HillTop is a venue best known for hosting music acts with punchy basslines and some of the best electronic music artists from all around the world. While you might be under the impression that a motorcycling festival would be out of place at the venue, it wasn’t, primarily because of the common element across all of these events: passion. The event in question is TVS’ MotoSoul, and quite honestly, it was a pleasant surprise.
I prepared myself mentally for what I expected from an Indian motorcycle festival: sun, dust, and engines being abused as though they owed someone money. While the sun was indeed present and the ground was carpeted to control the dust, there wasn’t any abuse of engines—instead, there was the birth of a new engine. A secret that was kept very well under wraps was the new RT-XD4, a brand new 300cc mill. Featuring both air/oil cooling, the single-cylinder engine makes 35 hp at 9,000 rpm and 28.5 Nm at 7,000 rpm. But what’s worth mentioning is that it has a flat torque curve, which should make city riding much more convenient.
The surprises didn’t stop there. The Indonesia-based Smoked Garage returned to MotoSoul with more custom TVS Ronins and even a tricked-out Apache RTR 310, christened the Vortex 310. Featuring an ‘edgy’ design language that clearly made its way to the exhaust as well, the supermoto-esque motorcycle made the Apache look like something out of a sci-fi movie.
While I was disappointed to get absolutely no news on the exciting TVS-built BMW F 450 GS, there was no time to ponder what wasn’t. After all, we were in Goa during December. And boy, did TVS have something for everyone. Dirt bike races? Check. Crazy stunt riders? Check. Flat track experience? Check. BMX stunts? Check. Zumba session??? Surprisingly, check as well.
Once the sun set on all the fun and games, that’s when the stars came out, and as is usually the case with TVS, they didn’t disappoint. Over the two days, the festival featured acts from superstars like Indian rapper Raftaar, duo Vishal–Shekhar, and the crowds certainly thronged to the venue over the course of the festival.
MotoSoul and IBW are two very different experiences, and that’s not a bad thing for us, the attendees. If you consider IBW to be a rock concert, with all the high-energy acts and booming music, MotoSoul can be considered a jazz concert – relatively subdued but not lacking in value. The fact that these events happen side by side allows you to pick your poison or, better yet, experience the best of both worlds with just a walk across the road.
