Miles ahead in style

The Graptor comes out as an awkwardly assembled jigsaw puzzle; while the Fiero has ironed out its styling flaws.

You have to return to the Fiero F2 time and again to understand how underrated the bike actually is.

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The Fiero F2 was TVS’ solution to the cold market reaction to the original Fiero. Gone is the quirky styling of the original. The company has also solved much of the problems with the light front end and the Fiero handles better, nearly as well as any 150cc bike around. On the looks front, muscular bulges abound as the bike comes across as a smooth, streamlined, congruent shape.

The centre of attraction is the headlamp, which is now a wide grin design while the turn indicators have now been placed on separate stalks. The Fiero’s 150cc 12-bhp is a strong mill and has proved its longevity. However the four-speed gearbox cries out for a fifth cog.

As an all-rounder, the Fiero impresses. However, it does not go beyond that. It does not excite and ends up as a slightly better proposition than the commuter segment.

The Graptor is visually different from any other power commuter around. The headlamp with a matt-black bikini fairing and the high-placed fuel tank are the main elements. However, the Graptor lacks congruence and at best comes out as an awkwardly assembled jigsaw puzzle. The styling is exciting and brutal. The other exciting bit is the 13.5-bhp, 150cc mill. A twist of the throttle tells you that this is the raunchiest sounding mill in town. On auxiliary items like switchgear, the F2 scores higher, but only slightly and the Graptor has funky hazard lights.