Bajaj Avenger 160 ABS Arrives At Dealerships; More Engine Details Revealed

The cruiser features a new engine, but that’s not from the Pulsar NS 160

• The ABS features a speed sensor at the rear as well but it is of single-channel type.
• This cruiser is priced at Rs 81,037, ex-showroom Pune.
• The Avenger 160 ABS will replace the Avenger 180.

The Bajaj Avenger 160 Street ABS has started to arrive at dealerships. This motorcycle features a single-channel ABS with a sensor ring at the rear. Interestingly, the rear continues to use a drum brake setup for cost-effectiveness while the front-end gets a disc brake. Priced at Rs 81,037 (ex-showroom Pune), the motorcycle goes up against the Suzuki Intruder and the newly-launched Hero XPulse 200T. 

The reason why Bajaj has brought the model in the market is because in case the existing Avenger 180 Street came with ABS, it would have been priced dangerously close to the already available Avenger 220 ABS. So in all probability, Bajaj has downsized the smaller model’s engine to offset the increase in cost due to the addition of ABS to comply with the new safety norms.

Unlike what we had thought earlier, the Avenger 160 doesn’t come with the Pulsar NS160 engine. In fact, the powerplant looks the same as the 180’s unit, and it is likely to be an underbore version. While the power and torque figures haven’t been revealed yet, expect it to offer slightly less or equal performance to the outgoing bike’s motor. For reference, the 180cc air-cooled engine produces 15.5PS at 8500rpm and 13.7Nm at 6500rpm. The transmission will be the same 5-speed unit as the current bike, though. 

The design of the bike is similar to the Avenger 180 Street minus the badging. Even the instrument cluster is the same analogue unit with a digital inset. Now that the bike has reached various dealerships across the country, expect deliveries to begin soon. Expect Bajaj to make a formal announcement in the coming weeks.