Words: Dipayan Dutta
Photography: Vikrant Date
Over the past few years, Bajaj Auto has seemingly placed all their focus on revitalising their Pulsar range, resulting in some of the best Pulsars we’ve seen till date. However the Avenger had taken a back seat with only minor tweaks and updates. Time for change then. Meet the new Avenger … well … Avengers to be specific. The MO? Diversify.
The traditional Avenger 220 makes its comeback in an all-new garb as the Avenger 220 Cruise. What you get is an overhaul to the existing paint scheme, some updates to the tank, a new handlebar, instrument pod and foot-pegs, and a redesigned backrest. As for the rest of the bike, it’s got chrome everywhere. The more conservative-minded might find it a little too blingy but we think it’s done quite well. And if that doesn’t suit your fancy, there’s always the 220 Street, which is slightly more, erm, street-focussed. What you get is a low set grab bar that makes trundling through the city a breeze. Interestingly, the only thing that sets it apart from its 150cc sibling – we’ll get to that soon – are matte-coloured front and rear fenders. And you get all-black alloys. A fleeting glance might have you mistaking the Street for another small capacity cruiser by the same name from one of the world’s most famous cruiser companies. Not to take names or anything but Captain America does come to mind.
The 220 motor, on the other hand, only gets a tuning upgrade and that means it’s more or less the same, with some added bottom-end grunt. The suspension is actually quite hard and even small bumps travel right to the bottom of your spine; add in some top-o-band vibrations to the handlebar and you begin to feel like it may not be the best partner on long rides. Bajaj says that this might be the result of a revised secondary spring rate in the rear suspension to increase the load bearing capacity and is an attempt to fix the bottoming-out issue of the outgoing model. Now we make no promises of corner-carving on the new Avengers but the 17/15-inch (front/rear) MRF tyres make a strong case for road grip. As for the brakes the 220 gets the same 260mm front disc brake. The Avenger 150 gets a smaller 240mm front disc that has been taken from the Pulsar RS 200, but in our short first ride we felt the 150 (with its sports-bike derived stoppers) had stronger retardation than the 220.
Speaking of the devil, the only all-new addition to the Avenger range is the 150 Street. Visually there is some gloss here and there but essentially the Street is identical to its larger capacity sibling. What is really worth writing home about is that reworked 150cc motor.
Bajaj have done nothing short of a bang-up job on reworking the engine. In fact, the 150 has far less vibrations than its higher displacement sibling. It develops 14.3bhp of power at 9,000rpm and 12.5Nm of torque at 6,500rpm. This boost comes from a larger capacity air filter from the 220, which gives the Avenger a 10 per cent boost in torque over the Pulsar’s stock 150cc engine. Where the engine really shines is at the lower and mid reaches of the rev range which has been done to tackle city commuting and urban running around. In fact, even on the highway we managed fair triple digits without the engine feeling buzzy or strained at all. Bajaj claim that the Avenger will make it to 60kmph in a respectable 9.4 seconds. As for consumption the new bike makes a claim of 61kmpl in the city that stretches to 68 on the highway. Both of which are respectable numbers.
As for problems there is only one, the cramped seating position can be a bit of a pain in the posterior – literally – for taller (5 feet 10-inch plus) riders such as myself. Everything else seems in order, and we feel like the Avenger has made a strong case for itself as a budget cruiser with all the showy bits, a pretty decent ride et al without breaking the bank. Cruisers democratised then and judging by the number of new Avengers we’ve seen on the road since its launch, it looks like it has all been going to plan for Bajaj Auto.