First thing first. how eligible am I to write this review?
Q: Do I own a Avenger?
A:NO
Q: Do I plan to buy one?
A:NO
Q: Then why am I writing this?
A: Cause I have ridden this bike for 3500kms.
Q: isnt that a very few kms covered for a proper review? what makes me think this will be genuine?
A: I’ve ridden it through Ladakh crossing through worlds Highest motorable passes at 3 to 4 Cetigrade temperature and almost no oxygen.
So here goes:
The actually owner of this bike is a very good friend of mine who was also a part of this trip but let me do the riding becasue I am more experienced than him and this was his first bike which had run only 4000kms till date. so me having finished 1, 80, 000kms already on diffrent bikes over the past 10 years could be called quite experienced to tackle the nitty gritties of this route.
The route: Delhi-chandigarh-Manali-Keylong-leh & nearby places-srinagar-ludhiyana-Delhi all in 15 days.
As far as I remember the bike used to be called the eliminator with a Kawasaki Engine.this was one of the most expensive bikes 5 years back and I never got a chance to ride this at that time but I did so this time with the bajaj 180 DTSI engine.
Chassis & Comfort: - Absolutely cruiserish behaviour.feels safe when riding, low rider stance, I would say "built for the highway" and all hats off to Kawasaki for this wonderful Chassis Design. Comfortable wide rider seat & not a pillions bike at all. Sitting posture is straight forward no hunching at all, although I did feel stiff at the trapezoidal muscles after riding for such a long distance. Suggestions for improvement: Fit Gas charged shocks for better damping.
Engine and Gear box: - I own a Honda Unicorn and my dear friends once you are used to a the engine refinement level of a honda it is very difficult to like this engine. I really appreciate the indian company trying out so many goodies like dtsi, Exaust Tech etc etc but why cant they learn from honda and suzuki on the refinement levels? what I mean from refinement here is: Engine smoothness, Vibrations i.e NVH levels. after all this adds to the riding pleasure. especially the long rides. It also reuces Fatigue levels for the rider. Even though there is good power and pickup boost when you open the throttle there isnt that smoothness in delivery. Here in ladakh its hard to find even a small plant or shrub.and altitude well over 11000ft the internal combustion engines suffer from lack of oxygen. but I must commend that there was never a time when the engine stalled on me for not being able to pull the load at wall like steep hair pin curves nor did I have trouble starting the engine at near zero Degrees Centigrade.
The gear box the les spoken the better, lots of false neutrals, clinky clanky gear changes(Hard), I seriously think the final ratio needs to be reduced further or a 6th Cog added as it starts vibrating at 70kmph.
Suggestions for improvement: A more Refined engine and an All new gear box with smoother gearshifts.
Looks & Sex Appeal: Looks like a cruiser & it does look expensive, heads do turn at signal junction, and I got a lot of attention from the locals of villages as there were more used to Enfield bullets.
Fuel Efficiency: we were on 5 bikes 4 of em were Bullet Electras and this was used as the pilot bike. The avarage returned was roughly around 40 to 45kmpl and with a 18 liter tank capacity. we never had to carry a Jerry can with petrol separately for it unlike Bullets.
Other plus points: The small but powerful head light. it was infact brighter and more focused than the bullets. The larger than life rear tyre which provides a excellent road grip and stability.
So My dear friends it is a bike with which I have sucessfully completed one of the most beautiful and Demanding roads trips in the world. its upto you to decide with the pros and cons mentioned above.