I wanted do buy my first two-wheeler. When I thought of a two-wheeler the machines came to my mind were ’’cruisers’’. I had a limited Indian budget ;) mileage was not a problem.
Then I started doing some R&D on the cruiser bikes available in the market.
Bajaj Avenger (’’Feel Like God’’ add was an eye-catcher) and Royal Enfield’s Thunderbird were the two bikes, which caught my eye.
After almost a month’s R&D I ended up buying The Bajaj Avenger.
The M-factor ($): The first thing I found interesting in Avenger as compared to Thunderbird was the price :).
Avenger was well within my budget as a loaded Thunderbird crossed the 100 grand mark.
40+ kmpl before service is a fair enough call by a cruiser.
Comforts of a cruiser : The drivers seating position is very comfortable and the ergonomics are very good.
When it comes to comfort you will really ’’Feel like GOD’’. The pillion is comfortable too but the width
of the seat is bit smaller for those with big butts ;). The suspension is really good, better than that of a Thunderbird :).
May be because of the shocks are almost @ an angle of 45* to the flat surface which I think reduces the shock
reaching you spinal discs. And the front shock absorber is very loooong...
Neutrals : Avenger comes with an electric start (necessary for Bangalore kinda roads) and a button to kill the engine.
The ignition key slot and the handle lock slot are a bit awkwardly placed.
N-1-2-3-4-vrrrruummm : If you are comfortable with 1-down 4-up kind of gears then you’ll not find it tough changing
the gears. Avenger being a cruiser has a very good pick-up. Its 180cc DTSi engine is pretty decent to be called
powerful (when it came to power n firing thunderbird was far ahead with 360cc). The fat rear-wheel brings in good grip.
4-3-2-1-killl :The disc brakes come really handy when riding on those jam packed roads with uneven traffic.
At times it becomes a bit tough to figure out @ which gear you are running ;) and you may find it a bit confusing to bring to neutral.
Litez.. Mirrors etc : The head - lights are very powerful full marks for that.
The mirrors aren’t good. I found mirrors aren’t placed properly as you have to struggle a bit to see what’s happening
behind your back ;). There isn’t any fuel indicator to show that u are running out of it.
The Finishing line: Avenger succeeds in making you almost ’’Feel Like God’’ :). The ride is really comfortable,
the grip is good and the bike is really stable. If you think you handle this power cruiser then go buy it.