Next few posts will contain owners’/customers’ review of few products/services, which I’ve been using for considerable amount of time. Idea is it might be useful to those looking to buy similar brand/product/services.
This post gives an ownership report on my bike Bajaj Discover 112, which is in its 6th year now. This post will be useful/interesting to you if you’re a bike enthusiast or if you’re evaluating Bajaj bikes for purchase. Else feel free to skip this post. [Read Best of 2010 instead]
Brief Review: Overall performance and user experience of Bajaj Discover, bought in Jan 2006, has been good. Considerable amount was spent on its regular servicing and it continues to serve me well.
Above: Me & My bike- somewhere on top of a small hill, some 100kms off Hyderabad, 2007
Why I had bought Discover 112?
5 years ago, the options in 2 wheelers weren’t many. There were Bajaj Pulsars and TVS Fiero in premium market and entry level range consisted of Bajaj’s CT 100 and HH Splendor, with few other similar options from TVS and Yamaha. I didn’t have enough funds for a premium bike, hence settled for Discover 112- a new launch at that time- slightly better than entry level 100cc bikes but not as expensive as 150cc ones. Discover 112 came with alloy wheels (very few had it those days), promised good fuel economy (still remains a promise), front pilot lamps and handle bar balancers. Another reason to go for Bajaj was that it wasn’t spending much on celebrity endorsements.
5 years and close to 30k kms later…
Bike continues to be reliable and road worthy as it was and serves the basis purpose (to commute in city) without any issues. It was used for about 3-4 long rides-
Maintenance bill: To ensure that it stays fit, considerable money has been spent on its regular maintenance and service. I’ve been servicing it regularly once in 3-4 months, service bill ranging between 600-1200 Rs approx. In past 5 years, it might have undergone 20 regular services. 3 of them resulted in a bill of more than 2000 (once I’d to change the broken silencer, another two times to replace major engine components), approx 5-6 times it did cost more than 1200, otherwise typical service bill ranges between 600-1200 Rs. Clutch and accelerator cables, air filter, spark plugs all were changed as per recommendation or when felt necessary. Considering all the service and repair expense, an average of 10 Rs approx per day is being spent on Bajaj Discover 112. I could have saved some money on this by reducing service frequency (many of my friends service the bikes only when it develops some problems) and postponing spare part replacement (could have managed with worn out parts like break sh oe, tubes etc for some more time before replacing them), nevertheless spent money on this bike in the interest of peace of mind and long term health of the bike. It did break down in middle of the road few times (less than 10 during past 5 years I guess), but has been fairly reliable otherwise. Bike was serviced primarily at Bajaj dealerships, occasionally at Castol Bikezone. One service centre in Kondapur, Hyderabad was the worst, other have been reasonable.
The indicator glasses have broken, while the bulb and casing is perfectly working. But Bajaj doesn’t send the glass cover alone as spare and I’ll have to buy the whole unit at about Rs 150, so have postponed this repair.
Tyres and Tubes: With close to 30k kms on the odo, both tyres still have good threading left on them. I believe they should last another 10k kms before wanting a replacement. Front wheel still has original tube with a few patches, while rear wheel tube had to be replaced several times due to multiple punctures.
Fuel economy is nothing close to Bajaj’s claim of 100kmpl… Has been consistent around 60-65kmpl when last checked.
What’s not good? Won’t go faster than 85kmph. No major complaints.
Over time, Bajaj has abused discover brand like anything- Discover being popular, was used for 100 cc, 110 cc, 125 cc, 135 cc and even a 150 cc.
Will I sell this and buy new one? By sticking to 5 year old entry level bike, I do miss the experience of faster bikes and fancy features like disc brakes, LED, LCD etc, but the answer is No. It’ll probably fetch a value of 20k, I’ve to buy a new one I’ll have to pump in another 30k. Don’t think that is necessary as this bike is serving my everyday requirements just fine.
Would I recommend this bike to others? Not really sure. There’re so many other options today in the market, so won't recommend anything.
As I've not upgraded to a car, this continues to be my primary mode of transport. Did some long rides in it earlier, but of late, I'm using rented cars for long drives, so bike is used for city ride only. With a newly bought cycle, aiming to reduce its usage further.
Final Update: I sold off my Bajaj Discover 112 in 2014, after about 8 years- got just under 8000 Rs in resale value. (Could have gotten more if I had sold to a customer instead of availing exchange benefit). After that I bought TVS Apache RTR 160, which I am using since past 5 years. Planning to use it for few more years before I can think of an upgrade.
Related: Yelagiri Bike Ride * Honda Unicorn 2007 Review * Avenger Street 220 Review * TVS XL100 4 stroke * Bajaj Dominar 400 * TVS Apache RTR 160 *
This post gives an ownership report on my bike Bajaj Discover 112, which is in its 6th year now. This post will be useful/interesting to you if you’re a bike enthusiast or if you’re evaluating Bajaj bikes for purchase. Else feel free to skip this post. [Read Best of 2010 instead]
Brief Review: Overall performance and user experience of Bajaj Discover, bought in Jan 2006, has been good. Considerable amount was spent on its regular servicing and it continues to serve me well.
Above: Me & My bike- somewhere on top of a small hill, some 100kms off Hyderabad, 2007
Why I had bought Discover 112?
5 years ago, the options in 2 wheelers weren’t many. There were Bajaj Pulsars and TVS Fiero in premium market and entry level range consisted of Bajaj’s CT 100 and HH Splendor, with few other similar options from TVS and Yamaha. I didn’t have enough funds for a premium bike, hence settled for Discover 112- a new launch at that time- slightly better than entry level 100cc bikes but not as expensive as 150cc ones. Discover 112 came with alloy wheels (very few had it those days), promised good fuel economy (still remains a promise), front pilot lamps and handle bar balancers. Another reason to go for Bajaj was that it wasn’t spending much on celebrity endorsements.
5 years and close to 30k kms later…
Bike continues to be reliable and road worthy as it was and serves the basis purpose (to commute in city) without any issues. It was used for about 3-4 long rides-
- Chennai-Bangalore and back
- Chennai-Pondy & back
- Chennai-Yelagiri and Back [Details]
- Hyderabad-Bidar and Back
- Hyderabad-(a small down 100kms from Hyd) and back
Maintenance bill: To ensure that it stays fit, considerable money has been spent on its regular maintenance and service. I’ve been servicing it regularly once in 3-4 months, service bill ranging between 600-1200 Rs approx. In past 5 years, it might have undergone 20 regular services. 3 of them resulted in a bill of more than 2000 (once I’d to change the broken silencer, another two times to replace major engine components), approx 5-6 times it did cost more than 1200, otherwise typical service bill ranges between 600-1200 Rs. Clutch and accelerator cables, air filter, spark plugs all were changed as per recommendation or when felt necessary. Considering all the service and repair expense, an average of 10 Rs approx per day is being spent on Bajaj Discover 112. I could have saved some money on this by reducing service frequency (many of my friends service the bikes only when it develops some problems) and postponing spare part replacement (could have managed with worn out parts like break sh oe, tubes etc for some more time before replacing them), nevertheless spent money on this bike in the interest of peace of mind and long term health of the bike. It did break down in middle of the road few times (less than 10 during past 5 years I guess), but has been fairly reliable otherwise. Bike was serviced primarily at Bajaj dealerships, occasionally at Castol Bikezone. One service centre in Kondapur, Hyderabad was the worst, other have been reasonable.
The indicator glasses have broken, while the bulb and casing is perfectly working. But Bajaj doesn’t send the glass cover alone as spare and I’ll have to buy the whole unit at about Rs 150, so have postponed this repair.
Tyres and Tubes: With close to 30k kms on the odo, both tyres still have good threading left on them. I believe they should last another 10k kms before wanting a replacement. Front wheel still has original tube with a few patches, while rear wheel tube had to be replaced several times due to multiple punctures.
Fuel economy is nothing close to Bajaj’s claim of 100kmpl… Has been consistent around 60-65kmpl when last checked.
Over time, Bajaj has abused discover brand like anything- Discover being popular, was used for 100 cc, 110 cc, 125 cc, 135 cc and even a 150 cc.
Will I sell this and buy new one? By sticking to 5 year old entry level bike, I do miss the experience of faster bikes and fancy features like disc brakes, LED, LCD etc, but the answer is No. It’ll probably fetch a value of 20k, I’ve to buy a new one I’ll have to pump in another 30k. Don’t think that is necessary as this bike is serving my everyday requirements just fine.
Would I recommend this bike to others? Not really sure. There’re so many other options today in the market, so won't recommend anything.
As I've not upgraded to a car, this continues to be my primary mode of transport. Did some long rides in it earlier, but of late, I'm using rented cars for long drives, so bike is used for city ride only. With a newly bought cycle, aiming to reduce its usage further.
Final Update: I sold off my Bajaj Discover 112 in 2014, after about 8 years- got just under 8000 Rs in resale value. (Could have gotten more if I had sold to a customer instead of availing exchange benefit). After that I bought TVS Apache RTR 160, which I am using since past 5 years. Planning to use it for few more years before I can think of an upgrade.
Related: Yelagiri Bike Ride * Honda Unicorn 2007 Review * Avenger Street 220 Review * TVS XL100 4 stroke * Bajaj Dominar 400 * TVS Apache RTR 160 *
my inference-HH bikes r better than bajaj-as i own HH ambition-never broke down on road- even once-in 6 years-though i covered 1,40,000 Kms!!!. regular service charge-200-400 rs!!!
ReplyDeletewelcome to my blog-http://machikoppa.blogspot.com/
Thanks. HH bikes are a bit expensive to buy, but offer better resale value and as you said more easy to maintain
ReplyDeleteVisited your blog n added it to my dashboard
Cheers!
Hey shrini , My discover is also 5 years old , has run about 70 k kms . I have made several long trips , but today it remains only for city commuting . I never faced any break down issues till now , hope not to face in future .
ReplyDeleteTGS:
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing..
Have you changed tyres? what's the avg service bill?
No have not changed the tyre , avg service bills Rs600-1000. Two times did got engine serviced for about Rs 3K + , but not satisfied with the engine services.
ReplyDeleteOk.. thnks for sharing
ReplyDeleteBhai baik bchrh ho kay
ReplyDelete