[Altocumulus]

Last year this time I was in exactly the same situation. Had shorlisted the Avenger 220 as well and loved the black. Even planned how I would make it look like and booked it. However going through numerous threads, tbhp and outside I was somehow skeptical about it. Any serious biker I spoke to mentioned that as long term it wasn't a viable option.

Everyone I spoke to had something good to say about the Karizma ZMA. Its tried and tested and has proven to be a dependable workhorse. I guess that's what I wanted. A bike with was decently powerful, comfortable and a survivor. Will be completing one year with the ZMA on 1st Feb. Mostly highway rides with people on a Duke and CBR. He has been able to keep up with them without a hassle. I have also been as a pillion on the bike a couple of times, it is much much more comfortable than most of the other bikes there.

[Ironhide]

For a comfortable bike which is reliable and has decent amount of power , you should definitely look at Karizma. If you can stretch your budget, and aren't averse to buying used , a CBR 250R (ABS) presents a strong case for itself. Here are some related threads and posts to help you make up your mind...

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...himalayas.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/what-c...-bullet-2.html

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/what-c...ml#post3336409

Cheers !

[M35]

Thanks all for joining in.

I am not looking for travelling long distances on my Bike.For that I already have a Scorpio.

Majorly looking for somthing like these,

• A comfortble ride for some short trips in and around my town
• Some evening/after dinner relaxed trips with my wife
• All major road trips will be in my Scorpio.

[M35]

I happened to see this on bcmtouring.com. This sort of seat mod could be handy, in case it gets uncomfortable for the pillion, I guess.



Picture credit: lionheartbhasin

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by M35

Thanks all for joining in.

I am not looking for travelling long distances on my Bike.For that I already have a Scorpio.

In that case, would suggest, have a spin on the Yamaha FZ with wife on board. That should help.

[ani_meher]

Originally Posted by M35

Majorly looking for somthing like these,

• A comfortble ride for some short trips in and around my town
• Some evening/after dinner relaxed trips with my wife
• All major road trips will be in my Scorpio.

In your first post you mentioned cruiser, and most of the people automatically assumed it was for long distance cruising

As long as you are mainly looking for cruiser look and not deed, the avenger indeed will fit the bill. The back pains of the pillion and discomfort of rider and non reliability etc will come into play only in long distance touring.

For city, go for Avenger!

[Achekay]

Originally Posted by M35

Hello All

I am contemplating on getting a new motorbike and finalized on Bajaj Avenger 220, as of now. The issue is that I have already fallen in love with this beauty in black.

The only other bike that my heart allows me at present is Royal Enfield Electra 350. For some reasons, my wife doesn't like Royal Enfield series.

Almost all the reviews on Avenger agree that the seating comfort for the pillion isn't great. Please give me feedback on this.

• My budget- Around Rs.1 Lac
• I am not looking at a normal plain jane commuter
• As of now inclined towards a comfortable cruiser, open to others as well.
• Don't want to have backaches for me and pillion
• Enough power
• Not so bad FE. Anything around 35-45 km/L should suffice.
• Basically looking at something for pure riding pleasure and exclusivity
• It should be reliable as I am planning to keep it for some years.

My biggest concern is the ride comfort for both rider and pillion. Is Avenger 220DTS-i a good choice? or any other options reccomended?

thanks,

P.S:
1. I am 6’0” tall.
2. If the pillion ride is a deal breaker and pathetic, I wouldn't want to punish my wife for my enthusiasm.

Hey M35
I seriously recommend the Bajaj Pulsar 200NS.
Pros:
# Power, power, power !!
# Reasonable FE if you ride mostly between 40-90 kmph (40+)
# Hard seat will shape itself up for you.
# Being a naked, its easy to cut through traffic. No voice at the back of the head to remind you of bulbous fairings.
# Absolute star on the highway. Will leave arrogant trucks and cars eating your dust.

Cons:
# Braking. Emergency stops from 50 kmph can get hairy. Recommend you upgrade to Pirelli Sport Demon tyres. (Good advice by @Preetam_Korg)
# Split rear grab rail not very confidence inspiring for the pillion.
# A bit arbitrary, but a near 100K naked raises eyebrows. As in "Why didn't you go for the P220F ? It has a fairing !!"

As you can see, pros outweigh cons in the case of this bike.
A stellar product by Bajaj, with the only drawback of not having a fairing (Most Indians adore fairings).
If you could wait about 4 months, a bike-blitzkrieg's rolling in.
# Pulsar 180NS (Rumored)
# Pulsar 200SS (200NS with a fairing !!)
# Hero ZMA/ZMR update (Look like the P220F though)
Of the above three, I think the 200SS is best suited to your needs.

Ride till you die !!

Regards,
Hrushikesh

[raghutk]

Without doubt go for KTM Duke 200. Driving dynamics is awesome, Short trips in city is sliding on butter and braking is good as well.
Take a test drive and make your call. Its a little bit stretch though but I feel it is worth every bit.

[arsenal.arun]

Originally Posted by M35

Hello All

Hi M35,

I have just purchased a Blue Avenger in Nov-2013. So looking at your requirements :

Budget- 89k on road in Gurgaon. So will suit you pocket
Looks- Very stylish and eye grabbing.
Crusier-yes; Comfortable- yes, to an extendt, Powerful- No
FE- I got around 32-33ish till First service. Now I am getting around 38-40 (reserve to reserve)
Reliability- I think Bajaj has come a long way in this and reliability should not be a problem.

Seat Comfort (Rider)- Its good but not great. The seats are wide. However since I am upgrading from Yamaha Enticer, I find its handle position not very relaxing and theres no footrest. So overall the seating position and comfort is ok and comfortable for long journeys.

Seat Comfort (Pillion)- Seat is much narrow and not very comfortable. However with a softly tuned suspension and back support (a great boon), its not bad. My wife found it more comfortable than Enticer and even Karizma. On straight roads, theres no problem whatsoever, but on potholes its slightly discomfortable.

Height- For 6'0 to be honest, the bike may look slightly small on you. I am 5'11 and have the same problem. However riding wise theres no problem.

Lastly, dont expect a powerful and fast bike accelerating to 120 kmph in 10 seconds. Its a poor man's comfortable cruiser which is most happy when you drive it at 60-70s and it will serve you all day.

[Desmosedici]

From all that i have read, it seems pillion comfort is not a strength of the Avenger. Is there anyway the stock shocks can be changed to gas shocks. This might be of great help i guess to improve the pillion ride comfort. Has anyone done this or thought about it? I am still in 2 minds on making the purchase decision.

[Shashidl]

M35, I want to tell you my experience with the Avenger.

Just to give you a background in 2012 I had been to Ladhak on my bike (TBTS 350) with my wife riding pillion along with my friend on his Avenger and his wife (lets call her M) who is 5-6/7 tall occupying the pillion seat.

-M was was extremely frustrated with the pillion seat of the bike. So much so that they bought a pillow to cushion the seat and also increase the seating height. The front seat on the other hand is awesome and one can ride all day long effortlessly. Be ready for crampy legs (if you are a tall person)and a sore back side if you plan to go for it
-The bike is rev happy (or rev crazy?) it has to be pushed hard and i feel really uncharacteristic of a cruiser to find the sweet spot and enjoy the ride
-The ground clearance is less and coupled with the spongy suspension which has a long travel you would hit many a speed breaker. Also, you would have to be really careful when negotiating an offroad kind of a coarse or patchy roads.
-It performs best when you are cruising @ around 80-90 on some really good national highway like NH4.
-The rear Tyre is really wide and grips the road like glue

My suggestion would be take a test ride of the TBTS 350 and i assure you you would not be disappointed.

[cruze'ader]

I would suggest that you stick with your choice of buying the Avenger 220. I've been a big fan of this back right from the time it was launched. And if it wasn't for my parents paranoia for bikes, I would be riding this baby today. The other choice you had, the royal enfield, is also a good one.

But for me, nothing matches the looks of the Avenger except may be a Harley. I really love its "fat" looks. For me, a cruiser should me "generously" proportioned. And the Avenger ticks all the boxes.

Comfort should never be an issue for you if you are riding solo especially. I haven't had any comments from a pillion yet. But I've read a very interesting travelogue here on TBHP, of a couple who did the Leh-Ladakh ride on their Avenger. So, I'm assuming its not bad at all. Hope my comments help you in some way! Happy riding!!

[M35]

Thanks all for the feedback.
My heart still says “Bajaj Avenger 220” and “no sports”

I have already called up a few dealers and the OTR should be around Rs.94,000 including two year warranty.

If everything goes as per my planning, I should be test riding one, day after tomorrow. If satisfied, should be wasting no time and getting one home on the same day.

[evilmessiah]

My brother rides an Avenger 220 and I've used it pretty extensively too. Sorry, but I think it's better to move on and buy something else like a Karizma R, GS150R or a Unicorn. My reasons would be-

1) I might get brickbats hurled at me for this- but the 220 mill does not feel like cruiser material to me. Not too much torque low down and not too refined either. Most of the power and torque seems to be at higher rpms. At more than 50 kmph in the 5th gear, the engine does not seem relaxed. Should have needed another gear.

2) I feel that the ride quality isn't too great either. On good roads, the rider has good comfort, the pillion- so so. In fact, I feel that RE bikes still take the gold standard in ride quality followed closely by the CBR. I think that in the cruiser stance, for any shocks/vibrations from potholes or bad roads, the punishment would be directed straight towards the spine. This might be an inherent drawback of the cruiser genre itself- not the Avenger alone.

3) Okay, both the above points could be ignored, but not the issue of brakes. For three times, my brother's Avenger has hit the asphalt just because the front discs locked up. I don't know whether this issue is prevalent on other bikes, but if it is, it's pretty serious. Using both brakes together gently seems to lessen this issue. And after repairs from third fall, I haven't noticed the brakes locking up again. My bro complains that the rear brakes have gone weak and feels wooden, though.

4) After the third fall, the bike had been sent for repairs to bajaj service center. Dented fuel tank, some scratches, bent mudguard, front fork misaligned, replaced rear brake lever, front disc, mirrors; plus some oil changes. The final bill ran above 8K. On the brighter side, they seem to have done a pretty good job- the bike looks and runs like new.

5) Rusting of chrome. This has been well documented by other owners too.

6) Gears are not smooth and are loud, clunky and vague. After being spoiled with the slick gears on my CBR, the Avenger is always a nasty surprise.

There are no true cruisers below a lakh, actually (wish the Hyosung Aquila 250 was still here when it was launched in the early 2000-s at near 1.25 lakhs). The Enfields would have been a strong recommendation had they been more niggle free. If you don't mind that and can put up with somewhat expensive services and the waiting periods, you could go down that road.
However, if you are looking for just the cruiser looks, there appears to be no other option but the Avenger. Though it looks like it's hard to handle in the city, it's surprisingly nimble and it's not hard at all to ride in the city traffic with it.

The P200NS appears to be the best choice even though a couple of my friends who own it have complained of higher than average maintenance costs. Powerful, well geared, linear acceleration, tight and tidy frame with great handling when coupled with Pirellis- it's a perfect urban tool.

Stepping up to buy a Duke 200 is also worthwhile. Though it rides stiff and has some minor flaws (expensive A.S.S., bad pillion comfort), it has personality in spades. Loud, brash, aggressive and total fun to be with- like those old RX100-s.

The Karizma R, Unicorn and the GS150R (a really underrated bike) would be the safest choices. The Yamaha FZ/Fazers are also good options.

All the best for your purchase! Ride on!

[evilmessiah]

Originally Posted by Desmosedici

.... Is there anyway the stock shocks can be changed to gas shocks. This might be of great help i guess to improve the pillion ride comfort. Has anyone done this or thought about it?....

I've thought about it, but never got down to doing it. Maybe the P220's rear shocks are a direct fit? Those are gas filled shocks.