Bajaj_Avenger_220

Heard the tagline “Feel like God”? Remember the guy riding his bike through desert like conditions? One must have seen or heard it some years ago as Bajaj was aggressively advertising its Avenger. One may or may-not feel like God while riding the Avenger but being the only cruiser with a price-tag of almost Rs. 1 lakh (on-road); this bike is certainly the baap in the domestic two-wheeler cruiser segment.

We have to praise Bajaj Auto for its brave move in 2005 especially after the Indian customers dejected the Yamaha Enticer. Since its launch, the Avenger has been doing pretty well in numbers and is still going strong till date. Every product undergoes 4 stages in its life cycle namely introduction, growth, maturity and decline and the Avenger has been in the third stage for quite some time. Now Bajaj Auto has taken the initiative of launching a successor to this all-time favourite cruiser.

One must be thinking that why does Bajaj need to go for a successor when the vehicle is doing so well in the market? We also sorted out the reason for that. For 9 long years the Avenger had a monopoly in the market but the scenario is set to change at the upcoming Auto Expo. Hyosung Aquila 250 and Harley-Davidson Street 750 would be going on sale and that would divert some buyers to stretch their budget and opt for these power cruisers. The Avenger would be trashed to the ground if United Motors launches its cruisers in the country and of-course prices it competitively.

The new Bajaj cruiser would be muscular in looks when compared to the Avenger. It would be using the triple-spark plugged engine that the Pulsar 200 NS has, obviously the engine would be tweaked to meet up with cruiser demands. Change in chassis can be expected as the new baby could be a power cruiser with an upright position. A power cruiser is a motorcycle that has the comfort of a cruiser but the performance and dynamics of a sports bike (bikes like the Yamaha V-Max, Ducati Diavel and Harley-Davidson V-Rod are power cruisers). The new cruiser would be seeing plenty of changes and we hardly expect any similarity to the Avenger. The price should be around Rs. 1 lakh (ex-showroom) and launch would take place in 2015. Unfortunately we have to wait for the Auto Expo for more details.

2012 Bajaj Avenger

Source – Zigwheels