The styling

Done completely in-house the final production bike stays true to the Akula 33 concept with the shark-like detailing evident in the fins on the side that draws inspiration from the pectoral fins and the split tailpiece evoking a shark’s tail. I’ll not mince words here – the new Apache looks excellent.

In a hush-hush preview a few weeks before the ride at the Hosur plant, there was a collective gasp and then spontaneous applause when the wraps were pulled off the 310. Before you even take in the detailing the meaty proportions of the bike, the sharp lines and the stance – low nose, high tail – make you go wow.

Physically this is a big bike, it doesn’t look or feel like a single-cylinder. And in its class it is definitely the best looking, no question. The nose has twin LED projector lamps that are claimed to be the brightest that you can get in this class, along with DRLs. The rear LEDs are quite cool with the brake lights completing the sweep of the graphic when it lights up. As of now there are only two colours available – the (very flashy) red with white racing stripes and the (understated) matt black. If you ask me I think they need an in-between colour.

The fit and finish is excellent with consistently tight panel gaps, very neat fasteners, and an excellent paint finish. Some of the detailing like the aluminium triple clamps looks very high quality. And then there’s the attention to the small but crucial details – like the heat extractors in the side panel that push the hot air from the radiators down and out of the way of the rider so unlike other bikes that roast the thighs here I didn’t feel the heat at all.

The non-full colour (looks pretty dated when compared to the competition) instrument console is vertically stacked and fully digital. While the design is cool I don’t like the vertical tacho that is quite small and doesn’t really register when riding hard, the rider instead relying on the shift light.