Just today I went for test drives of three bikes Honda Shine, Discover 135 and Bajaj XCD 125. First I started with Honda shine. Smooth engine, less weight, Easy to handle. But the controls were a bit tight (particularly indicator switches). Service centre guy told that it was because of rain. Rest others were fine with Honda shine. I dont want to describe about Discover 135, as I personally dont like it.
Then I took the test drive of all new XCD 125 with huge expectation. It almost met my expectations. 1. Look: It has decent sporty look with alloy wheels, head lamp dome like that of pulsar’s.... 2. Features: It had almost all the features of a 150 cc pulsar bike. Digital display, smooth indicator switch, electric start......... except for disc brakes...... adjusting number plate was good.... it is automatically getting tilted when the front suspension works so that dome wont hit on the number plate. 3. Performance: Initial pick up was fine and the engine is also smooth when compared to discover. I got stunned when I ride the vehicle at 15kmph in fourth gear without any jerks. that was excellent. good suspension in the front and back. 4. Milege: this is the big question here. Since nobody had experienced its milege, nobody can comment on this, eventhough bajaj has announced 109 kmpl under standard conditions. We will have to wait and see.
Service cenre guys are saying that we can expect 70 - 75 kmpl. 5. Price: At chennai, Adyar Jai Bajaj, the on road price comes around 47.2 k with all the accessories. It is quite cheaper when compared with Honda Shine with almost having same features except for few. I personally satisfied with the bike (XCD), but two things stopping me from booking the bike. 1. New to the market. 2. No disc brakes. Please comment on my concerns, whether to take it or not....... urs, ursvmg.