This could be the best compliment Bajaj might ever have got: According to BIKE magazine, Honda is going to equip twin-spark-plugs to all of their 100-125 cc engines worldwide. It increases power and fuel economy at the same time. Honda might go a step further but this itself is a BIG compliment and assertion that Bajaj is doing right things from a last few years.
Honestly, how much enthusiasm and anticipation bikes costing 30 thousands Rs create? When there are some big bikes launched then obviously such bike might get neglected. Check out recently Unicorn was launched, the ’Bike of the year’ Discover was launched with a great advertisement campaign featuring none other than the ’Guru’ Jackie Chan (whos more popular in India than China!). Pulsar was recently updated to have a lot of goodies like alloy wheels, more power, better tires.
However, when the bike is a 100 cc commuter segment which costs so low, gives ample fuel economy, promises reliability & 8-10 years of trouble-free motoring & first time in the segment it also promises great styling too then the bike is sure to create a lot of enthu in the people who actually put their money where their mouth is (unlike me!) :) Bajaj launched CT100 to out-compete Hero’s CD-Dawn that had been selling at 45, 000 per month!
Bajaj thought of big things with this bike that have already been fulfilled. CT100 sold 1 lac within 3 months and surprise! with increasing supply matching the demand it sold 1lac units in the last month even surpassing the ultimate king of sales Splendor at 96000 !!
Redesign of the good and (very) old Boxer: Let us have a look at this bike. I know you can check things like wheelbase, weight, power rating etc in the manual and also a free brochures so won’t bore you with them. To keep it short the wheelbase is class leading more than CD-Dawn, the power is 8.2hp (7.5 splendor and CD-Dawn & Passion), weight is lower than the competitors and for the first time the engine is vibration free (just check with 4S and prev Boxer owners, they will have this the only down point). The exhaust note is still throatier than the rest but nothing to be worried about.
Addition to vocab of econo-bikes-->Styling for the first time!: The first bike in the segment (Rs. 30-33K) to have some respectable styling! Although no Pulsar or Discover, CT100 now sports respectable creases and panels so as not to feel as a step-child from Bajaj! The color quality still lags Honda levels but is improvement over prev Boxer. The graphics are ok for the price and also the addition fairing although gets the price a little higher, the bikes better. The fairing was recently changed a bit to look more appealing. The sheet-metal is thinner than Pulsar/Discover though.
Engine/Transmission: The most sign. improvement is the engine, a host of imrpovements make the engine smoother and make more power. The flexibility has been increased with more power (torque) at lowe rpms. It has allowed them to make gear-ratios more relaxed again aiding the mileage and ease of driving in the crowded city roads. The gearbox is above average but could be more smooth.
Ride and Handling: This is no Pulsar but a vast improvement over the last generation. The suspension specially the front one is much well sorted now. The tires are also respectable and not ultra-narrow like say Centra or Splendor. The brakes are above average for the class. Overall it won’t put you to sleep! Occasional bursts of enthusiasm would be served quite well if not extraordinarily.
Fuel Efficiency: In Indian market it is a make or a break factor for a bike. Just checkout CBZ the sells dried after initial flurry due to (high price) and mileage! The Boxer was already a class leader but recently launched TVS Centra advertised 100kmpl so Bajaj had to do something. John Abraham worked his engine magic and without any fancy VT-i or such technology Bajaj is claiming 101 Kmpl !!!! Splendid I say as it is with the added power too!
Pricing: The base trim costs close to 31K and the fairing version 32K+. Very close to CD-Dawn and beating Centra and Splendor by miles. It is master-stroke and has reflected in sells shooting thru the roofs!
Conclusion: Overall, not my cup of tea but I would recommend this bike whole-heartedly specially when Hero group is selling same engine.bike for last 15-20 (CD100/Dawn) and 10 years (Splendor). Bajaj has really put pressure on Hero and also Honda let alone TVS and Yamaha, LML etc. Currently CT100 is the best bike in the lower-priced bikes.
Bajaj has become the trend-setter in bikes and others are playing the catch-up now days. Three cheers for Rahul B and also the younger Bajajs.