Bajaj Avenger 150 Street First Look Review

Bajaj Avenger 150 Street First Look Review

The Avenger 150 Street is the new entry-level variant in Bajaj’s Avenger range of budget cruisers. While the news of the launch of the new Avenger in two trims (Street and Cruise) wasn’t a big surprise, Bajaj dropped a bombshell when it first lifted the covers off the new Avenger 150 Street, earlier this week. By entering this, so far, uncharted territory, Bajaj has widened its reach to attract a whole new set of customers, looking for a premium 150cc motorcycle. While Bajaj already has three 150cc motorcycles in its line-up, this didn’t stop Bajaj from filling the void of a cruiser in this highly lucrative market space.

The Avenger 150 Street gets a completely different identity, which seems to draw inspiration from Harley-Davidson’s newest Dark Custom bike – the Street 750. The lower and flatter handlebar aids the handling and manoeuvrability of the motorcycle, improving its usability in the urban environment. The alloy wheels, rubber bellows on the front forks, exhaust system, frame and the engine get a matte black treatment, and give out a sporty vibe. Bajaj has fitted a new high bass exhaust which croons a louder note, befitting a cruiser. The redesigned seat gets softer cushions to improve the comfort levels. It also gets a brand new insignia on the fuel tank, along with a two-tone decal.

The Bajaj Avenger 150 Street is being touted as the sportier versions of the Avenger range, though the bike’s engine capacity and power figure say a different story. The Avenger 150 Street’s tubular double cradle type frame houses a 150cc single-cylinder twin-spark engine, which has been borrowed from the Pulsar 150 DTS-i. The power has been brought down to 14.3bhp while the torque has been raised to 12.5Nm. Bajaj has tinkered with the engine’s power and torque delivery to suit the cruiser’s character, with the low-end and mid-range getting 10 per cent more grunt than the Pulsar 150. The efficiency of the 150cc engine coupled with the large 14-litre fuel tank should give it a real world range of over 600 kilometres.

Bajaj is also offering the Avenger Street model with a 220cc oil-cooled DTS-i engine. This engine delivers 19bhp and 17Nm of torque through a five-speed transmission. Visually, the Avenger 220 Street looks identical to its 150cc sibling, apart from the addition of a radiator, between the front wheel and the engine.

The Avenger 150 Street uses the same base and platform as its previous iteration, though the wheelbase is shorter by 10mm. The brake setup is made of 240mm disc at the front and a 130mm drum at the rear. Bajaj has upgraded the rear tyre of Avenger 150 Street to help improve the comfort and ride quality of the motorcycle. It comes with meaty 130/90 profile tubeless tyre for the rear 15-inch wheel and a 90/90 profile tubeless tyre for the 17-inch front wheel.

Unlike the previous iterations, which came in a host of mono paint schemes devoid of any decals, Bajaj is offering the new Avenger 150 Street in a single livery per variant. The Avenger 150 Street comes in midnight blue, while the bigger Avenger 220 Street is available in matte black. The Avenger 150 Street is the only 150cc cruiser in the Indian market, and doesn’t have a direct competitor. With a price tag of Rs 75,000 (ex-showroom, Delhi), it shares the market space with Suzuki Gixxer, Honda Unicorn 160, Yamaha FZ and the Hero Xtreme Sports.