Discovery of DIscover. Review on Bajaj Discover 100

Hi Sher here. Here is one of the my best review. Hope u enjoy. Please drop u r comments and ratings.

THE ALL NEW BAJAJ DISCOVER

Bajaj Auto is on a voyage of Discovery. By Discovering DTSi technology it has Discovered the path back to the numero uno position where it once upon a time was. Before Discovering DTSi somewhere along the line, it had lost the Caliber to be numero uno. Then it started Pulsating to the DTSi tune. Yet there was not enough WIND in the Bajaj sail to match the sale of some other Splendid sailors. But today thanks to its Discovery Bajaj is bajaOing CT, 100 times to herald its success. So much so, that it is on the verge of Eliminating the opposition. Welcome to the world of DTSi, which is Pulsating the market so much, that Bajaj Auto has Discovered that fitting DTSi into Eliminator makes it Terminator ! (==Arnold DTSi Schwarzenegger)

I am talking about the 125 cc Bajaj Discover, during the testing of which I Discovered, that if you want to be a class leader (and market leader), you have to pay attention to detail. You have to innovate, invent, adapt and adopt new technology. All of which, Bajaj Auto has done. Discover has become the class leader. The rest, as they say, is history, well almost.

Another unique thing about this bike is that its ground clearance of 140 mm (bike off-stand, one rider of 66 kg sitting on it) is the same whether measured at the rear end of the retracted main stand, at the pivot of the side stand, or at the lowest point in the exhaust bend pipe. Most people may think this is unimportant except that most bike literatures which specify a ground clearance figure, don't say exactly at what point it is measured, and my measurements have shown that it invariably is different (always less) than the stated figure, as well as different at the three points mentioned above. Even in the Discover, while the Owners Manual mentions a figure of 175 mm for an un-laden bike, it is actually 140 mm, measured as specified above at any of the three points. The shape of the Kick lever is round, like the Pulsars. There is a heat shield on the silencer, topped by a metallic bracket (footrest for triples?).

The tell-a-tale (tt) lights on this bike are about the best, most distinct and most visible. The green tts for LH turning and RH turning are different and located quite a distance apart, very good. The blue hi-beam tt is at LH, exactly mirror opposite to where the green neutral indicator tt is. Lower down, where the gear- shift-lever is, there is a diagram indicating the all-down gear shift pattern, and a table printed on the chain cover gives the recommended tyre pressures. Tyre sizes are 2.75 x 17 front and 3.oo x 17 rear, both 6 ply rating.

ELECTRICALS & CAPACITIES Electricals are 12 volt AC + DC. There are two different headlight powers for different versions of the bike. The Electric Start (ES) version has a 35/35 watt headlight, while the Kick Start (KS) version has a 60/55 watt headlight. (Why Bajaj is giving low wattage light to high end version and high wattage light to low end version, I don't understand. Why not give 60 watts light on all?). The brake light is of 21 watts, which is excellent. Battery capacity is 12v-9Ah for ES version and 12v-2.5 Ah for KS version. Built on a wheelbase of 1305 mm, the double cradle chassis has rectangular section swing arm, which is almost a norm in all bikes now. Kerb weight is 125 kg. Fuel tank capacity is @ 10 liters including a usable reserve of 1.5 liters.

ENGINE & TRANSMISSION The bike is powered by a 125 cc engine having bore x stroke of 57 x 48.8 mm,

which develops 11.5 PS (8.47 kw) of power at 8000 rpm at a compression ratio of 9.5. The Owners Manual does not specify how much torque is produced, but other literature from the manufacturer mentions that max. Torque is 10.8 Nm at 6500 rpm. Fuel is ignited in the cylinder by TWO Champion RG 4 HC spark plugs, the LH plug being traditionally located in the vertical engine, while the RH plug is embedded deep inside the engine block. The spark is controlled by a digital CDI unit. Carburetor make and model is not mentioned in the manual, but I note that the bike I am testing (MH.12.CN.6376) is fitted with a Kei Hin NCV Z 63 unit, which is a Constant Vaccum (CV) carburetor. Transmission is through a four-speed constant mesh gearbox, having an all-down shift pattern.

ON THE ROAD Press the start button, press toe to shift into first gear and gently let go the clutch and the bike moves smoothly. Exhaust note is the typical DTSi throaty rumble, very healthy and pleasing. Gear shifting is quite slick, with no notchy-ness or any other impediment. To save on petrol, one can quickly shift to top (fourth) gear by the time bike attains a road speed of 25 kmpH and then continue in top gear at 25 kmpH or just gradually turn the throttle to increase speed without the need to shift to lower gear. What this means is, that the Low End Torque (LET) is EXCELLENT and driving this bike even in heavy traffic is quite effortless. What's more, due to this excellent LET, the mileage is also excellent. Contrary to most other bikes (which have cusped seats), the seating geometry of this bike is quite flexible and driver can adjust his seating geometry to his most preferred comfortable posture. This single feature (no cusp in seat) makes this bike preferred for long drives as well.

Night riding was not very bright. The headlight beam quality of this 35-watt headlight of the ES version of Discover was less than adequate for me. The headlight power of 35 watts is same as most other bikes, but quality of beam is not satisfactory. I assume that the 60/55 watt KS version would have better headlight beam quality, but that version was not tested by me, so I cannot say for sure. Enquiries at the Bajaj Auto company showroom (at 15:30 on Thu.3.Feb.) revealed that the fully loaded (ES +disc + mag-wheels) version has 35 watt headlight, not 60 watts. I do not know why this is so. I would expect the most expensive version to have the most powerful headlight.

YOURS

SHER

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