My best friends brother’s birthday was fast approaching. He was in for a big surprise as a birthday present. After a lot of consultation and his driving habits we decided that the bike to be gifted will be a Bajaj Caliber 115. Since me and my friend Rajeev, are both lovers of the premium segment (i.e.150cc and above)bikes, we werent that keen on trying the Caliber ourselves.
The day came and finally me and Rajeev got a stint at the bike. I felt a bit odd when I first sat on it as i’m used to driving my Pulsar 180 regularly. I kick started the bike and was absolutely amazed when the engine came to life. The refinement was par excellence, it was silky smooth. Then came the gears which lived up to the smoothness of the engine. The suspension was A-1 and was worthy enough for Indian roads.
The Caliber 115 is worthy competition for its competitor TVS Victor. it is powered with a 111.6cc engine and a very live 9.8bhp@8000rpm at the rear wheel.
The Bike was properly run in till 3000kms. I must mention, they were absolutely maintenence free 3000kms. We later managed a a top whack of 105kmh although Bajaj claims 100kmh. The bike behaviour at top speeds is worth mentioning, it behaves a lot smoother than its competitors.
The mileage figures were a decent 67-70kmpl all throughout till date.
The caliber 115 is loaded with Zapper tyres up front and behind. The front tyre is a 2.75x18’’ Zapper while the rear is a 3.00x18’’ Zapper. The smooth suspension, the single downtube chassis and the 3.00x18’’ rear tyre make the caliber a good handler
The Caliber like all Bajaj Bikes has good instrumentation. A flash switch, Speedo and Tachometer, clubbed with a fuel gauge which I must say is accurate enough and much better than the Pulsar. The other goodies include an optiprism headlamp and the green tachometer lighting which turns red when revved above 4000rpm.
The Caliber 115 has a 135mm drum up front and a 130mm drum on the rear which have proven to be affective enough. In the long run the front 135mm drum has started to show why disks are prefered over drums. I really feel that a disk up front would have made this a complete bike.
On the whole the Caliber 115 is a pretty respectable package