[vigsom]

Introduction

This is the story of the first motorized vehicle that I got with my own money, and THE most fuel efficient two wheeler I've ever owned - a 1990 Bajaj Super. Bajaj scooters were family movers those days, with a family of four (sometimes five) travelling on one scooter - husband riding, wife on the pillion, elder kid standing on the footboard, and the younger kid sandwiched between the rider and the pillion rider. These posts would detail/ aim at the following:

1. the difference this scooter made to my life as an owner
2. saluting those enthusiasts who've restored Hamara (Our) Bajajs to old glory
3. paying a befitting tribute to India's rockstar scooter

Hopefully, readers who never got a chance to experience this machine would get a virtual experience here. This was the time I had no camera and am therefore borrowing some pics to help add spice to the story. My machine looked exactly like the one in the image below.

Exactly the same shade (image courtesy bhpian @funkykar)

[vigsom]

Circa 1993

It was a few years since I'd begun my career, and the most aspirational vehicle those days for company employees would be owning a scooter. Scooter in the late 80s and early 90s would mean Bajaj or the newer stylish kid, the LML NV. While the LML NV would appeal more for styling, the Bajaj Super and its slightly larger sibling, the Chetak, would be the darlings of the masses.

Hunting for a scooter

Although I had a dynamo fitted Hercules Commander for short runs, I was yearning for a scooter. The first thing I did was to go to the two Bajaj dealers in the then disorganized Surat - Nana Automobiles and Desai Automobiles to check on prices of their two prime offerings - the Bajaj Super which was more popular in that city was priced at INR 18,352 on road while the Chetak, a national favourite but surprisingly not-so popular in that city was a shade higher at INR 19,201. Getting either of these then would mean investing approx. 4 months of salary, which was still worth it. Why? Those days, Bajaj scooters were like the Innova Crystas of today - would barely lose value!

More options

I also decided to look the pre-owned route, which made little sense then, given

1. the high resale prices and predominantly below average condition of two wheelers in that city
2. the general practice of most owners to remove the speedo cable on machines they'd get; most odos under-read

I wasn't good at Gujarati then so didn't look up newspaper ads, like I did several years later when scouting for a Premier Padmini. Nevertheless, I got a lead from a bus-mate - there was this LML NV for sale which I went to see at Surat Tennis Club.

Evaluating the LML NV

I went to Surat Tennis Club rather excited, and dreaming to see a dream swanky vehicle, but closed the visit rather disillusioned. The scooter had done 25,000km, rode rather average, and while in the top gear, i could feel some strange cyclical noise from the gearbox. These were enough to make me uncomfortable about moving ahead. When I asked the owner how quickly he was wanting to part with the vehicle, he said, chewing supari," Abhi sauda karo aur gaadi le lo" (strike the deal now and take the vehicle home).
Those were the days of engines requiring at least fresh piston rings around that odo reading, silencers requiring decoking, point condenser needing a change, and the kind. I told the owner I'd get back, but had made up my mind not to move forward with that example. The following day, I rang up the owner from an STD PCO and informed of my decision.

Mulling options

There was another option - my company would purchase and issue me a two wheeler and half the cost of the scooter would be deducted in 72 instalments. Me being a loan averse guy, scored this option off. The catch here was should an employee separate before those 72 months, the balance full cost of the scooter (minus instalments deducted) plus 18% interest would need to be paid to the company. It was like the ball and chain arrangement

Lohia Machines Ltd. (LML) 150 NV (sample image)

[vigsom]

Mulling options (Contd.)

When it was almost getting certain that I'd go in for a new Chetak, this wild card entry comes in - a senior manager in our company wanted to part with his 1990 Bajaj Super that had done a mere 5,500 km. He'd developed a back issue and was advised to stop riding. My then boss also told me that another manager had offered the seller INR 12,000 which wasn't considered good enough by the seller.

A scheduled test ride was a good experience - nice well maintained machine, a super smooth, well tuned engine. There was this minor whine from the gear box in the 4th gear. Except that, the ride was brilliant. I spoke to the seller, he quoted INR 14,000 and after some discussions, we finally settled for INR 13,000. This might not look like a great saving over a new purchase, but the difference was big enough to take a decision

Pros and Cons - 1990 Bajaj Super vs 1993 new Bajaj Super

Six volts electricals and lack of turn indicators were the only minus points in the 1990 Super on offer; otherwise, the engine had been run in, scooter was perfectly tuned, and the odo reading was negligible. With all these plus points, I considered that I'd saved approx. INR 5,300 which was a lot of money those days. To give folks an idea, that would equate to approx. 4 months of living expenses as a bachelor.

Initial surprises (or shocks)

Based on experiences and feedback from other owners, I was estimating the scooter to return approx. 40-42 kmpl, but the engine didn't sputter (signal to turn the fuel cock to reserve) but kept going. When the time came to turn to reserve, I was shocked to see that the FE was 52 kmpl. Filled fuel again, and the same story repeated. For a 150 cc two stroke scooter to return 52 kmpl was unbelievable, but true. This efficient run continued for the first four years (and approx. till the odo hit 12,000 km post which the efficiency gradually dropped to 50 kmpl, then to 48 kmpl)

Ride limitations

Since this was a "one side placed engine", I used to limit city speeds to 35 kmph max. in view of its quirky only rear braking. I'm not sure but most people advised me against using front brakes and rear brakes together in the Bajaj. I once braked suddenly at a turn, and the rear of the scooter moved sideways. Luckily it didn't end up in an incident.

Maintenance

This was surprise no.2. The first time I had a snapped clutch cable, all I spent was 5 bucks for the cable and 10 bucks for labour. A year later one of the gear cables had snapped and I ended up having both changed. Other than this, I had the gear oil changed twice.

I never had to clean the carburetor. All I would do is every 2,000km (or once a year) pull the air filter off, clean it using pure petrol, clean the two jets and it was good to go.

All that I spent on the vehicle was

1. gear oil change (40 bucks each time) - INR 80

2. clutch cable inner replaced twice - 5 bucks for the cable and 10 bucks for labour - so a total of INR 30

3. Gear shifter cables(set) replaced once - INR 80 in all

4. Ceat tyre (rear) INR 300

5. Bulbs, electricals, spark plug, speedo cable - never changed

Total expenses over 10,000km INR 490

Improvements

Towards 1998, I added an additional rear view mirror on the left and also wheel caps on both the wheels. It made the scooter look hotter.

Fuel efficiency

I'd taken the odo from 5,500km to 15.500 km over five years. Towards the end of this five years, the fuel efficiency had gradually dropped to 48kmpl but I did nothing to tamper with or clean/set the carburetor.

My Bajaj Super looked exactly like this - with the rexine lining to prevent scratches on the engine and left side covers (image courtesy bhpian @funkykar)




The carburetor cover - the screw jutting out is the idle adjustment screw


Air filter


The two jets that would need to be cleaned periodically - so simple

[vigsom]

Saying goodbye

I attempted teaching my wife to ride this scooter but she'd stall the engine most of the time. Realising our need for a unisex scooter, by the end of 1998, we got ourselves a 1997 TVS Scooty (with kick start) for INR 17,500. This scooter had done only 1,700 km at purchase. New would cost INR24,000 and commanded a 60 day waiting period. It sported a 60cc engine but was no match for the FE and low maintenance that the Bajaj offered.

Since our usage was low, and the TVS Scooty was already there, I decided to give the Super away, and found an out of city buyer who eventually picked the scooter up for INR 9,442. I lost touch of the whereabouts of the vehicle, but the most pleasant memories of any vehicle that I had were with the Bajaj Super; resonates perfectly with the lyrics in this ad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scltYH13uEY

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[vamsi.kona]

The first vehicle in our family was a Chetak (1998) which is still being used by one of my fathers drivers. That vehicle is truly a rugged one which can take anything. Clutch cable gone? No problem just shift the gear at right speed and it would run. Gear cable gone kaput? No problem, just ride the clutch till you attain speed required for the gear you are stuck in. Surprisingly the vehicle would run in slow moving traffic with a stuck 3rd gear. The favourite of all milk vendors at least in Telugu states.

One of the most Iconic vehicles that truly moved masses.

[charanreddy]

Bajaj Chetak was the first vehicle on which I learnt riding back in 1999. It was a 1978 make and had undergone multiple repairs paintwork etc.. body was full
Metal and the 150CC stroke engine churned decent torque. Mileage was 35 KMPL. I knew to keep a spare clutch cable, break wire etc in the very useable storage compartment. Could do basic checks like spark plugs cleaning and toward the end the silencer can used to fall off on the road and I had a spare rock handy to beat it back into place

[Rajat347]

You brought a smile on my face

I was in my early years of life and remember my dad used to ride a Bajaj Priya which was a 3 geared scooter.

In 1996 when I turned 9, we upgraded to Bajaj Super but that was an upgraded model than the one you shown. It had 12 inch tyres and had side indicators.
Headlights and Horn were very very weak and stealing petrol from the scooter was a breeze.

I learned riding two wheeler on the same machine but I remember it was a work horse for my dad. So much nostalgia and love that machine gave to us. Finally after 15 years of service, the scooter was donated to a NGO and then dad also stopped riding a two wheeler.

[vvivek85]

You took me 30 years down the lane, happy tears seeing this beauty. This was our family’s first vehicle my dad this scooter in early 90s, it was Bajaj Chetak cub sky blue. I heard stories of insane waiting period for Bajaj scooters, infact my father got his scooter after 3 years.

It was during Diwali season we got the scooter, words can’t describe the feeling we had after getting the beauty. I learnt riding with this scooter many golden memories attached to it. It served us for 13 long years, my dad used it till 2002 by then he got TVS Victor and for a brief period I was taking it to my college in 2003 after I got my license. This vehicle is close to my heart and will never forget the days I spent with this beauty.

[condor]

Those simple two-strokes, and the importance these had in the days gone by.

We had a 1986 Chetak, but had learnt on a 1979 Chetak that my mama had. Caused one accident in each of those. ( :( ). Scooter pooling with a classmate to college was what I was allowed those days.

[sushanthys]

Very well written article. Thank you for sharing.

[rahulpandita]

Great article, brought back a lot of memories!

I learned riding on my father's 1998 Bajaj Super Excel - a pleasant grey shade. We sold it to an acquaintance after I started HSC and moved on to a beautiful black Pulsar 180cc. I still get to see it running around whenever I visit my hometown - which is amazing, considering the age. A few things that I remember vividly:

1. Stealing petrol was really easy. If I remember, the fuel lid did not have a lock and instead you tightened a bolt mechanism like this.



2. For some reason, the scooter wouldn't start until you tilted it. I never really tried to find out why - I had seen the adults doing it and did the same.

3. There was a spare tyre at the back, which was really useful considering the condition of roads and the non-availability of tubeless tyres back then.

4. The flickering headlights and the low-sounding horn at idle: it was really funny to hear the horn at idle

Driving dynamics were not the best but moving on to the Pulsar was a lot easier after having handled this mechanical sloth. Driving it was a skill.That being said, I will always appreciate how practical it was - as a family vehicle, with lots of space for luggage and a spare tyre to boot.

[vamsi.kona]

Originally Posted by rahulpandita

Great article, brought back a lot of memories!



1. Stealing petrol was really easy. If I remember, the fuel lid did not have a lock and instead you tightened a bolt mechanism like this.

Attachment 2492649

2. For some reason, the scooter wouldn't start until you tilted it. I never really tried to find out why - I had seen the adults doing it and did the same.

My 1998 model chetak had a circular lock mechanism which looks like the inside fuel cover for cars.

The tilt and start mechanism is the most well kept secret ever.

[anjan_c2007]

Very well written @vigsom. I can identify with many of the experiences you have described. The market was such and with production quotas as per licenced capacities, the customer demand triggered the era of long waiting lists. But by 1990 the conditions had eased. Though the Lambretta/Lamby makers API had closed shop for two wheelers by 1987, LML and the Vijai variants plus the Vespa PL 170 to a little extent had eased the market demand. The 100cc bikes had taken the markets by storm. Bajaj had expanded their capacity after production curbs were eased and their Waluj, Aurangabad plant was commissioned by 1985 adding to their installed capacity at their old Akurdi plant. Bajaj waiting lists and so also the unofficial premiums disappeared by 1988. Hence your used scooter was bought by you at a price lower than the ex-showroom price of a new Bajaj. Usually prior to 1988 and earlier a second hand Bajaj would cost much more than a brand new one (ex-showroom price). But new ones commanded obscene premiums till the late 1970's sometimes higher than the new one's price.

Coming to my experience my Dad had booked Bajaj 150 in my name in 1976 when I was still studying. We got the delivery in 1985 when the 150 had become Super. We paid some Rs 10,500 for the new machine. I used it for a year and bought an Ind-Suzuki AX100 in 1986. I already owned a TVS 50. My elder brother liked the Bajaj and I parted with it after becoming a biker. But I would use the Bajaj and tinker with it from time to time. The mechanicals were too simple and it was easy to do DIY jobs on it. It used SAE30 grade as gear oil and the requirement was just about a third what Lambrettas consumed. My Dad's Lambretta required 900 ml of SAE 90 gear oil while for the Bajaj it was just 300 ml if I am not wrong. Even my RX 100 demands 650 ml of SAE 30 gear oil (now SAE 20-50W). The Lambrettas had more niggles and required TLC from time to time whereas Vespas and Bajajs rarely if ever demanded attention.

And it will be fit to reveal that my elder brother still maintains his 1985 Bajaj Super with its factory shade (pistachio green) and uses it from time to time. He lives in a nearby locality. Spares have become tough to get and the old generation mechanics -they are dwindling in numbers. But the scooter is fit as a fiddle on this day now nearly 38 years old, touchwood !