The Bajaj Avenger is the most affordable cruiser motorcycle in the market today. Retailing at INR 81,596 (Ex-showroom, Delhi), the affordable pricing seems to be the only strong point which has kept the sales of the Avenger going strong till today even after almost 5 years of Bajaj not making any aesthetic or mechanical changes to the motorcycle. The Avenger 220 has managed to average sales of around 3,643 units per month in this financial year, which is very good indeed for a motorcycle which has been looking the same for ages now.
But now, time has come for an update. Bajaj is not a manufacturer who would just sit still because its motorcycles are selling well, which is why they will soon launch an update to the Avenger. A few spyshots recently revealed 2 new avatars of the upcoming Avenger update, named Cruise and Street. While the Cruise and Street were aesthetically different, their mechanical differences were unknown, and we weren’t even sure of what sort of engine could power the Avenger update, but now the air has been cleared.
2016 Bajaj Avenger CruiseSources have revealed that the Bajaj Avenger update will continue to use the 220cc, air and oil-cooled engine used in the current gen Avenger, and also that there would be an all-new engine powering the Avenger update, giving birth to a new variant altogether – a 150cc Avenger. Yes, you heard right, Bajaj will release a 150cc powered Avenger while launching the Avenger update.
The Avenger started off in life with a 180cc, air-cooled engine, taken straight from the first-gen Pulsar 180, which was then upgraded to a 200cc engine in 2007 which was also taken from the Bajaj Pulsar 200 DTS-i, and later in 2010, Bajaj plonked in the engine from the Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-i into the avenger which has stuck ever since.
On the updated Avenger, we expect Bajaj to re-tune the 220cc engine which currently does duty in the Avenger. So what about the new 150cc Avenger? Well, it is the first time in its journey of 10 years that Bajaj has decided to downsize the engine of the Avenger, and it all seems a bit too weird, given the fact that all engines in the Bajaj stable are growing in capacity.
2016 Bajaj Avenger StreetWell, I for one, see genius in this move. There are many people in India who like these low riding cruiser motorcycles, but the major problem is the cost of purchase as well as cost of maintenance of high-end cruisers, Bajaj seems to have taken care of that, as the Bajaj Avenger 150 will be really cheap to purchase, as well as cheap to maintain as the 150cc engine too will be taken from the Pulsar AS 150, which has already proved its metal in the Pulsar AS 150.
We expect Bajaj to rework the single-cylinder, air-cooled, 149.5cc motor with a max power output of 17 BHP and a max Torque output of 13 NM, and then launch it in the upcoming Avenger. The air- and oil-cooled, single-cylinder, 219.89cc motor currently produces max power of 19.03 BHP and max torque of 17.5 NM in the Avenger
After the launch of the updated Bajaj Avenger, the boffins at Bajaj are targeting a consolidated sales figure of 8000-10000 units per month from the Avenger range. The new updated Avenger is announced to be launched on 27th October, 2015.
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Also see: 2016 Bajaj Avenger Street spyshots hit the web, debut this-week
Source: Autocarpro
Images Credit: Motoroids.com
