Bajaj Avenger ABS to launch soon: Price revealed

Bajaj Auto Limited is updating their range of products to meet the upcoming safety regulations. The mandatory safety regulations require all the two-wheelers above the 125cc capacity to offer mandatory ABS. Earlier, the ABS version of the Bajaj Avenger was spotted at a dealer stockyard and soon it will be launched officially in the market. According to ACI, the upcoming Bajaj Avenger would be priced at Rs. 1.02 lakhs.

The Bajaj Avenger 220 is currently available in two different versions – Street 220 and Cruise 220. The addition of the ABS increases the price of the bikes by around Rs. 6,700. Both the versions of the Bajaj Avenger 220 will get the single-channel ABS and it is expected to be similar to the systems seen on the Pulsar 200 NS and the Pulsar RS 200. The mandatory safety rule that makes the ABS a must-have feature on 125cc and above two-wheelers will be effective from 1st April 2019 but Bajaj will launch the ABS-equipped bike much before that.

The bikes are yet to reach the dealerships but they are ready for dispatch and are expected to reach the showrooms soon enough. Bajaj is also expected to make a formal announcement on the launch of the bikes. It is not known if Bajaj will continue to produce and dispatch the non-ABS version of the Avenger 220 to the dealerships until they are allowed for sale. The addition of the ABS makes the motorcycle more expensive and the sales may get marginally affected by the price-rise. Quite a few dealerships have started to accept the bookings for the upcoming ABS version of the bikes too.

Apart from the addition of the ABS, no other changes have been made to the cruiser bike. The bike remains exactly the same visually and mechanically. Both the versions of the Avenger are powered by a 220cc, single-cylinder, oil-cooled engine that produces a maximum power of 19 Bhp at 8,400 rpm and a peak torque of 17.5 Nm at 7,000 rpm. The engine is mated to a 5-speed transmission.

The Bajaj Avenger has been in the market for a very long time now. It was earlier available in 150cc, 180cc and 220cc versions. Bajaj discontinued the 150cc version last year and currently, it is available only with the 180cc and 220cc engine. The 180cc version is only available in the Street version. The Street version of the Avenger gets alloy wheels and a smaller front fairing while the Cruise version is aimed at the long-distance tourers. The Cruise version of the Avenger gets spoked rims and a bigger visor. However, the downside of spoked rims is that the tyres do not act as tubeless ones.

The Avenger 220 competes with the Suzuki Intruder 155 in the Indian market. Suzuki already offers ABS as an option with the Intruder in the Indian market and is priced at Rs. 1.02 lakhs, ex-showroom, Pune.