Discover Vs Wind125. Review on Bajaj Discover 100

This review aims to provide greater insight into what discover means and how this bike compares to the existing and pipelined models from other manufacturers.

First off, ''Damn'' was my reaction. within three months of my buying the wind, Bajaj had to go and get a new vehicle onto the market. Not satisfied with that, they had to make it cheaper than the wind, adding to the injury, some nutcase spread the rumour that Bajaj is going to stop the production of the wind!

I thought that my goose was cooked; but scratching beneath the surface brought up a lot of surprises. I'd like to list them for you.

Engine: DTS-i in its new avatar is here in an ultra small capacity vehicle. The main point of having ''two'' spark plugs is to burn the mixture completely when it normally would not, in larger bore cylinders. This is useful in bigger bore cylinders. But what we have is 125 measly CCs. Now, would the Bajaj boffins care to explain how the mileage increase in the discover can be attributed solely to DTS-i? c'mon dudes, in a 54x54mm(approx) cylinder, you dont expect a 4mm spark plug to burn the mixture? For god's sake, even cars dont have two sparks per cyl!!!

The 65Kmpl they attribute to the Discover is already available to the wind guys, though Bajaj left it un-advertised, cuz being tuned for perf, the wind encourages spirited driving and that could reduce mileage. (ask any dude here @ mouthshut if they drive the wind ( 50kmh ever) Good old Engineering never fails to bring the best.

Transmission: This vehicle was targeted at an audience who didn't have the monies for a pulsar, didnt want a boxer/CT100 and were left to try the wind. Some said good, some said OK. the Wind is a driver's bike, it reacts, responds and drives like a true blue perf bike. One had to have 5 gears to optimally drive in the power band and get a blast, everytime.

But the novices expected to drive discover wouldnt like that, notch the gear and dude, Go.... thats what they expect. so, 4 gears! and with tall gearing, you need upped power&torque to handle it, which explains the machine's specs... Read the overdrive test figures; the Wind is STILL THE FASTEST AMONG THE 125s! The taller gearing allows the discover to take off only after 80km/hr!

Suspension: I'd say both are evenly matched, but having smaller tyres, the Discover could have an advantage of responding faster than the wind + competetion. the package is similar to what the P-DTS-i has and is dependable and cool.

Styling and the looks of the bike are new and so, make us feel breathless. But then, its Pulsar inspired and is acceptably handsome. The mag-alloy wheels, front disc and the rakish tank complete the macho-sportster look. The wind got a bit of an ego problem there, cuz Bajaj stole the wind's looks (Wind was in the final stages at 2002 itself) to make the caliber115 look better. Put the old caliber and the wind next to each other, and see which you'll take.

Finally, coming to driveability, the wind does lack a box-section-swing-arm, which does reduce cornering response, which the discover has no problem with; but nevertheless, provides great straight line stability and good cornering ability. The seat is top notch (take it from a guy who does 110+ km everyday, on a combination of city roads and the national highway).

The Wind's engine has a 54x54mm SQUARE bore/stroke configuration, which makes for super responsive engine and improves mileabe deliverability. It has a CV carb, which, at 3-7K rpm, provides excellent smooth fuel supply. The optimised gearbox is mated to the primary drive to provide a great torque curve, and as overdrive said, the wind is the culmination of the finest of K-tech technology, coming from kawasaki, I figure, its the best 125ccs have got till now.

Export situation: Hardly two weeks ago, I read in the Hindu, that kawasaki had inaugurated the export of the wind & caliber to S-American and SE-asian countries! And they're manufactured at a Bajaj plant in Waluj, in maharashtra. Now, why would Bajaj stop the manufacture of the very vehicles that it plans to export? The tie up with kawasaki for their global hub is now in motion... I expect the wind to sell alongside the discover for another 1 year and then, it could be scrapped.

Look at it, the wind is able to compete and outshine the new entrants even though its already 2 years old! now, thats what I call engineering. The fazer cant hold a candle to the wind, try it may and the victor, with its polished hogwash, can do no better than to try to catch up... I'd say, the wind has and will blow the competetion away. Mark my words: Take the wind lightly at your own risk...