Quick Review- Bajaj Discover 100M Ride Report, Specifications, Pics, Price and Details

Engine and Gearbox

Powering the new Discover 100M is the same 102cc, single cylinder, air cooled motor that powers the costlier 100T variant. However, for the new 100M, the motor has a lowered max power output of 9.3 PS (vs 10.2 PS for 100T). Worth mentioning is the fact that even with a lowered peak power output, the motor makes the new 100M easily the most potent motorcycle among its immediate rivals. Bajaj has told us that the bike has an ARAI tested fuel efficiency of 84kmpl, which means that a 70kmpl-plus real world figure isn’t really far fetched.

The 4 valve motor is easily the talking point of the new bike and we were fairly surprised with the grunt on offer. Thumb the starter and the engine literally roars to life. The exhaust note is really sweet for an entry level commuter motorcycle and has some deep bass to it. We slotted the bike into first and rolled off the starting point. A speedo indicated 20kmph and we shifted into second cog, only to realize the smoothness of the gearshift. The engine boasts of excellent low and mid torque and we did manage to roll at speeds less than 20kmph in third cog! We also managed to hit a speedo indicated 80kmph within a short stretch of straight road that was a part of the 3kms long test track.  (All this means that we really have no intentions of challenging BAL’s claim of a 95kmph top whack)

We are mighty impressed with the way the engine and the gearbox come together to endow the new motorcycle with a sense of enthusiasm which is generally conspicuous by its absence on most entry level motorcycles out there. Such is the engine-gearbox combo that suddenly, you’ll find yourself buying the idea of “A marriage made in heaven“!

Ride and Handling

Before we go ahead with penning our thoughts about the new bike’s ride and handling, we would like to remind you that we tested the bike on pre-marked route on the well paved roads of BAL’s Akurdi campus. However, various speed humps and tight corners did reveal a fair bit about the bike’s ride and handling characteristics.

As we mentioned above, the bike comes with a well cushioned seat, which along with a softly sprung suspension, endows the rider with a fairly comfy ride. Talking about the handling, the light weight and good ride-handling bias ensures that the 100M is flick-able enough and we reckon that the bike would be pretty apt with playing the lane splitter on the ultra-crowded streets, such as that of Pune.

Flip to next page for our Verdict