008 and 2009 is back with all its bang and whistles!!(Yeah yeah, its a worse joke)
3. Third, am no more employed at WIPRO TECHNOLOGIES. In the last update I had mentioned about a new job. So yes, am now working at ARICENT TECHNOLOGIES(HOLDINGS).
4. My R15 has done around 6K kms and completed the 4th free service.
5. I got a new bike - an APACHE RTR Fi 160 by TVS RACING for my brother. He actually had a PLATINA which he used for commutation and learning to ride a bike.
6. My friends - Priya and Anand are finally getting married.

So lots of things to write about actually!!! Over to the individual posts...

Long time since!!!

Yeah yeah, I know it's been aoens since I wrote something here!! Yeah and every-time I write here I start with the same promise: "I promise to be much more regular here". Unfortunately though my work life is a bit tight and I have not been able to do any updates here..... Lets see how long this promise lasts!!!

My first long trip on the new R15

This is my first trip log that am writing here. Vow to write a lot more soon. So please overlook my mistakes.

Prelude ::

It was probably the September 3rd or 4th. I had to go to this temple 15-20 Kms off Cuddalore which is a town 30 Kms from Pondy :: Thiruvaheendrapuram, Sri Deyva Nayaga Perumal Temple - Tiruvayindhai, Dinamalar - Thiruvaheendrapuram koil(Pondy is 162 Kms from Chennai, so the total distance comes up to around 160+30+15 = ~205 KMs one-way). I had actually planned to drive there on my SCORPIO. The more I thought of it, the more I wanted to use my bike. I had three reasons:

1. The R15 had just completed 2000 kms and was ready to be ripped on the flat highways. I wanted to see how it felt to be ridden flat out and how the seating position felt on long rides.
2. I had just got a GP-One helmet with tinted visors and DSG riding gear. Wanted to test them out on a long ride.
3. I had also got a brand new noise-cancelling headphone for my iPod and wanted to try out its capabilities.(SONY MDR-NC22)

So having decided on the ride location and date, I earlier intended doing it alone. Later I thought it might feel boring and so called upon my friend Badri (Xbhp ID : badriyan) and Praveen (Xbhp ID : xinfii) to accompany me. Praveen said he would bring his friend Allen along. So the date was decided as 7th September of 2008, Sunday. Praveen said he would stay back at Pondy and I and Badri would go to the temple, return back meet them and continue to Chennai.

People and their rides ::
1. Aparajith(Me) on his R15
2. Praveen a.k.a Xinfii on his 220
3. Badri a.k.a badriyan on his P150v1
4. Allen on his Bull 

6th September night :: We decide to use the ECR route while going to Pondy. We decided to meet at the Sholinganallur junction at ECR by 6AM. Badri being the crankster he is decides to meddle with his air – screw and carb on his P150v1 and looses one of the screws. He calls me up at 9 PM on Saturday and asks me for a spare air-screw. I scold him and he agrees to fix the bike up and reach there.

7th morning :: I wake up by 5:30 AM, get ready. I had agreed to get the saddle bag to put our jackets in while we go to the temple and also keep our water, knick-knacks etc. I was very apprehensive about putting the saddle-bag on the R15. I thought it might hit the silencer, but it beautifully fit. Although the distance between the bag and silencer was less and there was a possibility of the bag hitting the silencer on bumps, it can be taken care of by adjusting the bag so that it hangs on one side more than the other.

I finally left home by 5:50 AM. It was a bit later than planned. En route I get a call. I know it must be from Badri and chose to ignore it and meet up with him directly. I reach the place by 6:10 AM. I saw Allen waiting. Praveen had not yet come. I called Badri. He had waited for a long time there and not finding any of us had chosen to move on slowly. He asked us to catch up on the ECR. I and Allen waited for Praveen and left once Praveen arrived.

I immediately started to rip. I and Praveen maintained a comfortable 100 and were cruising. Allen was behind me cruising at around 80. Badri was waiting to meet us at ECR viewpoint. Here I put some chain lube on my rusted chain with chain spray from Praveen and put the saddle bag on Badri’s P150. We then started-off.

I and Praveen were ahead of Badri and Allen. Both of us were maintaining a very comfortable 110 – 115. Here I have to give special mention to the new headphones. They were just awesome. With just around 25% volume on my iPod, the surrounding wind noise, bike noise etc were all cancelled out and it was pure music in my ears. AWESOME!!! 

The climate was just perfect for such a ride. It had rained the previous night and the road was damp. The climate was as cool as it could get. So no sweat or fatigue. We would have probably ridden around 50 mins and I asked Praveen to stop so that the others could catch up. Allen and Badri caught up with us in another 10 mins. Badri started playing with his cam, we then had a small chat, water to drink and then started. The next stop was decided to be Pondy border.

Just before the border Praveen wanted to switch rides. So I gave him my R15 and took his 220. Sitting on the 220, the difference was quite apparent and obvious. First the seating position and the handling kind of felt vague. A cow crossed the road and we had to panic brake and the braking kind of felt weird. Praveen was ahead of me on the Yam and it looked funny. Seeing from the front the bike looks all huge and proportionate for the rider, but from the rear any rider looks huge on what looks like a puny bike. After the panic brake, Praveen felt uncomfortable with the brake and gear levers and we switched our rides back.

We then waited at Pondy border for the other two. I and Badri then left for the temple. The roads at Cuddalore were at their horrendous best. It was all slushy, muddy and on top of that one half had been fully dug up for some purpose. 

As soon as we reached the temple, we parked the bikes, removed the jackets and stuffed them on our bags. We had the darshan and after all formalities were over we started back. I really have to praise my own route – remembering skills here ‘cos I managed to get both of us lost thrice en-route!

Starting back from the temple I went behind a bus and lost the highway that leads to Cuddalore. Finally we asked someone there for the route and take the proper road. I messaged Praveen that we have started and will meet him at Pondy in an hour. Once more we reached an intersection and Badri turned left. I thought he knew the route and followed. The road turned out to be a state highway and went through unknown roads. I was pretty doubtful after 20 mins riding or so and signaled Badri to stop. To our horror we found that both of us had assumed that the other knew the route. We enquired a petrol bunk and found that the route to Pondy started from just 5 mins on turning right from the intersection where we turned left earlier. Damn it!!!! We turn back and reach Pondy. We were very hungry and went in search of a hotel. Here again I lost the route and took Badri to a market area. There we found a good hotel and ordered lunch. We then ate like maniacs. I meanwhile called up Praveen and he said that he was waiting at a beach on ECR. 

We then departed and hit the roads and pretty soon met up with Praveen and Allen. I pushed my bike to the beach through the sand. We then chatted for 10 mins and started. We decided to switch bikes there. I took the Bull. Allen took the 220 I guess and Badri took the R15. Praveen was riding the P150. I absent-mindedly started to rev the bull like my Yamaha , but Praveen alerted me. I then started shifting gears at 3k rpm. On top gear at 3K, the Bull is on its own. It can just keep-on cruising at 80kmph day-in and day-out. It was an awesome feeling riding the Bull on ECR.

After some time we switched back bikes. I gave the bull back to Praveen. Badri was still riding my R15 and I took the Pulsar. It was nostalgic riding the Pulsar as you all can recall I had a modded Pulsar V1. After some time, Badri stopped en-route saying that he was having back-aches riding the Yammie. He took lots of pics. I then gave back the Pulsar to him and took back the R15. It felt wonderful being on the R15 again. By now fatigue had set in as the sun was pretty much baking us alive, especially inside the DSG jacket!

I then started off with Badri behind me. I saw Praveen on the Bull and Allen on the 220 ahead. I just maintained them in sight and kept Badri some company as he was maxxing out his Pulsar and it would not budge beyond 105. After some time, Praveen and Allen stopped. I too stopped near them. We then had a longish stop there and had a chat about our headphones. Meanwhile Badri passed us by and did not stop. We then started probably 15 – 20 mins after Badri left and kept going. Roads on ECR were a bit crowded as that was the day that people were immersing the Ganesha idols in the sea. So dodging past the tractors and trucks we went on...

Near ECR dhabha Praveen stopped me and said that he and Allen were going to have lunch at ECR Dhabha. He wanted his bag and chain spray back. They were in the saddle bag with Badri. So I agreed to drop it off later and left them. 

Now I was really tired and alone. My butt was as sore as it could get. It was almost numb. On my earlier Pulsar the whole body would get numb thanks to the vibrations and here my butt was numb and aching due to the hard seat and seating position. I was having pain in my arms between the elbow and shoulder and thankfully no back-ache or neck-ache. Kudos to Yamaha for getting the seating position and refinement of the bike spot on.

I reach the junction we had agreed to wait in the morning. I call Badri and find that he was at a mechanic’s place some 15 KMs away. I went there and met up with him. I picked up the saddle bag and started back home. 

By now I was receiving lots of calls from home as it had been around 4 hours since I called them. I again chose not to answer it as I wanted to continue riding, else the fatigue might set in again. Moreover, my R15 was really low on fuel. I wanted to complete this ride home in one shot. 

Finally I reached home and slept off for around an hour and woke up by 5:15 to watch the F1 race at Spa. After the dejecting end, I went to Praveen’s home and dropped off the chain spray. All in all, it was a great but tiring trip

A few observations:

1. The DSG jackets are really awesome for touring. You do not feel the weight or the sweating if you continue riding. Once you stop it’s a different story altogether.
2. The brake and gear levers should be a bit lower on the R15. I had not adjusted it before the ride, but felt so after the ride and did the same.
3. R15 is good for touring in-spite of its seating position. Beyond ~400 KMs a day or so, your body does ache. Do get some kind of back support belt if you plan on touring long distances on the R15.
4. Use the 6th gear after the 5th gear is totally maxxed out. There were instances where I was doing around 110 in 5th. On shifting to 6th the speed would fall to 104 – 106! Pretty weird stuff.
5. I got a mileage of around 40 - 42kmpl in-spite of flat-out riding mostly in 5th gear and sparing use of 6th gear.

I cannot post inline pics in this post as Picassa is blocked at my office. So I will just give the link for the album here : Cuddalore with R15 pictures

My new graphics card

One of my major hobbies is PC gaming. I am what you people can call, the proverbial nerd. Even after 8 hours of sitting before the PC and working, I will come back home and play on my PC. I have a quite powerful AMD Athlon X2 4200+ processer on an ASUS A8N-E board with 2GB of RAM. I had an archaic old GeForce 6600GT 128MB graphics card. It was good at the time I bought it, but had reached its end. I played an excellent game called FEAR and CALL OF DUTY 4. These games would not run beyond a resolution of 800*600 on my PC. So the decision to change the card made - it was just a question of when. One of my friends bought the nVidia 8600GT, but it turned out to be the worst decision. It gave too many problems. Only later did we learn that there was some problem with the fabrication of those cards and they were faulty. So I waited for something good from the ATi stable.

Once the 4850 cards came out, I checked the reviews and decided on them. I then went ahead and bought a CoolerMaster 600W PSU and this crad and hooked them up. A few changes to the fan orientation was necessary in my cabinet. Did that and now my PC is awesome. Am now playing Call Of Duty with 1280*1024 and all high settings. Yet to try out CRYSIS. Waiting for the same...