Companies these days are trying to reduce costs as much as possible and the effect of this is pretty evident, especially in the automobile world. It takes hundreds of Crores of rupees worth investment to develop an all new product from scratch and manufacturers do not want to invest so much in the development of a product, and the only solution they see is, parts sharing.
It really makes sense for companies to share parts, especially within the brand, so it is no surprise that we see the patented Bajaj Triple-Spark engine which was originally launched in the Bajaj Pulsar 200NS is now powering the Pulsar 200 AS and the Pulsar 200RS as well, yes there are a few changes like fuel injection, power output etc. But on the whole it is the same engine, and now, brace yourself to see the same engine making its way into the Bajaj Avenger too. Expected to be launched during this festive season.
The Bajaj Avenger has always been the underdog in the Bajaj product portfolio. Even though it was a good motorcycle, its sales figures got nowhere close to that of the pulsar series. At first, the Avenger was powered by the 180cc motor borrowed from the Pulsar 180 UG3 and then Bajaj plonked in the 200cc engine from the Pulsar 200 DTS-i and finally they plonked in the engine from the current Pulsar 220 and the Avenger seen at Bajaj dealerships today is powered by the same 220cc oil-cooled motor.
Back in February this year, Bajaj Auto’s MD, Rajiv Bajaj announced that the company will be developing a “new” Avenger. We do not know how “new” this avenger will be, but rumors suggest that the upcoming avenger update will be an almost new motorcycle, as Bajaj will be plonking in the 200cc engine from the Pulsar 200 NS, into the upcoming Avenger.
We have seen Bajaj doing this before, and the results will definitely be outstanding, as the 200cc, single cylinder, liquid-cooled, triple-spark engine is the most advanced engine Bajaj has in its stable right now. By using this engine in the Avenger, Bajaj will be creating a motorcycle which literally has no competitor in the Indian market right now, and given that the 200cc motor already has nearly 23.5 PS, Bajaj might as well increase the power output of this engine by a bit, in order to take the competition to the higher capacity Hyosung Aquila 250 pro.
The engineers at Bajaj will have to redesign the chassis of the Avenger if not develop a new chassis from scratch, as the present avenger chassis will not be able to accommodate the size and power of the new 200cc engine. Bajaj might also think of providing disc brakes at the rear along with a few cosmetic changes as well.
Well, it is a rumor at this point in time, but a strong one, as all of this makes sense to us. We will know for sure once we spot a test mule undergoing camouflaged testing, but as of now this plan looks really good to us. Knowing the pricing strategies of Bajaj the way we do, it is hard to see the Hyosung Aquila 250 pro selling even a little if Bajaj pulls it off.
And the boffins at Bajaj always pull it off!
To read more on Bajaj Avenger, Click here
Also see: Comparo – Avenger 220 versus Avenger 200
Bajaj Cruiser motorcycle in the works, ready by February-2014
Source: ZigWheels
