Bajaj Avenger 220 Review, First Ride

Bajaj has launched not one, but three avatars of the new Avenger in India. We ride the most interesting one – the Street 220.

It all started with the Eliminator – the Kawasaki 175cc single cylinder air-cooled cruiser motorcycle that was sold in India under the Bajaj brand. The bike did reasonably well, but then its name changed to the Avenger in 2005 – and the Bajaj engineers replaced the Kawasaki single with the indigenously conceived, and more successful, 178.6cc DTS-i engine from the Bajaj Pulsar. Because of that, the Avenger today holds the distinction of being the first cruiser developed by an Indian company. Several engine upgrades later, the Avenger has been re-launched in a completely new avatar with three variants.

Replacing the earlier model are the new Avenger 220 Cruise and Avenger 220 Street, and a new 150 Street model as well. We got to test the new 220 Street, which looks the most interesting of the lot. Both the 220 Street and Cruise are priced identically at Rs. 84,000 (Ex-showroom, Delhi). The 220 Cruise is oriented towards riders who are looking to use the motorcycle more for touring purposes, and gets wire spoke wheels, a backrest for the pillion rider, an optional windshield, and plenty of chrome. The Avenger 220 Street gets a matt black finish with less chrome, black alloy wheels, and no option for a pillion backrest or windshield.

Both variants of the Bajaj Avenger 220 are powered by the company’s 219.9cc, single cylinder, DTS-i oil cooled engine, which develops 18.7bhp and 17.5Nm. The gearbox also remains the same five-speed manual unit. The engine is very refined, and provides good punch – but the throttle response is a little slow. Nonetheless, the bike picks up speed well and you’re quickly on your way quite smoothly. There is, however, some heavy vibration on the footpegs. Other than that, the bike is quite refined. The gearbox is also nice, and gear changes are smooth – but I did encounter a false neutral on a couple of occasions.

The overall ride quality is good, but what’s most impressive is the seating position and comfort. Even for someone with my height and heavy weight, the bike is really comfortable. With your legs far out in front, and with the handlebars placed high up, the seating position is comfortable – and the seat itself is quite good. The suspension is also impressive, and bumpy roads aren’t a problem. The ergonomics are pretty good too, and the bike will certainly be a joy to ride on long highway journeys – but don’t expect to cruise at high speeds.

Even in the city, the bike is very easy to handle and manoeuvre – and that is thanks to its small dimensions. The 220 models get 260mm disc brakes upfront and 130mm drums at the rear, and they do a fine job – but you do need to apply a fair amount of pressure to really get them to work properly.

The Bajaj Avenger Street 220 feels like a great overall package. The build quality and components have improved over the previous model, and it does look quite modern. The bottom line is that it’s very affordable and has a lot of appeal. It’s certainly a capable cruiser, and is very comfortable to ride – which is what a cruiser is supposed to be. The Avenger continues to operate as a niche product, because there are no other cruisers in its segment. That notwithstanding, Bajaj has done a very good job at providing a good quality motorcycle at a reasonable price.