Bajaj Avenger 220 DTSi vs Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350

I had never been a big fan of pulsar and always preferred apache over it and when i got a chance to ride my friends avenger i was skeptical about it. The first thing you notice after you place the key in the odd place under the seat is the loud fuel injected engine roaring to life. Surprisingly, the engine on avenger is very refined and the gear shifts are butter smooth and the bike feels torquey and powerful throughout its rev range. It puts out around 19bhp @ 8400 rpm and 17.5 nm of torque @ 7000 rpm this is 2 less both on power and torque from the P220 mill.

The bike is suited more for riders below 6 feet as for tall riders the seating posture gets a bit awkward with the legs protruding above the tank. The pillion seat is the most comfortable i have found on a bike yet.The avenger is specifically designed to be a cruiser and hence has longer wheelbase, wide seats and a relaxed riding posture which is great on highways but in city conditions makes it slightly hard to navigate in traffic. The best part is it sticks to its cruiser attitude and provides a wide range of cruising speed all the way from 70-110kmph (indicated) it feels very comfortable when pushed it reaches a top speed of 130kmph (indicated) but most of all the bike feels stable as a rock at these speeds mostly because of its long wheel base and low center of gravity. The most asked question in India "Kitne deti hai?" the bike provides a mileage of around 32-33kmpl depending on the riding conditions. The build quality is average and i feel it could have been much better.

All is good with avenger but if all you want is a cruiser then its my opinion that you will be better off with a royal enfield thunderbird 350 which gives you more of a  "feel like god" feeling than avenger can ever aspire too.Yes, it is 10k more expensive but i feel its worth much more than that. The thump of an enfield is sweet music to any biker's ears. In terms of performance also the bike produces tons of torque and i even prefer the high seating arrangement. It can also cruise at similar speeds and even gives better mileage than that of an avenger. The bike is more equipped and you also get a tachometer which is missing in the avenger. But not everyone is die hard fan of enfields and the bike weighs a ton so if you are an inexperienced rider looking for a first bike the enfield might be to huge a call considering it has got a foot more wheel base than the avenger so avenger is a better choice. The enfields have a big issue on reliability compared to avenger and with a 6 month waiting time which is a big turn off for any enthusiast.

But owning an enfield changes a persons lifestyle altogether and such is the effect of the bike which is missing on the avenger but in the Indian market where there is a dearth of cruisers at the bottom end these are the only options and both are arguable in their own right but if it was my choice to choose between these two the enfield it would be it has a legend to it and the bike gives you an attitude and road presence. All this for just 10k more i feel its totally worth it. The waiting period is long but hopefully it should be reduced soon as they are coming up with a new factory at oragadam, chennai. You dont just buy an enfield you buy a life style!!!

Credits- Sandeep Pentakota for his Avenger and inputs for the review!