| Not content with pushing its performance minded Stars Ahead team (as the famed R&D department under Joseph Abraham is termed) to churn out the most exciting sports bike in the country - a.k.a. the Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTSi, it seems that finally the Pune-based bike maker Bajaj Auto might just have readied its best shot at 100cc glory. The weapon it has just now developed is a combination of the proven with all new tech, hitherto the domain of bikes residing in a larger capacity and a higher segment. Critically, Bajaj Auto rules the larger segments and it has brought to bear all its expertise with a bike which is larger, more comfortable, handles better and surer plus is armed with an engine which might displace 100cc but has response, power and refinement of a class higher. There has to be some catch many would think but here again, thanks to finely developed technology by the Stars Ahead team, the fuel efficiency is going to play a critical role in the overall appeal of the bike. It was no secret that for well over a decade now Bajaj Auto has been seriously burning the midnight oil to get to take on the best selling Splendor and Passion from Hero Honda. While it did put in tremendous effort, Bajaj never achieved the results needed to see these two old-in-the-tooth evergreen hundreds being engaged in battle. Things could change though when the new Bajaj Discover 100 begins to roll off the assembly lines from Bajaj Auto's Chakan plant on the 17th of this month. While everyone assumed that Bajaj Auto and indeed its leading light Rajiv Bajaj did not seem to be interested in the 100cc class of motorcycle, the big man himself set the record straight talking exclusively to ET ZigWheels. "In 2007 we said we really don't believe that 100cc bikes are the future. Now as far as I'm concerned, the first erroneous interpretation was that Bajaj is not interested in 100cc customers, which we clarified in saying that we're interested in every customer, we just want them to upgrade to something that's more fun." Rajiv further added, "The second assumption was that Bajaj is not interested in making a "100cc" bike. And in my view, that is both right and wrong. It is right because we're not interested in making a bike that is "born" as a 100cc bike, like a Boxer, or a 4S, or a CT, or a Platina. It was very clear that the 100cc bike territory belongs to someone else and whether you are TVS, Yamaha or Bajaj, no one has been successful in exploiting that. "To get the normal 100cc customers to upgrade we had to use something which was already proven, so ultimately, price as a reflection of brand strength in the market place was what we chose to base our premise on. And so our concept was "let's move people up to the Discover but without the high premium this bike in 125cc and 135cc displacements commands and delivers." What will emerge on July 17, is an all new 100cc engine with more power and torque, even better engine response than any other 100cc engine in the country and surely a bike which should break the ton, not in speed but in fuel efficiency. In fact while the ARAI figures for ideal FE under standard test conditions could come exceed the three figure mark, the bike has already set an 89kmpl figure in the IDC (Indian Driving Cycle) tests, the best by any in its class to date. Key technologies responsible for this include not just the Bajaj patented DTSi top end but also a host of friction busting tech in the engine. Factor in a whole new combustion chamber design to work its magic with the other tech already applied, give the bike a 5-speed gearbox to make best use of the wide torque spread and suddenly the customer has tech from a higher class working its magic. Rajiv further told us that by doing so, his company was bringing its performance DNA to the masses to enjoy in their own manner of going the longest using a litre of fuel but with even more comfort, economy and safety. The actual price hasn't been firmed up as yet but with alloy wheels, a truly stylish overall design, Nitrox shock absorbers on the rear end and the promise of both segment-slaying performance and fuel efficiency, it is expected that the bike could be coming with a Rs 42,000 price tag, bang on par with the competition. Looks like the 100cc segment could just about be discovering a tectonic shift in the next few months. | 
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