The Bajaj Avenger Needs a Second Lease of Life and it Needs That Lease Now!

The Avenger is a bike that has been around in the Indian market for literally decades now. What initially was a joint effort between Bajaj and Kawasaki (as the Eliminator) later became a viable cruiser option for someone who did not want to get a Royal Enfield.

And while even today Bajaj manages to push out close to 2500 units of the Avenger series bikes in our market, one can observe that this series has become a sales dud compared to the small capacity cruiser segment. Bikes like the Royal Enfield Meteor 350 and Honda CB350 series push out numbers between 3x to 5x the numbers posted by the Avenger series. It's quite ironic how things have come full circle!

The Kawasaki Eliminator 450, which is essentially the same bike that the Avenger was based on, has made its way back to India. But here's the twist: unlike those classic cruisers with their high-torque, low-power engines, the Eliminator shares its engine with the Ninja 500, a sportbike known for its power and performance. So this brings me back to the Avenger.

Bajaj has a brilliant engine available with them around which they can create the next generation of the Avenger. And that is the 373 cc liquid-cooled single-cylinder motor that currently does duty on the KTM 390 ADVs and the Pulsar NS400Z. With multiple bikes using the same engine in various tunes means that Bajaj can re-tune this engine to suit the cruising nature of the Avenger. Also, it is important to note that Bajaj has utilized this engine in almost every type of motorcycle they could except for cruiser.

For example, it has powered naked streetfighter bikes like the Pulsar and Duke 390 to adventure tourers like the 390 ADV, and even fully faired bikes like the RC390 which showcase the versatility of the 373cc motor. Plonking this motor into something like an Avenger would be a bold move and give rise to a new type of cruiser market.

Plus there is precedent of the Avenger using Pulsar’s engines. The Avenger 220 cruise uses the same that has done duties as the Pulsar 220F. And this bike has been around for what can be classified as literally forever. So the idea of an Avenger having the heart of the Pulsar 400 isn’t far-fetched. A 40 BHP cruiser motorcycle with an aggressive price tag that only Bajaj can manage to come up with would shake the market.

It could very well end up giving the likes of the Meteor 350 or even the Super Meteor 650 a solid run for their money because not only would this bike have lesser quality issues when compared to the RE cruisers, but would also have better service support. Bajaj has shaken the bike market in different segments time and again, it’s time they did the same with the cruiser segment in India as well and provided buyers with a solid alternative to the RE cruisers.