Platina.. what an interesting name. I was thinking that two wheeler manufactures are already exhausted all possible sensational names for their models and Bajaj proved me wrong by a big margin. And what a bike it is in looks, simply wonderful. Though it plagiarizes many design clues from Wind, the end product is really exiting. I took a test ride of the bike yesterday and here is a primary observation review.
In a simple words its CT100 upgrade but it is not a simple upgrade, it is complete makeover like we see in Indian Idol where oily faced girls turns in to magnetic personalities. Looks of Platina are great and especially at the time when I just saw Suzuki’s Heat, Zeus and Honda’s Shine, those bikes already look 5 years old in visual design segment.
Platina is having wonderful side panels, black coated engine, elegant dials, nice mini light flaring and comfortable seat.
Platina is a fusion bike which takes some design from wind, engine from CT, engine black coating style from p180, exhaust tec from P family but the end product is beauty with economy and the customer wins.
Ok, enough of looks but what about the performance?
Nothing great but you are getting tried and tested mill of CT100 with all its inherent limitations as well. Fuel consumption will vary between 60 to 80. But you can safely expect 70 kmpl in city and on highway.. Forget it. It is not a highway bike so if your riding contains regular highway travel, please look for some other 125 cc bike. This bike loves to be ridden alone. When you are two up, the engine definitely feels stressed out on acceleration and inclines.
I went to the showroom on my friends Splendor which is 7 years old and still not missing a single beat and running strong. Bajaj mill in comparison was feeling certainly rough, noisy and vibrating at high speeds. So no great shakes in this departments, but at the same time no risks also as it is not a new engine like Suzuki Heat. So mechanic knows the engine in and out and spares are already stocked in the shops.
Interestingly for the bike which I took out for the test ride, the speedometer was not working. I was told that they lock it for all the test vehicles. I simply could not get the logic. So how I am supposed to understand the speed at which I am driving. I tried looking at speedo of others bikes around me on the road and gauge the speed.(this is one of the advantage of crowded roads). I think may be the showroom people want to sell the same bike which is muled by all as a new one and don’t want any reading on speedo mileage meter. Whatever the reason may be, the test ride was really incomplete experience without speedometer. But the bike expressed its typical character tics. The engine was nice and smooth roughly in the patch of 20 to 50 kmph. And if you drive the bike below 60kmph, and do the regular basic maintenance the engine will certainly last for 70 - 80, 000 kms.
Final verdict – overall the bike is value for money. For 38.5 K on road or just 2k more than CT for spoked version, and you get stylish bike which is more comfortable due to longer and better seat and with some useful goodies like fuel indicator, pass switch etc. It is serious utility city bike with charm. Its not a college bike. The buyer will surely be buying it with his own money and will be using it for daily routine and not just for fun.