What I am writing here is not exactly a professional review, but just my experiences with my 10 months old Blue, beautiful and Powerful Beast.
The time when I first thought of affording a bike, few priorities were clear to me.
-Comfort
-Looks
-Power
Value for money.
I sorted out all possible options available in the market.Tried my hand on bikes available with my friends. And then one day got the opportunity to drive this machine. After nearly 1 hr of drive , I was at least certain of one thing this piece of iron is very close to what I want in my Bike.
”And the rest they say is History”.
Today, I am proud owner of this Bike on which I have traveled nearly 22000 odd kms.I have done Long rides of as long as 538 kms .But everytime the comfort level provided by this bike urges you to go on and on and on.
The 200 cc engine with 18 Ps power and 17nm Torque is though not close to the deadly cruisers provided by likes of Harley and Suzuki, but considering the Indian scene, is very good.(The only other option RE Thunder provides just 20 Ps at 350 CC).
Being oil cooled and air cooled , it gives you good cruising times for long rides. The happiest cruising speeds are from 90 to 100, though bike remains stable over 100 also.The stability of the bike is awesome and rock solid. Even at high speeds, you do not feel any bit of shaking or other trouble.
One special mention is regarding bike’s great stability and capability while climbing up hill roads with a pillion rider.Its relatively smaller turning radius, great low range torque, wider rear tires, and cool stability makes it easily a potent bike for curvy and steep hill roads.
As far as looks are concerned, it is one of the best looking Indian bike. Very masculine and have a retro and macho appeal.Besides the engine, stability and comfort this bike is ideal deal for its market price. As we Indian think of CC and HP before anything fora bike, it comfortably falls in place.
But the bike can give a tough time to first time cruiser riders as with its length and weight, the new riders find themselves out of place and especially in city traffic conditions it becomes difficult for them. After the initial days(10-15) of city driving blues, this bike grows on the rider and one starts having the real fun of riding a cruiser in any driving conditions.It suddenly becomes easy to maneuver through the city traffic like any other bike.
Mind you friends, once you have done the bike for one month, you won’t settle for anything else but the “classy Avenger”.The feel of this bike is awesome and royal. One imp thing that I wud like to let bajaj know that by reducing the weight of bike by 5-6 kgs , they can make it faster, more acceptable and with better mileage.
Other than this, I don’t see any problem whatsoever with this beauty. Overall:If you can listen to the music from Heaven..Rest they say is history.Some special tips for Avenger owners for feeling like GOD:
1).Friends, do you know rear suspension of avenger has adjustable spring preload, which can be adjusted according to load and road conditions.Pretty easy to do the settings.Can be learnt from service station people.
When you will increase spring preload, it will seem as if height of bike has increased and you have got new set of suspension.Yup, it works very well.
2).(0-2000)kms running in period, drive your bike according to the user manual.It gives engine required time for optimising its performance.According to a USA based company’s research, bikes which are run properly in this period, gain in power after 10, 000 km and vice versa.
3).The headlights can be adjusted both vertically and horizontally according to your needs, by using tool provided with the bike.
4).Ride on the bike while being in seat meant for rider, do not try to slide behind, because this affects ergonomics of the rider.The bike seat itself is very comfortable.Trying to find more comfort by sliding behind upsets the ergo.
5).Always try to maintain correct tire pressure as suggested by user Manual(21 in front and 25 in rear for pillion rider).What happens that service people usually tell us as high as 32 in rear, same happened with me initially.
This seriously hampers ride quality as it ushers in stiff ride.One must know that tires are one of the most important part of a bike’s suspension and maintaining correct pressure ensures real ride comfort.
6).Please check and maintain tire pressure every week because it also impacts throttle response, fuel efficiency, engine performance and sound severely.