2017 Suzuki Intruder vs Bajaj Avenger 220 Cruise vs Avenger 150 Street

Suzuki Motorcycle India launched the new Suzuki Intruder 155 cc cruiser bike in India early this week. Inspired by the company's iconic - Intruder M1800R, it's the first entry-level cruiser bike from the Japanese carmaker and is priced at Rs. 98,000. Now based on engine capacity, the new Suzuki Intruder will ideally rival the likes of the Bajaj Avenger 150 Street, but based on the premium feature sand the heavy price tag, the bike is more in the Avenger 220 Cruise's territory, which is priced at Rs. 89,690. So, does it make sense to get the new Suzuki Intruder, which is over Rs. 8,000 more expensive than the Avenger 220 Cruise, but is only as powerful as the Avenger 150 Street? Well, let's put down everything on paper to find out.

Styling and Dimensions

All three cruiser bikes serve the same purpose but all of them also come with a different character, which is mainly seen from their styling. Starting with the new kid in the block, Suzuki Intruder, like its older cousin, is butch and muscular and comes with the flowing design of a modern cruiser. Under the skin it's still the Gixxer, so, dynamically, the Intruder has similar handling, and has confident and sharp road manners. But the new beefy body has made it bulkier and it weighs 8 kg more than the Suzuki Gixxer. Also, the body of the bike looks a lot bigger for its wheels which give it a quirky appearance that might not go well with everyone.

The Suzuki Intruder comes with a host of premium features and a capable engine

The Bajaj Avenger 220 Cruise, on the other hand, comes with a classic cruiser design with a lot of chrome parts and very little cladding. The bike also gets a massive windscreen and a backrest for the rear seat, which adds to its retro look. As for the Avenger 150 Street, the bike comes with a similar flowing design but with modern styling that makes it a more, as the namesake, a street-oriented cruiser motorcycle.

Features and Equipment

In terms of features, the Suzuki Intruder is possibly the most feature-rich with offerings like projector headlamps with LED position lights, an all-digital instrument cluster, LED taillamp, sharp twin exhaust, and twin seat setup with a bucket-style seat for the rider. The bike comes with black alloy wheels with disc brakes at both front and rear. Suzuki also offers a single-channel ABS, which neither of the Avengers get and that is a big point in the Intruder's favour. The Intruder gets telescopic front forks and Swing Arm Type mono-shock suspension at the rear.

The Bajaj Avenger 220 Cruise is the only one to come with spoke wheels

The Avenger 220 Cruise gets regular halogen headlamps, part-analogue-part-digital instrument console, low-slung seat, backrest, a large windscreen and standard exhaust pipe. The bike comes with spoked wheels, a disc brake up front and a drum brake at the rear, telescopic front suspension up front and twin shock absorber at the rear.

The Avenger 150 Street comes with a similar halogen headlamp, part-analogue-part-digital instrument cluster, matte black grab rail, alloy wheels, shorter street control handlebar. The Avenger 150 Street also comes with matte black alloy wheels, smaller 240 mm disc brake up front and 130 mm drum brake at the rear. The bike gets the same telescopic forks up front and twin shock absorbers at the rear.

Engine Specifications

Suzuki Intruder 150 will get the same 154.9 cc single-cylinder, air cooled, 4-stroke engine that currently does duty on the Gixxer. In fact, the engine makes the same amount of power and torque at 14 bhp @ 8000 rpm and 14 Nm @ 6000 rpm. With the torque kicking in earlier The engine continues to come mated to a 5-speed gearbox.

The Bajaj Avenger 150 Street is the least powerful in the list

The Bajaj Avenger 220 Cruise comes with a 220 cc Twin Spark, 2-valve DTS-i engine that makes 18 bhp @ 8000 rpm and peak torque of 17.5 Nm @ 7000 rpm. The 150 cc engine on the Avenger 150 Street, has been borrowed from the old Pulsar 150 with power figures around 13 bhp @ 9000 rpm and a maximum torque of 12.5 Nm @ 6500 rpm. Both the engine comes mated to a 5-speed gearbox.

Verdict

Despite its larger price tag, the Suzuki Intruder can be considered value for money product, especially when you consider all the features that the bike has to offer. The power figures are decent and are a nice middle ground between the Avenger 220 Cruise and Avenger 150 Street. In fact, the torque also kicks in much earlier in the Intruder compared to the other two. Furthermore, the Intruder offers ABS as well which is a big plus on its part. The Avenger on the, on the other hand, offers the classic cruiser experience and has been the only option in the low-capacity cruiser segment for a while now. Especially, with the entry of the Avenger 150 Street, Bajaj saw a major growth in sales. Having said that, it's been two years since the latest range of Avenger bikes were launched and with its fresh design and the host of premium feature, the Intruder might turn out to be a rival to reckon with.