Dear reader,
A small note about me before the review. I am more money cautious and mostly go for economically best product available in the market. I may compromise on quality to an extent by not with the price to the most., unless it is highly dangerous to do so.
Now the review for Bajaj CT 100....
I had a Bajaj Boxer for more than 3 years from 2000 in Chennai. I used to travel daily around 45-50 kms for work. Again I bought this as it was cheap. Also I afraid of driving too fast as I do not believe that applying brakes alone can avoid accident. My reflex time too is a bit low.(I learnt it once I ran over dog that suddenly jumped on my bike in the usually high traffic road in Chennai, luck favored me and my friend to have ourselves rolling on the road only to few meters. With heavy vehicles too behind to run over us. )
After moving to Bangalore I was initially inclined to power vehicles like pulsar, CBZ, Karizma, Thunderbird. But because of my nature I resorted to buy Bajaj boxer here too. Since I had only CT 100 in the market then (that was the feedback I got from sources) I paid through cheque in june 2005 and got the vehicle. I am not a kind of guy who test run and then decide. I go by looks and if that’s attractive to me I will buy it. The same happened with my previous bike too. But the new CT 100 has a nice look like other varieties in the market, different from the old Boxer model. I got a red colour. (That’s what readily available). From then on I drive around 15-20 kms a day to work from my home and return. The bike seems to have a nice, comfortable position to ride with good (if not better or best) shock absorbers. I initially went with the bike for the mileage they promised. 101 seems to be too tempting. But in reality the maximum I remember was 75-80 that too rarely. The average was around 65-70 and with the traffic and roads available in the way I travel I can be contented. Again the same defect I had with boxer persisted in CT 100 too, the balance while applying sudden brakes. As I said I usually drive at the average speed of around 50 but sometimes my blood pumps too much of adrenaline because of which I find myself driving at 80-90, but not far too long say a maximum of 2-3 kms within city and 5-10 kms in the highway. I used to travel in this bike from Bangalore to Hosur at weekends to my sister’s house and frankly speaking they were not so comfortable rides. I took around 2 hours as I rode only below 50 as per the manual till 2000 kms. Then I started speeding up to 70’s and that ride was quite ok. But still I ride with a doubt as to when will a dog or a living being come in my way and I have to break so mostly I go in the speed range of 50-60. I see people passing by me at higher speeds than me that too not in singles which I do 95%. I feel confidence is plays a more important part in driving WITHOUT ACCIDENTS. So BAJAJ CT 100 is for those drivers who can control their nerves, look for simple yet attractive style, cautious over spending money and better mileage. These are my perceptions after around 8 months of riding. Since I am in free service period I cannot comment on maintenance but the vehicle did not broke down in the middle. I had just one puncture in my 8 months of riding. One more thing I would like to note I find a bit problem to start the machine in the morning. I felt that it was because of the cool climate in Bangalore. But my friends said it not so with all bikes. So its up to you to decide on it. I bought it for Rs. 39000 on road. But no freebies. (Side stand, Mirror and crash guard are part of standard equipment). Had this been in Chennai I feel there must had been some freebies with the vehicle. Bangalore is sellers market. Demand is far more than supply and so seller dictates term here. But nowadays almost all manufacturers come with a product of that price range. So I have given you all details to the best of my knowledge with the given constraints of mine. Evaluate properly and decide the best of your choice that can suit you better in not the best. Best wishes R.Vijayaraghavan