Bajaj Introduces 2-Valve Discover 125

We all know, and are pretty much accustomed to Bajaj's ploy of playing with its existing brands for an indefinite period of time. Take the Pulsar for example; launched in 2001, the bike started off as a precursor to the more bigger and better powered Pulsars to come. It certainly was a big hit in India, and Bajaj, even after 14 years post the Pulsar brand launch, still hasn't cut its 'umbilical cord'. It is a good tactic employed by Bajaj in a country like India, where manufacturer roots and brand names are given the highest regard, and takes an influential spot in the society and Bajaj has enjoyed being an 'India-friendly' manufacturer for a very long time, capturing the hearts of us Indians for generations, indeed. Just like the Pulsar, the Discover brand of bikes have gained much attention, especially as a performing-commuter. Launched in 2004 the Discover has enjoyed much success in the Indian market. Bajaj had equipped the Discover with various engine schemes over the years but the 100cc, 125cc and 150cc engined Discovers emerged as clear winners.



Bajaj has now launched the first 2-valve Discover 125 aimed at increasing its potency to be a fuel-efficient yet powerful bike. This doesn't mean that the 4-valve version was bad enough; it is, probably an experiment by Bajaj to create deeper breakthroughs in the Indian market, and the Discover 125 2-valve, while compared to the 4-valve version of the same, runs at 76 km/l but the new 2-valve version returns 82 km to the litre, besides being three thousand rupees cheaper from the 4-valve Discover 125M.



Bajaj has put the new 125cc 2-valve motor on to the primitive structure/body of the earlier Discover 125 with updated graphics and disc-brakes. Alloy wheels remain standard but the worry of a confusion brewing in the minds of future buyers as to identify the bikes, would rather be complimentary. The 124.6cc engine continues to be the infamous DTS-i engine and the bike gets the ExhausTEC feature that boosts torque.



Power is rated at 11PS @ 8000 RPM and torque at 10.8Nm @ 5500RPM. The 4-valved Discover made 11.5 PS of power but at 6000 RPM but made the same amount of torque. Surprisingly, the 125 2-valve engine is mated to a 5-speed gearbox while the 4-valve (Discover 125M) version only gets a 4-speed gearbox and is priced higher.



Recently, Bajaj had taken off a few products from its assembly line and re-introduced existing models with fresh exterior updates. The Bajaj Discover 150S was one of the victims. The Discover 125 2-valve would hopefully give Bajaj extra points on the sales front and would certainly not be shaken from its pedestal as one of the most preferred bike maker. Priced at Rs 53,096, the 2-valve Discover 125 certainly offers good value for money. More bikes are on the anvil from Bajaj this year and hopefully the wait would be worth it.