The TVS Raider 125 is serviced on a 6,000 km or 6-month rhythm after a first service in the first month. Unusually, TVS's manual also says exactly how many services are free and which services the warranty depends on. This...
The TVS Raider 125 is serviced on a 6,000 km or 6-month rhythm after a first service in the first month. Unusually, TVS’s manual also says exactly how many services are free and which services the warranty depends on. This guide sets out what TVS Motor Company’s own user manual for the Raider 125 says: when each service is due, what gets done, which oil it takes, what the warranty requires, and what a service costs with us.
The short answer
- First service: at 750–1,000 km or 30–45 days, whichever comes first.
- Then every 6,000 km or 6 months, whichever comes first: around 6,000, 12,000, 18,000 km and so on.
- Engine oil (the Raider uses one oil for engine and gearbox) is replaced at every service; the air filter, spark plug and centrifugal filter are dealt with every 12,000 km.
- Free services: the first three are labour-free. Oil and parts are still charged.
This follows the TVS Raider 125 user manual on TVS’s user manual page, in both the current edition and the edition for bikes sold before April 2025. The schedule, oil, warranty and specifications are the same in both. TVS also publishes separate manuals for the Connected Cluster, iGO Assist, SXC and TFT versions. If your Raider is one of those, check its own manual.
The service schedule
TVS lists the services by kilometres and months, “whichever of the two occurs early” (user manual, printed page 84):
- 1st service (free): 750–1,000 km, or 30–45 days.
- 2nd service (free): 5,500–6,000 km, or 6 months.
- 3rd service (free): 11,500–12,000 km, or 12 months.
- 4th to 11th services (paid): every further 6,000 km or 6 months, up to 59,500–60,000 km at 60 months.
The manual says there are eleven services during the warranty period. Of these, “the first three services are free services for which labour charges are free” (page 83). It also says what is charged even on a free service: engine oil, periodic maintenance parts, filters, brake fluid, greases, chain cleaner and lubricants (page 84). The manual calls the first service “most important”: the running-in is done, adjustments are restored, fasteners are tightened, and the engine and transmission oil is replaced (page 8).
What gets done, and when
At every service
- Engine cum transmission oil replaced.
- Malfunction indicator checked with TVS’s diagnostic tool.
- Tappet clearance, clutch and throttle play, and brake effectiveness and play inspected and adjusted.
- Drive chain cleaned, lubricated and adjusted.
- Steering, front and rear suspension, wheels and tyres (pressure set), bulbs, horn and switches, headlamp beam, battery voltage and the evaporative emission control system inspected. All fasteners are tightened, and the centre and side stand pivots are lubricated.
On longer intervals
- Centrifugal filter: cleaned every 12,000 km.
- Spark plug: inspected at the first service and replaced every 12,000 km. TVS specifies a Bosch UR5KCW, gapped at 0.9–1.0 mm (page 92).
- Air filter: replaced every 12,000 km.
- Throttle grip: lubricated at the 12,000 km service.
- Front fork oil: replaced every 30,000 km. It takes 162 ± 3 ml per leg (page 55).
- Fuel hose: inspected every 4 years and replaced if needed.
- Disc-brake version only: brake fluid topped up as needed and replaced every 21,000 km or 2 years, whichever comes first, and the master cylinder cups replaced every 24,000 km. TVS specifies DOT 3 or DOT 4 fluid.
These intervals are from the periodic maintenance schedule (pages 53–54).
Between services: the chain, clutch and brakes
The schedule’s footnote asks for more than the service visits. Clean the drive chain with a dry cloth and lubricate it “as frequently as every 500 km” (page 54). When a chain is worn, TVS says to replace the chain and both sprockets together. The manual’s figures:
- Chain slack: no more than 20–30 mm of vertical movement, checked on the centre stand in neutral. Excess slack costs fuel, and the manual sends you to a dealer to adjust it (page 73).
- Clutch lever free play: 8–15 mm at the lever end, adjusted with the engine cold (page 62).
- Brake lever and pedal free play (drum brakes): 15–20 mm (pages 66 and 68). The manual also says that after the first free service, TVS dealers adjust the brake free play every 3,000 km at no additional cost (page 67).
For the full chain routine, see how to clean, lube and check the chain.
Engine oil
The Raider takes 1,000 ml (1 litre) of engine cum transmission oil. TVS specifies its own TVS TRU4 Premium, SAE 10W-30, API SL, JASO MA2 (pages 55 and 93). Unlike Honda’s 2025 manuals, the Raider manual gives the same grade everywhere it mentions oil. More in which engine oil does your bike need?
Tyre pressures
The manual asks you to check pressures at least once a week (page 70): front 25 psi (1.75 kg/cm²). The rear is 28 psi (1.97 kg/cm²) riding alone and 32 psi (2.25 kg/cm²) with a pillion (pages 70 and 92). Low pressure costs mileage; see why your bike’s mileage is dropping.
Warranty conditions
TVS warrants the Raider 125 for 5 years or 60,000 km, whichever comes first, and the remaining warranty passes to a new owner if the bike is sold (page 79). Tyres, tubes and batteries are covered by their own makers. The manual is direct about servicing: “carrying out the service for your vehicle at scheduled intervals at any of the TVS Motor Company Authorised Main Dealer / Authorised Dealer is necessary for availing of warranty” (page 83). Its list of exclusions includes vehicles on which “any warranty service including scheduled paid service is not availed when it falls due” at an authorised dealer, and parts “tampered with, altered, repaired or replaced by persons not authorised by the Company” (pages 81–82). Wear items such as the chain, sprockets, clutch and brake linings, and service parts such as the spark plug, air filter, oil and brake fluid, are not covered (page 81).
So while your Raider is under warranty, which covers the paid services up to 60,000 km as well as the free ones, keep every scheduled service with a TVS dealer and have it stamped in the service handbook. More in does doorstep bike service void your warranty?
After the warranty: doorstep service and cost
The Raider’s engine is 124.8 cc (page 91), so it falls into our general service up to 125 cc, listed at ₹1,225 + 18% GST on the package page, which shows the full checklist and what is excluded. It includes engine oil replacement and chain cleaning and lubrication. Parts that TVS’s schedule calls for at longer intervals, such as a spark plug, air filter or fork oil, are extra, and no part is replaced without your approval. Every service carries a 7-day warranty on our workmanship. You can also book from the TVS Raider page. For TVS’s 160 cc motorcycle, see the TVS Apache RTR 160 service schedule.
Sources: TVS Motor Company, TVS Raider 125 user manual (current edition) and the edition for vehicles sold before April 2025, from TVS’s user manual page; printed page numbers. Last updated: 2 October 2026. The manual for your own bike is the document that applies.
