Avenger 220 - the perfect cruiser. Review on Bajaj Avenger 220

Hello all, I just completed my 500 km on my avenger 220. This is my 1st review on this website so please excuse me for any errors which may happen to creep in. Firstly I thank mouthshut.com for such gr8 reviews.

I bought my avenger-220(blue) after reading reviews from this website. What happened was that I wanted 200cc avenger & one of my specific requirements was to have it in blue colour. The pro-biking people(in lucknow) gave me all sort of nonsense to persuade me to buy a red one, they even said that I might have to wait for 6-8 months. At first I simply couldn’t understand – why this rude behaviour? I, however, didn’t give in & even said that am ready to wait for 6-8 months & booked my bike on July 11, 2010 by paying Rs.5000/- . It was after 2-3 weeks that, while surfing the net, I came to know that avenger 220 is out & the pro-biking people were just trying to clear out there stocks. I went down to pro-biking & had a nice little chat & they agreed to give me avenger 220 without the initial 15 days booking period by upgrading my earlier order of avenger 200 to 220. So I brought home the bike in total Rs. 76, 625/-(including everything) on August 1, 2010.

Now, since this is a new bike in market so I will tell you what new has been added/upgraded.

1.      Looks have been kept the same which is one good thing.

2.      The surge in power, by that extra 20cc, can be felt immediately after turning the accelerator & during the 1st 2-3 seconds of the pickup stage. 0-40 is in roughly 4 seconds & the good thing is that the acceleration does not slow down after that, the speedometer shows the rise with the same rate after 40 also.

3.      A battery indicator has been added.

4.      Earlier there were 3 chambers in the oil cooling system, now there are 4.

5.      I would have loved it if bajaj would have provided for ‘below the seat’ space to keep the documents.

6.      Change in gear box(complete overhaul).

Now it’s time for ground realities. My profile – Height - 6’’1’  Weight - 90 kg.

1.      Comfort level is awesome except for the pillion seat which is very narrow, but as compensation, I guess, backrest is provided which is placed carefully at such a right position/height that one can sit back & relax for hours. Tall people, no worries at all – I am busting the myth – it looks just FANTASTIC on tall people. Rider seat is so comfortable that it can be compared to a horse’s saddle.

2.      Another myth busted that control is not good for crowded places due to long wheel base, if one has ever rode a two wheeler(even a scooter) for atleast a year then handling it in the traffic is a piece of cake. ‘U – turn is very hugh n tough’ is another myth & the turn radius is not that huge n tough as is mentioned in many other avenger 200 reviews, infact it is pretty easy. Low base line gives u good control. The thing is, once you get used to it – everything is butter smooth.

3.      Pick up is excellent. Check this out, my buddy was riding on pulsar-180 alone & I was on my avenger220 with pillion & trust me when I say ‘pulsar-180 was no match to my cruiser’

4.      I need not mention the ‘looks’ part, it’s an eye turner for sure. The prop stand is v. v. cool, much different than any other bike. The half open chain gives it nice sporty look. As earlier, the digital console & the fuel gauge rests on the fuel tank which adds to the beauty of the beast. People in four wheelers often stop me & inquire about my bike. The things which attract attention are the design(cruiser style), the width of rear tyre, the chrome finish & the back rest. One guy even asked me, ‘jeep ka tyre lagwaya hai kya?’

5.      Now the important part for many, fuel consumption. So far(1st 500 km) I am getting an average of 38-41 per ltr before 1st servicing. Please note it that I am using only ‘extra premium’ in my bike. I also am not going above 50 for 1st 500-1000 km.

6.      Front shockers are the best in class, thanks to the elongated wheel base. You won’t feel a thing even if you suddenly use front disks. To get the best out of the rear shockers keep them on position 1 for normal roads & on position 2 for bad roads. They to happen to be the best of their class.

7.      Sound is pretty good. It is better than the growling pulsar & the barking bullet. It’s a roaring avenger.

8.      1 really bad issue with this bike is that its rear tyre(being smaller than other tyres) tends to skid. Though it will be very rare but due to security concerns of the readers I thought it would be best to mention this here. My tyre skid when I was parking the bike on wet metal surface(where any tyre can skid).

9.      You might face problems before 1st servicing with the bike like slackening of chain etc but they all tend to vanish after 1st servicing.

10.  New gear box have been fitted which solves the problem of false neutrals and missing neutral. Engine is very smooth and gives a power of 19.03 ps.

11.  One funny thing about the bike is the manner in which the rear tyre throws the mud  & water from the puddles, in the rainy season. The mud thrown is at a higher altitude compared to any other bike. I had to slow down along the way during my biking trip with my friend, the pulsar-180 guy; so that he can either ride alongside or ahead of me because when he rode behind me the muddy water was thrown at his face.

enjoy biking people & ride safe

-advocateanantmishra