[samarth.bhatia]

Hi vibbs.

I really liked the colour.
I have been fond of this bike since the times of the K-Eliminator. The P-220 engine in this model really does fire it up nicely.

About the brakes, till date I have had only one accident on a bike. And that was on my friend's avenger. Rear brakes had become too weak, and during panic braking, the front wheel locked up too easily. Hence, please be careful with this aspect.

I wish you a lot of happy and safe miles on her! It's a good bike, keep it well maintained. And again, congratulations!

Cheers!
Sam

[S@ndy]

Hey Vibbs,

Congrats for purchase of your bike! I love this bike and indeed, am looking to purchase one. I guess the unrefined engine and short pillion seat shouldn't be that of a problem for me as I usually travel with my bro.

Anyways, I would recommend you to get a proper windshield for that Cruiser look for which the cruisers are famous for! Your attention to the review is appreciated. Rating your thread 5 stars.

P.S. Indeed, sitting on a cruiser feels like being the God Of The Road.

Keep revvin'
S@ndy

[vibbs]

Originally Posted by TaurusAl

Congrats, this the fantastic colour you have chosen. Being the one of its kind in the Indian market, this bike deserves a special place for being unique and trouble free.

Thanks Taurus

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

Does this new Avenger have a 5 or 6 speed gearbox? Also how did you find the gear shifting? Was there any kind of clunkiness with false neutrals? Or has it improved over the older P220/Avenger gearbox?

Ride safe and always wear a helmet.

Thanks WAG. Avenger has a 5 speed gear box. Would ve loved an additional gear for highway cruising. Gear box is ok, and I do get false neutrals once in a while. But more than that, its finding the neutral that I find tough. I dont have much experience on the older Pulsar/Avenger so cant compare with them.
Yupe I never ride without a helmet. Infact I ll prefer to walk down rather than ride a bike without helmet.

Originally Posted by R-Six

Avenger is indeed a nice choice! It fits your requirements just perfect! Nice choice of color too. I think it will give you more exclusivity in terms of color as most common colors that you can see on the roads are either grey or black. If you are looking for a comfortable bike, this is a indeed a perfect choice.

I ride a 2007 Red Avenger 200 too! From the pics, it looks like they have changed the location of the Ignition. It is on the left side on my bike.

Thanks R six. I did nt know that the older one had ignition on the left. This is on the right side though. Yes the turning radius does make it difficult to park in tight spaces. I m not really struggling to navigate it in BtoB traffic though

Originally Posted by anand_lukose

Congrats on the new member !! Avenger is still one of my fav rides in India and IMHO it still has a lot of potential. I was on it on the highway and oh my it was a breeze ! Loved it to bits.

You should hit the highways sometime soon, enjoy the monsoon and let us know how it went !

Thanks Anand. I plan to hit the highways sometime soon. Although rains are far from here I guess. Delhi is still sweltering. Ohh how I wish I was in Gods own country now riding the avenger in rains and feeling like GOD.

Originally Posted by samarth.bhatia

About the brakes, till date I have had only one accident on a bike. And that was on my friend's avenger. Rear brakes had become too weak, and during panic braking, the front wheel locked up too easily. Hence, please be careful with this aspect.

Thanks Samarth. Rear brakes are inherently week I guess. Even on my new avenger they seem to do hardly enough to be able to halt the bike. If you use more of the front brake, the front wheels tend to lock up. That said, using them together with more emphasis on the rear brake and modulating the front brake pressure so that the wheels dont lock up, seems to do the job pretty decently. But yeah somebody riding the avenger for the first time may have problems with the braking. Takes time to adjust I guess.

Originally Posted by S@ndy

Hey Vibbs,

Congrats for purchase of your bike! I love this bike and indeed, am looking to purchase one. I guess the unrefined engine and short pillion seat shouldn't be that of a problem for me as I usually travel with my bro.

Anyways, I would recommend you to get a proper windshield for that Cruiser look for which the cruisers are famous for! Your attention to the review is appreciated. Rating your thread 5 stars.

P.S. Indeed, sitting on a cruiser feels like being the God Of The Road.

Keep revvin'
S@ndy

Thanks Sandy. You said you usually travel with your bro. Does that mean you have different bikes? Or does that mean both of you will be using avenger?

If its the second case, if you are thinking of buying the avenger, I advice you take an extended ride of the bike both on the riders seat and the pillion seat. If either of you are moderately to heavily built, you will end up cursing the rear seat and the rear suspension that tends to bottom out frequently with a pillon rider and seems stiff when ridden alone.

Each and every bump on the road will be transferred to the pillion riders back if you dont ride slow on uneven roads. The rider as I said before in my review is much better off and I had no problems whatsoever on bumps or undulations. I would suggest you even take a close look on how the brakes behave before making a buying decision.


Cheers
Ride safe

[VeluM]

Originally Posted by vibbs

Once or twice I got false neutral between first and second gear.

Doesn't the Avenger have the regular 1 down 4 up arrangement? Or did you mean false neutrals between other gears?

Originally Posted by vibbs

Each and every bump on the road will be transferred to the pillion riders back if you dont ride slow on uneven roads.

I'm not sure, but check if the rear suspension is adjustable. If so, it may be on a stiffer setting. If not, then reduce the tyre pressure in the rear tyre by 2psi as a temporary solution, maybe? Do get the rear brakes checked as soon as possible. They shouldn't be so bad as to almost not be able to stop the bike, so Bajaj should fix it.

[vibbs]

Originally Posted by VeluM

Doesn't the Avenger have the regular 1 down 4 up arrangement? Or did you mean false neutrals between other gears?



I'm not sure, but check if the rear suspension is adjustable. If so, it may be on a stiffer setting. If not, then reduce the tyre pressure in the rear tyre by 2psi as a temporary solution, maybe? Do get the rear brakes checked as soon as possible. They shouldn't be so bad as to almost not be able to stop the bike, so Bajaj should fix it.

I m sorry my bad. I meant I got false neutrals other than between one and two but that was only once or twice at the most in the 350 Kms that I have rode the bike. Between one and two I normally struggle to find the neutral. More so when I park the bike. Have to keep on hunting between one and two to get neutral. At signals I just kill the engine in first gear rather than keep searching for the neutral.

I also read that the rear suspension is adjustable but the manual does nt say anything. I think it is strange I am confused about the suspension as it seems stiff when ridden alone, but with the pillion it seems to bottom out at bumps if tackled at speed. Would nt putting it on a softer setting lead to it bottoming out more frequently?
Rear brake when applied alone manages to just slow down the bike, but at slightly higher speeds almost ineffective. Yeah will get the rear brake tested soon infact I was planning to do so today.

[aravinrd]

The issue I think has to do with the design. The rear brake is lousy and when used alone does nt do much to stop the bike.

Both brakes have to be used simultaneously with slightly more emphasis on the rear brake as the front wheel has the tendency to lock up.


[aravind]This is exactly my take on this bike, I have done close to 30 K on this bike, riding comfort it great, breaking is pathetic, I have had plenty of close shaves, you need to understand the limitations of this bike and ride it accordingly.

[VeluM]

Originally Posted by vibbs

I m sorry my bad.

Hey, no worries!

Originally Posted by vibbs

Would nt putting it on a softer setting lead to it bottoming out more frequently?

Quite possibly, yes. But it also depends on the kind of bumps, and what speed one takes them at. A softer setting would allow for smaller irregularities to be evened out without transmitting much to the pillion, but would result in it bottoming out more often when ascending a large bump at speed, or descending from a large, sharp speed breaker at lower speeds. The bottoming out is because of the short travel of the rear suspension. A stiffer setup aids handling, with more of every kind of bump reaching the pillion.

A softer setting will force you to be careful over speed breakers, and will not allow corner carving (not with any confidence, that is). You can try it out if it is adjustable and revert the setting if unsuitable.

What about a lower pressure in the rear tyre? What is recommended, by the way?

Originally Posted by vibbs

Rear brake when applied alone manages to just slow down the bike, but at slightly higher speeds almost ineffective. Yeah will get the rear brake tested soon infact I was planning to do so today.

Yup, paramount importance. Because of the way it is designed, most of the weight of this bike is over the rear wheel. When applying the brakes, although weight is transferred forward, the long, raked fork and two riders sitting far back means it is still biased towards the rear. So good rear brakes are essential. Also, when braking try starting with the rear brakes and then progressively applying the front to full force. This will allow time for the weight to transfer, so that when the front brakes are applied, there is sufficient force acting downwards to allow greater braking without locking up. This will of of course only work during planned braking

[S@ndy]

Originally Posted by vibbs

Thanks Sandy. You said you usually travel with your bro. Does that mean you have different bikes? Or does that mean both of you will be using avenger?

If its the second case, if you are thinking of buying the avenger, I advice you take an extended ride of the bike both on the riders seat and the pillion seat. If either of you are moderately to heavily built, you will end up cursing the rear seat and the rear suspension that tends to bottom out frequently with a pillon rider and seems stiff when ridden alone.

Each and every bump on the road will be transferred to the pillion riders back if you dont ride slow on uneven roads. The rider as I said before in my review is much better off and I had no problems whatsoever on bumps or undulations. I would suggest you even take a close look on how the brakes behave before making a buying decision.


Cheers
Ride safe

I meant to say that my brother always sits behind me as pillion (He is just in 3rd standard right now! ) Actually, We have a workhorse named Activa. I am looking to replace it somewhere in October and am looking for a comfortable cruiser (Cruiser is just my preferance!). I had looked for RE Thunderbird but somewhat, didn't like it. I yesterday looked at Avenger at Doaba Bajaj and am looking forward to TD it.

P.S. My brother doesn't care a darn about bumps on road if transferred. He usually associates them with Swings.

Keep revvin'
S@ndy

[vibbs]

Originally Posted by VeluM

Hey, no worries!

Yup, paramount importance. Because of the way it is designed, most of the weight of this bike is over the rear wheel. When applying the brakes, although weight is transferred forward, the long, raked fork and two riders sitting far back means it is still biased towards the rear. So good rear brakes are essential. Also, when braking try starting with the rear brakes and then progressively applying the front to full force. This will allow time for the weight to transfer, so that when the front brakes are applied, there is sufficient force acting downwards to allow greater braking without locking up. This will of of course only work during planned braking

Yeah I feel the same regarding the rear brakes. The service center guys could not find any issues though with the brakes. Anyways, I will be taking the bike for the first service tomorrow. Will get behind them and try to sort out the issue. Will check regarding the rear shock adjustment too.

Originally Posted by S@ndy

I yesterday looked at Avenger at Doaba Bajaj and am looking forward to TD it.


S@ndy

Yupe test ride it for as long as you can and let us know what you feel.


Update

Have now completed 600 Kms in 7 days. First service will be done tomorrow. My calculations tell me I m getting between 35-37 Km/l mileage.

Took the bike out for a longish ride today. Did 220 Kms in around 5 and half hrs with a maximum speed cap at 65Km/hr, the first 15 kms taking more than 45 minutes thanks to the Monday traffic to Gurgaon.
Most of the riding was between 55-60 Kms/hr with slight variations every now and then to avoid riding at a constant RPM for long.

It was scorching hot today with the temperature hovering around 41 to 42 degrees (as per my weather widget) and the humidity levels taking the real feel to more than 46 degrees. The idea about going out during such harsh conditions was to test my own endurance. I wanted to see how well would I hold up on a longish ride and how comfortable the bike would be in hot and cramping conditions with a backpack. The bike passed with flying colours.

The lower back pains that I was getting in the initial days have vanished and the only issue now is a sore butt. But taking short breaks every now and then helped me go around the issue easily.
I had taken 4 breaks in between of around 10-15 minutes each which helped the circulation going in my legs. One mistake I did was not wearing loose fitting pants. The Denims I was wearing were a little tight fit which accentuated cramping in the legs. The heat was making it tough specially since I was in my riding jackets. This also made me and object of amusement for many people who were wondering what I was doing wearing a jacket in this heat.

In the end the ride did nt turn out all that tiring and within a few minutes of ending my ride I was as fresh as I can be. Got to admit the avy held up pretty well specially since I m a rookie when it comes to biking and this by far was the longest I have rode in last 8 years or so. In fact I hardly rode at all in the last 8 years before buying the avy.
In that context today's experiment was a success and has given me some confidence in taking the Avy out for more spins.

[quakerme]

Hey Vibbs , congrats on avvy i just got mine on feb this year clocked around 2k kms till now I used to have the back pain initially and like you said it vanished within the first 300kms. I did a surprise trip as i missed my train from cochin to trivandrum (250kms) I had to attend an important meeting which i could not miss went home took my bike (which had then clocked 600kms) 4.5 hrs drive sorry cruise below 80kmph and in office on time, I was thinking to take a half day off and i didn't, did not feel tired as expected .
Good luck and drive safe

[Mad Max]

Congrats on your new bike. The color looks amazing on this model. Wishing you many safe miles on the cruiser. I've always wanted one but I am never gonna get it ("home minister" doesn't approve!)

Is there no way we can upgrade the rear brakes for more linear and effective braking? There must be atleast one genius in TBHP who'd have figured this out by now, right?

[vibbs]

Originally Posted by quakerme

Hey Vibbs , congrats on avvy i just got mine on feb this year clocked around 2k kms till now I used to have the back pain initially and like you said it vanished within the first 300kms. I did a surprise trip as i missed my train from cochin to trivandrum (250kms) I had to attend an important meeting which i could not miss went home took my bike (which had then clocked 600kms) 4.5 hrs drive sorry cruise below 80kmph and in office on time, I was thinking to take a half day off and i didn't, did not feel tired as expected .
Good luck and drive safe

Thanks Quakerme. I think its about getting used to the riding position. Once you get used to it, no more back pains. Congrats on your purchase too. Why dont you share your experiences too with us?

Originally Posted by Mad Max

Congrats on your new bike. The color looks amazing on this model. Wishing you many safe miles on the cruiser. I've always wanted one but I am never gonna get it ("home minister" doesn't approve!)

Is there no way we can upgrade the rear brakes for more linear and effective braking? There must be atleast one genius in TBHP who'd have figured this out by now, right?

Thanks Mad max. I guess we can improve the braking by doing some modifications. I seem to have solved my issues, so will wait and see. If they are not sufficient i will start exploring the possibilities of upgrading the brakes or even getting a rear disc brake perhaps.

Update

First Service carried out. 12 days/685 Kms

Total cost incurred for the service Rs980.
Which includes price of Engine oil, Oil additive and teflon coating.

Total Petrol filled till service- 21.62 litres
Petrol remaining in the tank- 2.5 litres (Approx)

Total Mileage- 35.8 Km/L (Approx)

Vibrations seem much less, gear shifts smoother. Got the rear brakes tightened. Seems much better as of now.

Cheers

Ride safe

[vibbs]

Update

1200 Kms run in 20 days. Total petrol filled 43.42 Litres. Last tank fill to reserve gave me only 27 Kms to a litre. This was after the first service. Before the service I was getting around 35.
The Gear shift has become increasingly clunky and hard. At times does nt shift properly on one attempt. Specially the shift to fifth gear is not smooth.

Performance is good. Vibrations though not overly annoying are on the higher side.

Most ownership reviews mentioned the fuel level gauge fogging up during rains. Nothing different in my case too. Check the image how it has fogged up.



Rear seat is plain uncomfortable. As time passed this has come to fore very evidently. Initially it seemed OK. But before planning on any long rides with a Pillion modification of the rear seat atleast is mandatory if you dont want to earn an enemy for life.


Planning to change the oil to some other brand during the next change that I plan to do around 1750 Kms.

[evilmessiah]

Congrats on your new ride, Vibbs! My brother is buying one too. Hope you enjoy it and have many happy miles on it!

[mannubhai]

Vibbs,

Congrats on your ride. Does look classy. Wish you miles and longer miles of smooth riding ahead.

Cheers