[evilmessiah]

Originally Posted by vibbs

...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.

That's true. The Avenger could really use a sixth cog for more relaxed cruising. My brother is also having a lot of trouble finding the neutral. Will this problem be lessened after the first service, maybe?

Originally Posted by vibbs

...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.

I traveled with my bro on his Avenger today. Unfortunately, I'm heavily built. There was a clanking sound coming from the rear wheel area like a loose chain slapping sort of sound. I guess that means that the suspension is bottoming out. On good roads, it was okay. It was on bad roads the suspension was bottoming out.

However, isn't the Avenger's suspension adjustable? Will increasing the stiffness solve the issue?

[vibbs]

Originally Posted by evilmessiah

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

Thanx Evil Messiah

Originally Posted by mannubhai

Vibbs,

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

Cheers

Thanx Manu Bhai

Originally Posted by evilmessiah

That's true. The Avenger could really use a sixth cog for more relaxed cruising. My brother is also having a lot of trouble finding the neutral. Will this problem be lessened after the first service, maybe?

Congrats on the new beast. What colour you guys chose? I still have problems slotting into the first gear. As you can see from my update, the gear shifting has become increasingly clunky after the first service. Regarding the neutral, in traffic signals I seldom try searching for the neutral. Just kill the engine in first gear.

Anyways I am planning to change the oil by 1750 Kms. Will be using other brands this time instead of bajaj oil. I have read elsewhere it helps improve the quality of gear shift. Lets see. Will keep you updated.

Originally Posted by evilmessiah

I traveled with my bro on his Avenger today. Unfortunately, I'm heavily built. There was a clanking sound coming from the rear wheel area like a loose chain slapping sort of sound. I guess that means that the suspension is bottoming out. On good roads, it was okay. It was on bad roads the suspension was bottoming out.

However, isn't the Avenger's suspension adjustable? Will increasing the stiffness solve the issue?

Yes the Suspension bottoms out with pillon rider. More so if he/she is heavily built. Yes the suspension is supposed to be adjustable. The service center guys are of no help. I asked the engineer and he looked around and said, may be its adjustable and all. I asked him to forget it. Just check up with your SC guys.
Setting it a little harder (unless it is already at the hardest setting) may help, but that would cause the ride to be harsher.

As an option you can try fitting gas filled shocks at the rear. I have read about people doing that and finding a vast improvement. I guess Pulsar has gas filled rear shocks that might be a straight fit. Not sure though. Anyways all those mods after the free services are done.

Cheers

Ride safe

[evilmessiah]

Originally Posted by vibbs

Congrats on the new beast. What colour you guys chose? I still have problems slotting into the first gear. As you can see from my update, the gear shifting has become increasingly clunky after the first service. Regarding the neutral, in traffic
signals I seldom try searching for the neutral. Just kill the engine in first gear.

Anyways I am planning to change the oil by 1750 Kms. Will be using other brands this time instead of bajaj oil. I have read elsewhere it helps improve the quality of gear shift. Lets see. Will keep you updated.

His Avenger's black. I took it for a short spin yesterday night and had felt that the gears were a bit vague and lacking in precision. Neutral hunting is still present.
This baby's pretty powerful. One twist of the throttle and it's easy to hit 80-s and 90-s.
Btw, do Avengers usually have speedometer error? My bro and I had gone for a night ride on Sunday. I was on my CBR and was cruising along at 60. When my bro pulled up to my side he asked me why I was riding at 80! I had taken a glance at his speedometer and it was showing 80 while mine was at 60!

Originally Posted by vibbs

Yes the Suspension bottoms out with pillon rider. More so if he/she is heavily built. Yes the suspension is supposed to be adjustable. The service center guys are of no help. I asked the engineer and he looked around and said, may be its adjustable and all. I asked him to forget it. Just check up with your SC guys.
Setting it a little harder (unless it is already at the hardest setting) may help, but that would cause the ride to be harsher.

As an option you can try fitting gas filled shocks at the rear. I have read about people doing that and finding a vast improvement. I guess Pulsar has gas filled rear shocks that might be a straight fit. Not sure though. Anyways all those mods after the free services are done.

Cheers

Ride safe

I think it should be adjustable- those grooves at the end of the shocks are like various levels from the stiffest to the softest settings. I just don't know which is which.
We'll try out the Pulsar shocks after the free services.. till then there's no option but to have a stiffer ride.

[vibbs]

Black looks good. I ve seen an avenger online with complete matte finish. Looks mean I must say. The speedo must have some error. All speedos have, but 20Km/hr seems to be on a higher side. Maybe your cbr, has error on the lower side and his avy has on the higher side. I on the other hand have felt it shows less speed. Will try a GPS comparison see. Yes good power and decent pick up. Although technically it is slower than the P220 from zero, it still packs decent punch I suppose. I like the way it pulls neatly even at 35 -40 kmph in the fifth gear. At times, I confuse it for the fourth and try for another one. Thats when I realise its in fifth. One more gear could ve done wonders for highway cruising and efficiency.

Originally Posted by evilmessiah

I think it should be adjustable- those grooves at the end of the shocks are like various levels from the stiffest to the softest settings. I just don't know which is which.
We'll try out the Pulsar shocks after the free services.. till then there's no option but to have a stiffer ride.

Can you click some pics and show the grooves. I dont mind trying out various combinations. How do you feel the rear seat comfort apart from that? I mean the seats are too narrow to provide any sort of support for long rides. Totally negates any advantage the back rest provides. I m surprised why they have nt done anything about those seats for the last so many years the avenger has been around.

Also what do you feel about the braking?

[evilmessiah]

Originally Posted by vibbs

Black looks good. I ve seen an avenger online with complete matte finish. Looks mean I must say. The speedo must have some error. All speedos have, but 20Km/hr seems to be on a higher side. Maybe your cbr, has error on the lower side and his avy has on the higher side. I on the other hand have felt it shows less speed. Will try a GPS comparison see. Yes good power and decent pick up. Although technically it is slower than the P220 from zero, it still packs decent punch I suppose. I like the way it pulls neatly even at 35 -40 kmph in the fifth gear. At times, I confuse it for the fourth and try for another one. Thats when I realise its in fifth. One more gear could ve done wonders for highway cruising and efficiency.

Indeed it is. I love the way the black color offsets the shiny chrome. As for the speedo error, yes, I'm sure that there's one. I'm kind of ruling out the error being present on the CBR as the speedo/odo readings come from rear wheel from sensors attached to the ECU- so I guess that it must be pretty accurate. Will have to check it out with a dedicated GPS device.

Originally Posted by vibbs

Can you click some pics and show the grooves. I dont mind trying out various combinations. How do you feel the rear seat comfort apart from that? I mean the seats are too narrow to provide any sort of support for long rides. Totally negates any advantage the back rest provides. I m surprised why they have nt done anything about those seats for the last so many years the avenger has been around.

Also what do you feel about the braking?

The Avenger isn't here at the moment- my bro had taken it to the office and I'm at home as I have a cold I'll snap some pics in the evening. The approx. position of those grooves should be here as I've circled in the pic below. I'm going by memory here- I could be totally wrong about this.

Ah, the rear seat. You're right- it's a bit narrow but I think it was tolerable during yesterday's commute. Compared to what I've ridden, the Avenger's pillion's better than the RE Classic's 'loaf of bread' pillion but worse than the Aviator's comfy one.
About Bajaj not modifying the seats- that's a mystery really. Yamaha seems to have modded the new FZ's seats after listening to the complaints. Maybe Bajaj doesn't care much about the Avenger as it's a niche product?

I felt that care should be taken while using the brakes. I'm not sure if I'm doing it right but I use the rear brake a bit to slow down the vehicle and gently modulate the front brake to bring the bike to a complete stop. I feel that the front brake has a bit too much bite and can lock up pretty easily. I never use one brake alone for stopping this bike- I use a combination of both brakes. Takes a bit of getting used to.

[vibbs]

Originally Posted by evilmessiah

I'm kind of ruling out the error being present on the CBR as the speedo/odo readings come from rear wheel from sensors attached to the ECU- so I guess that it must be pretty accurate. Will have to check it out with a dedicated GPS device.

I checked my Avenger's speedo error with my android phone today. As I suspected earlier, my speedo is showing less speed. When the speedo was at 40Km/Hr, the GPS showed a speed of 50. At 70 in the speedo the GPS was showing 85. So almost a 20% error on the lower side in the speedo. Yesterday I was trying it out with my swift and found the GPS showing more or less the same just a 3-4% error but in this case the speedo was showing more. So I can safely assume my Avy speedo has an error of around 15-20 % on the lower side. Will carry out some extensive tests soon.

[SJD@NewDelhi]

Hi Vibbs,
first congrtz on your new ride!! But I see that you had missed out on a very significant factor in your ownership review - the Mileage factor..! Am planning to get a black Avy in a month or two, so please share your experiences on the fuel consumption of your blue beauty. And do include your riding style and your average speeds.

Regards!
SJD.

[vibbs]

Originally Posted by SJD@NewDelhi

Hi Vibbs,
first congrtz on your new ride!! But I see that you had missed out on a very significant factor in your ownership review - the Mileage factor..! Am planning to get a black Avy in a month or two, so please share your experiences on the fuel consumption of your blue beauty. And do include your riding style and your average speeds.

Regards!
SJD.

Thank you SJD. I did nt mention the mileage during my review, because it was an initial ownership experience and review. However in the subsequent updates, I have mentioned the following.

Originally Posted by vibbs

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.

Originally Posted by vibbs

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

Originally Posted by 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.

Last tankfill to reserve gave me close to 34Km/Ltr. So that 27Kmpl that I got in between was an aberration I guess. As for my riding style, its mainly in city Dwarka - Gurgaon in peak hrs to be precise and ocassional ride on the Jaipur highway for around 200 Kms exactly 50% with pillion. Till 1000 Kms, I never crossed 60-65 on speedo. After that taken to 70 ocassionaly on speedo. Plan to continue in the same manner till I cross 2000 Kms after which the running in would be officially over. All this while I ve been riding very lightly never revving the engine too much. With spirited riding I assume I ll get between 30-32 KMPL. Hope that clears your doubt. Else do let me know

Cheers

Ride safe

[SJD@NewDelhi]

Originally Posted by vibbs

Last tankfill to reserve gave me close to 34Km/Ltr. So that 27Kmpl that I got in between was an aberration I guess. As for my riding style, its mainly in city Dwarka - Gurgaon in peak hrs to be precise and ocassional ride on the Jaipur highway for around 200 Kms exactly 50% with pillion. Till 1000 Kms, I never crossed 60-65 on speedo. After that taken to 70 ocassionaly on speedo. Plan to continue in the same manner till I cross 2000 Kms after which the running in would be officially over. All this while I ve been riding very lightly never revving the engine too much. With spirited riding I assume I ll get between 30-32 KMPL. Hope that clears your doubt. Else do let me know

Cheers

Ride safe

Sounds great...and yeah, THANKS for taking the pain! The mileage you are currently getting is a bit on the lower side but I bet, it'll smoothen out with another service and a few hundred of kms. Owners have reported an average of 40-42 kmpl under smooth riding conditions. However, the fact that you always ride with a pillion should also be taken into account
However, I would like to know about the maneuverability of the vehicle in bumper-to-bumper traffic. I mean I have experienced the riding of RE and it isn't something you can boast of esp. frequently braking in close traffic. Thanks again

[vibbs]

Its my pleasure.
I would suggest you to expect a mileage around 35. 40-42 is a bit on the higher side not that it is not possible, it very much is but, borrowing words from an avid biker and a very senior member of this forum, "It is always better to have lower expectations and match them or even surpass them rather than having high expectations and being disappointed later."
Carrying a pillion for 50% of time defenitely has its effect on mileage. That and some further improvement after servicing should give an average biker a mileage of around 37 Kmpl if riden sanely. This is a pretty safe estimate as per me and as said before it can go upto 40-42 too.

I was never a bike guy, always preferring to drive my car. Biking on the Avy has been a revelation to me. When I used to ride the Laser I was nowhere as satisfied as I m on this. That said, it is a fact that riding in bumper to bumper traffic may not be as easy as it is on other bikes, more so because of the longer wheelbase that makes getting into tight spots that much more difficult. But not too cumbersome to be a deal breaker either. The low height gives you pretty decent control on the bike.

Braking has to be a tad different compared to other bikes. Normally bikes with a sportier riding position have more weight on the front wheels than on bikes like avenger. As a result during braking the weight transfer to the front wheels is faster. In case of avenger, the front wheel as I said before is not loaded much so applying front brakes straight away tends to lock the front wheels. Best would be to apply the rear brakes first and then the front. Takes some getting used to and dont be surprised if you find your front wheel skidding on application of front brakes alone even at speeds as low as 10 Kmph. Another thing is the position and angle of legs which is different from other bikes and may alter the way you apply your rear brakes.
But all these are minor issues nothing that cant be taken care of. Suggest you to head to the nearest Dealer and try the bike. Head to a lonely road and check the rear brakes at very low speeds and see the seating position etc. Will give you a good idea as to what to expect.

If we stay within the limitations, avenger does give us a good time out on the road, but we also need to realise this bike is not suited for sudden acceleration and then braking and darting inside small gaps etc. Laid back riding is what rewards us the most on this thing.

[SJD@NewDelhi]

Originally Posted by vibbs

If we stay within the limitations, avenger does give us a good time out on the road, but we also need to realise this bike is not suited for sudden acceleration and then braking and darting inside small gaps etc. Laid back riding is what rewards us the most on this thing.

Definitely, else why would it feature in the "Cruiser" category. Thankfully, my current ride has made me understand the art of laid back riding as it doesn't give a healthy mileage on riding above 50-60 km/h or rash riding. Plus, I had gotten to realize the beauty of elongated riding. And that was the origin of my idea "Why not an Avenger then?" It would suit my riding style as well as be unique in the road! Thanks for the bit of advice, will go for a TR soon. and to "It is always better to have lower expectations and match them or even surpass them rather than having high expectations and being disappointed later."

Anyways, it was nice sharing ideas with you and hope to meet you sometime in a Delhi quick-meet. However, our meets usually falls short of true-blue riding fans in comparison to driving fans <sigh>

Regards!
SJD

[vibbs]

Originally Posted by SJD@NewDelhi

Anyways, it was nice sharing ideas with you and hope to meet you sometime in a Delhi quick-meet. However, our meets usually falls short of true-blue riding fans in comparison to driving fans <sigh>

Regards!
SJD

Same here mate . Please do share your thoughts after the TR and dont forget to start your ownership review in case you decide to buy it.
OT on the topic of meets, why not a Tbhp delhi riders meet?

Cheers

Ride safe.

[SJD@NewDelhi]

Originally Posted by vibbs

OT on the topic of meets, why not a Tbhp delhi riders meet?

Food for thought! Will have to plan something on these lines after I get these worrisome internships out of the way. Meanwhile, if anything is planned in these lines please don't forget to tag me.

Cheerz!
SJD

PS: Do keep us posted with updates on your ride!

[evilmessiah]

Originally Posted by vibbs

Its my pleasure.
I would suggest you to expect a mileage around 35. 40-42 is a bit on the higher side not that it is not possible, it very much is but, borrowing words from an avid biker and a very senior member of this forum, "It is always better to have lower expectations and match them or even surpass them rather than having high expectations and being disappointed later."
Carrying a pillion for 50% of time defenitely has its effect on mileage. That and some further improvement after servicing should give an average biker a mileage of around 37 Kmpl if riden sanely. This is a pretty safe estimate as per me and as said before it can go upto 40-42 too.

Thanks for that info! I was a bit puzzled over what mileage the Avenger could possibly give. Btw, what is the reserve tank capacity?

Originally Posted by vibbs

I was never a bike guy, always preferring to drive my car. Biking on the Avy has been a revelation to me. When I used to ride the Laser I was nowhere as satisfied as I m on this. That said, it is a fact that riding in bumper to bumper traffic may not be as easy as it is on other bikes, more so because of the longer wheelbase that makes getting into tight spots that much more difficult. But not too cumbersome to be a deal breaker either. The low height gives you pretty decent control on the bike.

Same here. I was more of a car guy too. It was the RE Classic 500 that kindled my biking spirit though I ended up buying a CBR. The Avenger is a likable bike. I like its exhaust note- it's not too wussy compared to the other mills. Another surprising thing is that its midrange power is quite good.
Our commute is an hour long ride through traffic hell and it's not too hard to ride the Avenger through that mess. Treat it more like how one drives a car does the trick. Limit squeezing through tight spots and darting around the traffic and it does okay. It has decent low end torque and can pull away cleanly at low speeds.

Originally Posted by vibbs

Braking has to be a tad different compared to other bikes. Normally bikes with a sportier riding position have more weight on the front wheels than on bikes like avenger. As a result during braking the weight transfer to the front wheels is faster. In case of avenger, the front wheel as I said before is not loaded much so applying front brakes straight away tends to lock the front wheels. Best would be to apply the rear brakes first and then the front. Takes some getting used to and dont be surprised if you find your front wheel skidding on application of front brakes alone even at speeds as low as 10 Kmph. Another thing is the position and angle of legs which is different from other bikes and may alter the way you apply your rear brakes.
But all these are minor issues nothing that cant be taken care of. Suggest you to head to the nearest Dealer and try the bike. Head to a lonely road and check the rear brakes at very low speeds and see the seating position etc. Will give you a good idea as to what to expect.

Very well said and an extremely important point. The brakes are a bit different kind of breed on the Avenger. My brother had a front wheel lockup yesterday at crawling speeds while applying the front brake alone. As you had said, the trick lies in using both brakes judiciously- the rear for slowing down the bike and the front to stop it completely. Nothing one cannot get used to over a short period of time.

Originally Posted by vibbs

If we stay within the limitations, avenger does give us a good time out on the road, but we also need to realise this bike is not suited for sudden acceleration and then braking and darting inside small gaps etc. Laid back riding is what rewards us the most on this thing.

Sudden acceleration and then braking and darting inside small gaps etc...You mean like riding a commuter bike as most folks do, right?
The Avenger would have felt laidback if it had a sixth gear. Bajaj has tuned the Pulsar's mill well for doing duty in the Avenger anyways.

I feel that the Avenger's a really versatile machine. It's one of the rare ones that can do well as a street bike as well as perform well on the highway. Solid vfm niche bike that serves up most of the thrills of a bigger cruiser at a fraction of the cost.

[neoonwheels]

Its a different beast all together on the highways.. The only thing that I don't like is stone like suspension :( Anything that can be done?