My day with Avenger 220 DTSi (..beast of a machine..)

My day with Avenger 220 DTSi

I must admit, I am passionate about bikes, more so, about cruisers. I am particularly fond of the Avenger series from Bajaj Auto.

I have been thinking of getting my hands on Avenger 220 for quite some time now. However, I wanted to test drive it for a day before I could make up my mind. The only way this was possible was to get it on rent. I went online to look for the same.  It was during one of these surfing sessions that I came upon the name RentoMojo. The name was quirky. I thought it was one of those Chinese stuff J. However, I still decided to give it a try. I navigated through the site looking for Avenger or Enticer or any other cruiser. All I could find was gear cycles in the price range of 400 to 800 rent on a day to day basis.

Not actually finding what I wanted, I still went ahead and posted my requirement on their Contact us section. I wasn’t really expecting any response from their side as I had come to know after browsing through the site and reading customer reviews that it was more of a furniture renting service. So, I was pleasantly surprised to actually get a call from one of their guys (Danish)the very next day. He confirmed that they do provide bikes on rent and that they actually had avenger 220 available for renting. Not one to miss opportunities, I booked the bike for one entire day(07/05).

Danish informed me that I would hear from the delivery person a day before the delivery and that I would have to make payment on the same day via a link shared by them to confirm the booking. When I reached home from office, sure enough, I had got the link for payment of amount 700 on my yahoo mail id which I had shared over the call with Danish. I duly made the payment and sms’ed the confirmation message to him. And as expected, I got a call on Friday (06/05) from one person called Santosh. He told me that I could come and pick a bike from their center or could have it delivered to a location for certain fee. I choose latter as it suited my purpose well, as I was living much far from the source location. Next day, I got call from Santosh around 9:30 saying that he has started for the drop point and would be reaching there in next 20 mins. I started off for the drop point myself on my personal bike (pulsar 135 LS).I had selected a middle location as the drop point as they didn’t cover my present location.

Having reached there, I found him fiddling on his mobile. I called aloud his name and he responded. I gave him the deposit amount of 2000 in addition to 300 as delivery charges. My dream bike was now mine, at least, for the entire day. My happiness knew no bounds J J. I parked my pulsar at one of my close friend’s parking space for a day. One thing worth noting here is that, the bike gets delivered with  just enough petrol for you to be able to reach any nearest petrol pump. Hence, I went ahead to get the Avenger’s tank full as I didn’t want to get stuck with a dry tank. Then I started on my cruise. Throughout the entire day I roamed various places, mostly my friends, courier office, shopping malls, temples, stopping for few minutes or so.

Then towards the evening, I took my wife and kid to have a look at the flat that we have purchased. Since the route was connected via Highway, we had a really great time occasionally stopping to check that we were going in the right direction. Below snaps will tell the complete story:

After coming back from there, we went to an area called Ravet which is near to our home, where we had some pani puri, dabeli and other stuff. And then we came back home. All in all, it was a really wonderful and exhausting day. Next day, I woke up on time, slightly sad as I was to part with my One Day Stand ;) companion. After getting fresh, I started off around 9:25 for the source location where I needed to drop the bike. I reached there and called up Santosh. Once he came, I handed him the bike with a heavy heart. He enquired about my experience and i shared my wonderful experience with him and confirmed I would be going for rent again J He smiled and then proceeded to give me back the deposit amount along with my ID card which I had shared at the time of taking the delivery.

Kudos to such ventures which allow us to try out things, without having to burn hole in the pocket J

Hats off …RentoMojo…

Keep up the good work!!!.

Crazy 4 bikes ... down the memory lane

My First Bike (Hero Honda Ambition):

I actually learnt driving on this bike.:) When my friend sold it to me, he sold it thinking that i was accustomed to driving bikes as i had told him that i knew how to drive 2 wheeler. What i actually meant was that i knew how to drive gear-less vehicles like scooty :). Had i told him clearly, i would not have been able to lay my hands on this bike.Well, past is past. And below you can see me that i have learnt driving and am on the road to my destination..

My powerbike (TVS Apache): This is the second bike that got my hands on.After having driven ambition for quite some time , i felt , i needed something more powerful. That is around the same time when i came to know that my another friend was planning to sell his Apache. I was all game. I let him know my interest in bying his bike and we struck a deal. Below is this looker:

One memorable thing associated with this bike is that i had won a long race with few of my friends on this bike, Since then we were inseparable. :) However , as all things/ relationships have to come to an end , our relationship also ended. The major factor being steep fall in its economy, and, none other than myself is to be blamed for that ;). However, i sold it and went for third.

My current bike (Bajaj pulsar 135LS) : This bike is a superb combination of look, feel and economy:

I am still having a good time driving this bike and recommend anybody looking for look as well as mileage to go for this bike.I must admit, like all other Indian bike fans, am also die hard fan of pulsar series of bikes. It has been my preferred series for quite some time now.


Below are other bikes i have been fortunate enough to have driven :)

Honda Shine (my close friend's bike):-

Though not much of a looker, is awesome in terms of comfort..

Yamaha Enticer (my first cruiser..) : This bike will remain my all time favorite for lots of reasons. Having known it as being a low cc bike, i wasn't expecting much out of it. However, driving it blew me away. What comfort, thoughtful features (only bike to support foot pedal instead of foot pegs, awesome looking handle bars, typical choice of color ... list goes on and on...). Here are some snaps of my mean machine:

And my all time favorite, The Avenger (from the Makers of well know Pulsar bikes) :

I got hooked to cruisers , after having driven Enticer for days on end. And the experience of driving The Avenger made that love deeper. So much so that i have been renting Avenger 220 cc for quite some time now from one of the bike renting sites (RentoMojo). The feeling of driving this beast is just mind-blowing. Highway is where it belongs!!!

Its not for nothing that they have the tagline "FLG -- Feel like GOD.." for this one hell of a cruiser..

Avenger 200 (customized):

Got my hands on my colleagues customized avenger.Drew it for entire week.It was pure adrenaline rush and feeling of driving something vintage. Below are the pics (have written a separate blog on my experience with this bike):

Suzuki GS150R:

One of the best commuter bikes from the Suzuki stable. This bike was launched in November 2008. I personally feel, this bike is more than a commuter bike given its sporty looks and build quality. The bulky tank and raised handle bar placement gives it a cruiser type feel. I really enjoyed driving this bike.Another thing i liked about this bike is that it has 6 speed gears and gear indicator on the Dashboard ;) Presently, this bike is discontinued in India. However, its upgraded version is available, namely, Gixxer. Would definitely recommend to give this bike a try.

Royal Enfield Classic 350 (my dream bike):

This is my friends bike but definitely on my list of purchases in near future. I really enjoyed riding it. What really bowled me over is its raw punch. Its like a mini rocket with a handle ;)
Definitely worth a shot. The awsum experience of riding this bike cannot be put down in words.
You have to ride it to feel it :)

Yamaha RX 100:-

Long before other bike makers realized the potential of bikes consumption among Indian masses, Yamaha was already miles ahead in this regard. They introduced two bikes which became had a cult following. These bikes were RX100 & RD350. Its been years since these two bikes got discontinued. But you can see still some or the other person riding RX100 even these days. The owners of these bikes rever them and ensure that they are in running condition. I always dreamt of  having to get my hands on this wonderful beast, famously referred to as TWO STROKE MADNESS!!
And my dream came true few days back when i got a chance to drive it. Below are some of the pics of this wonderful bike.

For those who might be curious, i am currently the owner of the below bike, my cool blue Hornet, as i like to call it fondly ;)

Hope you guys enjoyed coming with me on my journey down the memory lane. My personal thought,

"...Just as it is said,

Diamonds are girls best friend, likewise, bikes are boys best friend..."

Sayonara!!!