My kant van die draad

I own a little Indian motorbike that I use to commute to work and back. I bought it after having decided that the Kawasaki Z1100 that I owned before this was not a good training bike and that I like my neck the way it is, thank you. In any event, I joined a Google user group for guys who ride these little bikes in South Africa. I recently went on a first breakfast run for this group. Here is the (long) story as I saw it: 

 

Prelude

On Friday morning, 13 June 2008, the mail came through on the group site. Someone asked if there were ever any runs for Bajaj owners. Through the day, the mails flew thick and fast and by nightfall on Sunday, 15 June all was set – we would meet at Menlyn on the Monday morning (Monday being a holiday) We had a meeting point, a route and a whole lot of enthusiasm. (all you really need for a run) My bike was washed by 16:00 on Sunday and by 04:00 on Monday I couldn’t sleep anymore from sheer excitement. 

 The day

I left home at 06:40 or something thereabouts. 22 kilo’s to Menlyn on the freeway and the sun is not up yet. It’s cold, but the freeway is open and I treat the Bajaj as usual – flat-out all the way. She is not quite warm yet by the time I get to Rigel offramp and I manage all of 86km/h up the hill. From there, it’s downhill all the way to Atterbury, and the Bajaj goes better. Some sod in a VW Polo matches my speed (to check out this little bike so bravely pushing this huge oke, I presume) but gets too close, so I change lanes and leave him behind. By the time I get to Atterbury, I’ve forgotten all about him…

 The guys arrive

I get to Bugatti’s at 07:10, 20 minutes ahead of the scheduled time.  Johann is already there – grinning widely and obviously proud of his silver Avenger, glistening in the weak golden sun that’s just poking it’s head over the hill. (well, over the Golf Pro Shop, actually) We immediately launch into a lively conversation of what we like about our own and each others’ rides. The Avenger has a pretty mean look to it, and I like the silver engine. On Johann’s bike it complements the silver of the rest of the bike very well and the engine looks physically bigger, which is the main thing on a cruiser. The thing is all about attitude and it looks like a comfortable ride just sitting there. We agree to swop rides later the day, as I have not ridden an Avenger and him not a Pulsar. Samuel arrives next on his black Avenger. This is about as mean as a Bajaj ever looked, and there is a lot of oohh-ing and aahh-ing amongst the assembled threemanship. As we sit down to coffee, and the conversation turns away from Bajajes to who is who and who does what for a living, Marius arrives on his black Pulsar. It looks very slick in black – one can imagine a scene from Tron with some trim in neon…

Anyway, we all use our bikes for much the same thing – commuting to work and back and sometimes for short trips around town. In our group, some travel as little as 4 km per day to work and others as far as 80 km per day in each direction. 3 of the Bajajes on this ride is approaching or just over 4000 km on the odo and no one reported any significant problems with their bikes thus far. It would appear that all are ardent readers of the Google group and use it regularly.

Last plans

With Marius making up the fourth musketeer, we finish our coffee and turn briefly to the map of the route that Samuel has worked out. I admit I wasn’t paying a lot of attention, as I was too eager to get on the road. It would be OK – other guys knew the route and what was the worst that could happen if I got lost?

 The ride

After Samuel filled up, we head out of town on the Delmas road at around 08:20. Avengers have fairly small tanks compared to Pulsars – Johann and Samuel reckon about 11 litres in their Avengers (plus 3 litres in reserve). I once put in over 18 litres in my Pulsar! Marius and I both get well over 500 km to the tank on our Pulsars while Johann and Samuel’s Avengers reach just over 300 km. Marius confirms that his Pulsar’s fuel gauge is as inaccurate as mine. It does not move for the first 250 km, then drops to ½ tank by the time you reach 300km. From there, it drops steadily and predictably over the last 250 km to empty for a predictable total of 550km to the tank.

 On the road, we quickly settle down to a pattern where we don’t ride in fixed formation, but swap the lead from time to time. Our little troupe constantly stays aware of cars coming up from behind and then we change our ride formation to in-line, without having rehearsed it. It seems Bajaj riders are aware that they could become fender-fodder on the road…

 It is still nippy out on the bike, but the sun is up and you can see for miles. It’s turning into a fine Pretoria rendition of Autumn Day in all the colours you can imagine. We pass an older couple on a bike with a side car coming in the opposite direction on the way and they both give us a friendly wave. I thought: “How nice… maybe the Mrs. would like that….”

 The route that Samuel has worked out heads north from Bapsfontein and we find opportunity for a quick little ‘dice’ (Nicely settled by the red Pulsar, with ‘gravity – assist’) Despite his assertion that he hardly ever travels beyond 90 km/hour on his Avenger, Samuel is ahead of the group most of the time, and we were generally travelling at 100km/h or better, trailing him by a fair margin…. I guess the speedo is hard to see or something… Samuel’s Avenger is the new 200cc oil-cooled affair and it seems to run very well and very smoothly. The fuel gauge on this Avenger does take the guesswork out of the fuel situation, but Johann assures us that no gauge is no problem, you just learn a deft trick with the reserve tap, and you’re fine.

 

 Stop 1: The four Bajajes on the ride

 Stop 1 – I swop my Pulsar for the Avenger

We stop after almost 45 minutes of riding, well out of town on the road that heads back west. We take some photos and the smokers do their thing. Again, we compare some more subtle differences in the bikes. I ask Johann about the swop, and he agrees, so I’m on the Avenger and he is on my Pulsar from here. First, I need to find the ignition key. It’s at the front left on the frame, almost under the fuel tank. After that is sorted, I head off rather nervously. I was worried that balance would be an issue on a bike as low as the Avenger, but I actually find it rather easy to ride. The mirrors are positioned better than on the Pulsar and I can see what’s going on behind me (not always a good thing, I realise) The steering is light and I think it took more concentration to keep it straight than to turn, which was the exact opposite of what I’d anticipated. The Avenger turns nice and light too and is very predictable. After a while, I settle down and start enjoying the bike. It is as light as the Pulsar and a less involving ride. You really can get quite comfortable on it. I struggle to see the indicator, high beam and neutral idiot lights on the Avenger – the sun shining brightly at this stage. I also find that the tank digs into the insides of my knees a little and the brake pedal feels a little ‘squishy’ in comparison with the Pulsar, though it probably just needs adjustment. There is less vibration than on the Pulsar coming through to the footpegs and the seat – probably because on the Pulsar you basically sit directly over the motor, and on the Avenger well behind it, so there is some leverage effect in your favour. As far as the seating position is concerned, I immediately realise how much I lean on my arms on the Pulsar as opposed to the Avenger. I make a mental note to stop doing that and slouch a bit more in the seat.

  

Stop 2 – the oil-cooled, turbo-charged Pulsar…

At the second stop, we swop our bikes back. Johann says that he was also nervous on the Pulsar at first, because it feels much more ‘edgy’ than his Avenger. He reckons it’s more responsive and turns more accurately. Same as I felt on his Avenger, he reckons the Pulsar feels the stronger of the two bikes. To me, the Avenger feels stronger than the Pulsar at 100 km/h. It feels like the Avenger is still ready to ‘pull’ strongly from there, whilst the Pulsar just screams marginally louder… Go figure. We put it down to subtle gearing differences and leave it at that.

 Marius also notices that the Pulsar engine has the same casing and connecting spots for the oil cooler fittings that Samuel’s Avenger has, so some lively discussion ensues as to whether it would be possible to put an oil cooler on a Pulsar and what benefits it would bring. With no solid conclusion to this point, we head back home (and I decide to keep my devious plans for turbos, superchargers, or just filing the piston flat to myself for now.) The plan is that we stop back at Bugatti’s for a brunch of sorts. As we get back into the eastern outskirts of Pretoria, Johann reckons that News Café would be better, as it’s on the main road that everyone will take back anyway.

 Good things come to an end

We arrive at News Café in good spirits at around 10:30, having ridden well over 100 km. We order brunch and some drinks from a lovely waitress named Amanda. She asks if we are a group of friends who haven’t seen each other for a long time and we assure her that we only met that morning. The camaraderie that bikers share, it seems, comes even at budget biking prices. A few hot chicken wings later and Samuel is looking decidedly unimpressed on the far side of his diminutive brunch order.

 Conversation turns to where we will have the next run and how to make it better. The group structure and alternative web page hosting is also considered, and we chat about other group members. Johann explains the intricacies of mounting saddle bags to the Avenger, and I realise what all bikers realise sooner or later, I guess – you will have to carry some luggage, whether you like it or not. On the Avenger, the saddle bags look very cool and they add a lot of luggage space without adding width. Everyone has experienced a great benefit by having someone from the importers’ side also on the group, as the technical feedback and advice is always speedy and spot-on. 

The four protagonists of our tale: From left: Herman, Marius, Samuel and Johann

 

We speculate whether and when the 220cc Pulsar will come to SA and whether it will be worth the money. Finally, we discuss some dream rides. Now, Bajaj, take note, here is what we want: Go talk to your white-coat chaps at KTM, seeing that you own part of them anyway, and design a two-cylinder, air-cooled engine, made up of matching two Bajaj 180cc motors in a 60^o-V configuration, like KTM is famous for, with Bajaj reliability and simplicity. Put this in a beefy Pulsar and also put it in an Avenger. Make the price in the sub-R 30,000 range and watch them sell in SA faster than you can make them….

 We leave

After a hearty greeting, we each go our separate ways, with Marius riding another couple of kilo’s in my direction before heading off his own way. I find myself heading home, riding faster than usual, and with a silly grin on my face. I had a great day, and felt that I had made new friends.  

Herman

2008/06/19

 

Read more about our group on our web page:

http://groups.google.co.za/group/bajaj-riders-rsa