[TusharK]

Thanks to Ritesh Kumar for sharing this information with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP page.

Bajaj has introduced two new variants of the Platina and CT100 commuter bikes. The CT100 ES Alloy is priced at Rs. 41,997 while a new base variant- Platina ES Spoke is priced at Rs. 42,650 (ex-showroom Delhi).



The CT100 is now available with an electric start and alloy wheels. The single-cylinder, air-cooled engine powering it remains unchanged. The 99.27 cc engine develops 8 BHP @ 7500 rpm and a peak torque of 8.05 Nm @ 4500 rpm.



The 102 cc, single-cylinder DTS-I engine on the Platina makes 8 BHP @ 7500 rpm and has a maximum torque of 8.6 Nm @ 5000 rpm. The new base variant gets an electric start and spoked wheels instead of alloys.

Link to Team-BHP News

[arnabchak]

Who cares!!!
Any why do you even need to proclaim a new variant by colouring a black alloy silver or introducing an ES in an already bare bones model?

[VW2010]

Seriously who cares. 99% of pulsar and CD100 owners now own a bullet and that is the standard RE as established now. All my friends who had 60km/l bikes now roam in bullets. Bullets are the bare minimum standard for 2 wheelers these days. And then there are performance bikes like KTM, Honda, Yamahas and even Bajaj in Dominor space and pulsar space.

Hope they are seeing real sales in these variants.

[abhishek46]

Just like it has silently launched these bikes, within few days it will silently discontinue them also, leaving unlucky owners of these bike at their own peril.

It is totally unclear what they want to focus on.
They are completely absent in scooters.
They are languishing in 100 & 125cc category.
And finally, they are behind RE & TVS in 150cc+ category also.

What really is their strategy?

[ashwinprakas]

Owning a 2017 CT100B I can say from experience that adding the self-starter was a considerate move by Bajaj as I had faced a dilemma while off-roading when the motor stalled amidst climbing an aggressive incline on loose earth, restarting the motorcycle was dangerous and difficult considering the chances of me slipping and falling were pretty high, so had to somehow leverage myself off the motorcycle, push and pull until I got it to a decent spot before kick starting it back to life.

I dearly did hope for a self-starter during the whole ordeal because contrary to the golden rule ‘When in doubt, Go FLAT OUT!’, the tires available for these machines drastically limits its capabilities and if you’re not dexterous dealing with the throttle you’d have mud slick tires with absolutely no grip what so ever.

Trust me! There’s nothing worse than the feeling of sliding downhill when you gas it with the last bit of hope left.

As for the price cut with respect to the Platina, it’s awesome considering that you get all the advantages(newer motor, exhausTEC, ES) without having to pay for the disadvantages i.e Alloys with TT, which is a pain for those doing long hauls, with my previous Discover 100 4G I’d lost count of the times I had to replace the Tire and Tube in the event of fouling, which has brought me to conclude that for heavy riders who travel heavy and are into small displacement motorcycles, Spoke is definitely the way to go!

Now for the average enthusiast whose into chasing ‘bigger’ and ‘better’ motorcycles, the above iterations if not the existence of two different series (CT100 series and Platina series) in the 100cc segment might seem confusing but it is when you take a closer look at the motors used in these machines you come to understand that the performance is quite contradictory to each other, one being short and the other being a long stroke.

Personally I’d say that Bajaj is doing a commendable job offering varieties in this segment rather than playing it safe with the age old inconsiderate concept of ‘one size fits all’.