The Bajaj Discover is back in conventional territory, with its 125 DTSi engine. We pit it against the outright leader of the category, the Honda CB Shine, to see if it can change the dynamics of the tricky commuter space. Sopan Sharma compares

As the ZigWheels team got involved in a heated discussion for the location of this latest shoot, ideas were flying thick through the air. One part of the debaters – the adventurers, (mostly the ones who have a marked dislike for keyboards and hard work) wanted to try new locations and go for some shots of the bikes in city environs where they will almost always be ridden. The other bunch wanted to go with the usual (read wrap-up-work-ASAP), head to our favourite ghat and go with the uncluttered theme of the mountains, which usually works well for us when it comes to shooting motorcycles. After checking out the ‘adventurous’ locations and shooting at them, we did eventually return to the mountains, and guess what, we got our final shots there. Was it a convincing case for the conventional then? Maybe. Bajaj Auto seems to have a better one.

The bike maker’s will to do something different from other manufacturers, even in the plain-jane commuter space, has often spawned some interesting models over the years. Bikes like the Wind 125, the Caliber 115 and the Discover 135 all set to distinguish themselves through enhanced displacement for prices lower than the competition. The massively inertial market meant that some of these were hit-or-miss. The rate at which they were either upgraded or, in more recent times, replaced by equivalent ‘Discover’ models indicated that while the unconventional displacements offered were getting response, they weren’t doing much for building the brand. All this seems to be going out of the parts-sharing window though, with Bajaj Auto’s return to the 125cc category with the Discover 125 DTSi.

We already know the Discover brand, and the sort of feel that the bikes consistently have through its range, so a full-blown review was not really what we were looking for. Instead, we decided to pit it against the long standing ruler of the class, the bike that helped Honda establish itself as a serious player in India – the CB Shine. This is the bike that has been consistently delivering for Honda ever since it was launched, and before rivals knew it, it had taken the same place in the 125cc segment that Hero Honda had enjoyed for so long in the 100cc commuter space. One look at the bike, and you know exactly why it has hit off as well as it did – it is the 125cc equivalent of a Hero Honda. Big shoes for the new Discover to try and fill then? Only one way to find out for sure and it belongs in the saddle.

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