Hoodibaba under the microscope!. Review on Bajaj Caliber 115

I purchased my Caliber 115 last month. The choice was a tad difficult to make. Once I decided on the bike and the color, I settled for the eye-catching Star Blue, I rushed to Deccan Automobiles in Secunderabad. They certainly have a very friendly staff.

The New Exe-commuter!

Caliber115 is definitely the new kid on the exe-commuter block... and a worthy one at that.

The bike goes about its exe-commuter role in a manner that is really commendable. It has a terrific low-end whack and gives fantastic mileage. It pulls off the block very easily. The low-end torque also makes it very easy to drive it through the city without much need for gear shift. After my initial few days I found that I can cruise around the city at a speed of 30kmph on the top gear. This really lessens the burden of intra-city driving where bumper-to-bumper traffic makes it a real pain to drive. In fact with a little bit of palm flexing even 20kmph is acceptable on the 4th gear. However I prefer to shift down the gears if I have to persistently drive at low speeds rather than taxing the piston.

Handling

Caliber excels here. The brakes are more than adequate in city traffic. The bike sports 130mm dia-drum at both front and rear. Use both brakes simultaneously and you are definite to come to a dead stop in no time. The big drums help matters all the more. You certainly do not feel the lack of disc-brakes in normal city driving. However at high speeds sudden application of brakes tend to make the bike a bit nervous and moreover the brakes show a tendency to get locked somewhat. However in general, a speed of 50-60kmph is a cinch for the brakes.

The composure of the bike is really appreciable at high city speeds(50-60kmph). Engine is super smooth. This is a welcome departure from the past where I have seen bikes scream their heads off at anything above 40. The torquey engine makes it possible for the bike to zoom off to 50 at a low 3200 rpm or so. This will no doubt make the engine last much longer. I have not tested anything above 55-60kmph as my bike is still in the running-in period.

Handling is confident even with a pillion rider astride. I still feel confident to throw it at sharp angles and then recover from there at speeds around 40-50kmph. This is partly due to the fantastic build, partly due to the excellent engine and suitable help from the wider zapper tires that the bike sports.

Looks, Fit And Finish

With its unmatched looks Caliber 115 has no doubts raised the bars when it comes to the beauty pageants. It has not only matched the looks of Freedom which is one of the best lookers in the segment but also bettered it several folds. The paint job is absolutely top class alongwith the fit and finish. Only some small grudges exist. I found that the plastic side covers on the left side doesn't exactly fits in snugly. As a result there is a gaping space left between the storage space and the side cover. This means a lot of dust in the tiny storage space. Also, the area below the seat (at the rear, next to the tail lamp assembly) has some space to store some seldom required things. However the small opening in the rear mud-guard for wires is big enough to cause the mud and slush to enter the storage space and spoil whatever you kept there. I learnt this the hard way a few days back in the rains.

Otherwise the build quality is A-class. The pulsar's switchgears(a direct import) are absolutely superb as is the speedo-console. The ''sports watch'' facia is really innovative (it grows on you with time I guess). The Tachometer changes colors to show the suggested rev ranges. The huge plexi-glass front with its broad smiling headlamp with that bright imported halogen lamp is certainly best in its class.

For that matter the swooping back that merges with the fuel tank with so much grace, the fantastic looking and slightly upward turned exhaust pipe with its gleaming heat shield all add to the looks. Even that Kawasaki etching on the heat shield is extremely popular. One of my friends was recently wondering whether he can get a similar one with Honda etching for his bike!

In the last 1 month innumerable people have told me how they admire its looks. Sometimes people have come and directly enquired, at other times I have seen the silent admirations from a bit far and longing glances of people, particularly when I take it to the nearby Foodworlds and shopping plazas.

Average kya deti hai?

Yes! The most important question that pops up every now and then. This is a hallmark of the segment... and why not? With the upward spiralling fuel costs you can afford to ignore this only if one of your long-lost uncles bequeathed you a gold mine, or else your dad owns a few big companies (in which case you will never ride a bike, certainly not the indian varieties).

Frankly speaking its a bit too early to answer. The showroom guy told me to get fuel as soon as I drive out. The tank has miniscule enough only to test the bike in the company. So I filled up 3 litres immediately. But I was still not sure whether it was out of the reserve as the bike has a 3ltr reserve. To make matters worse the fuel cock is confusing as hell. I could not figure out which side is reserve and which is open. As I later discovered its pointed side which should be the top is actually not the pointer at all, but its tail is. So when it looks like pointing to the On position its actually in Reserve and vice-versa. But in between the sorting out of this confusion I filled up another 2ltrs as I was afraid I was about to run out of gas after riding long in reserve (I was not sure whether I was opening the cock in reserve). The fuel gauge showed almost empty (which I now know was because of the big 14ltr tank size). Bajaj should clearly mark an arrow at the top (their top that is) to sort out the confusion.

Although the first time I noted it the mileage was an astounding 85kmpl, which I later figured out to be because of already existing fuel (too much of it?!!) when I bought the bike, now it gives me a steady 55-60kmpl. I have just got my first free servicing done and waiting for the next reserve. I am not sure how much the mileage will improve but anything above 65kmpl, coupled with the fantastic package of a bike that Caliber is I am sure it will even out for me... What about you guys? :D

For all those who wanted a follow-up on this bike and its performance after more than a year, I may do one soon, provided there are still enough takers. :) So Let me know if you would want to see one. - Debraj (28 Dec, 2004)