Bajaj V15: Lost in translation

Bajaj is hoping that the first thing you think of, when you see this motorcycle, is how you could own a piece of India's heritage, since the V15’s tank is built out of steel that’s been extracted out of the scrapped aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. Some have hailed it as an excellent marketing move, while some don't quite agree with the concept at all. However, for all practical purposes, the V15 is out in plastic and metal and, if Bajaj is to be believed, it stands to revolutionise the commuter motorcycle segment.

Yes, you heard that right, the V15 is a commuter motorcycle. It joins ranks alongside the Discover, the Pulsar, the AS and the Street 150s in the Bajaj Auto line up, apart from competing for a spot with the rest of the field. It looks like nothing else in the market at the moment and Bajaj is optimistic about its acceptance. It may not be the prettiest design, but it does differentiate itself with its heavily detailed headlamp and fresh Italian-like tail lamp design, which sits on the contrast coloured fender. Apart from that, the V’s fuel tank is a solid muscular affair with a prominent logo on the fuel filler cap ensuring that no one is mistaken about the fact that there is a direct connect with the erstwhile warship. Moreover, they have thrown in an optional removable seat cowl for good measure, just in case there weren't enough design cues already.

Swing a leg over the V15 and you instantly notice that it doesn't really feel like any other motorcycle. The seat is low and the handlebars rise to make for a straight up riding position with the bike's commuter application in mind. Thumb the starter and the 150cc, single cylinder unit settles into a distinct beat, something Bajaj claims to have worked hard to achieve , with the motor responding nicely to throttle inputs.

On the move, the 'all-up' five-speed gearbox takes some getting used to especially when you slow down for traffic signals or come to a halt before making a U-turn or a similar situation because you are never really sure if you are in the correct gear and if you shift all the way down, you end up hitting neutral.

However, ridability of this iteration of the 150cc motor is particularly good. On paper, this unit makes a paltry 12PS of power, but more importantly it also manages to make 13Nm of torque. The result is great low-end and mid-range engine response minimising the need for gear shifts. You can easily potter around traffic and even ride up flyovers in third and fourth gears.

On the flip side, there is no top-end performance to be had as the engine loses steam and gets incredibly rough at higher revs.

Bajaj has made it pretty clear that they weren't after performance, fuel efficiency is what comes up trumps. At any point, the V15 falls in line with the bike finding its sweet spot between 50-70kmph, beyond which intense vibrations make it pretty uncomfortable.

Both the gearbox and the engine characteristics have been tuned for typical commuter application with feedback from similar focus groups, according to Bajaj. However, in contrast, the ride quality on the V remains fairly firm, not as soft and supple as you would expect from a typical commuter. There isn't too much to complain about, though, as it stays pretty composed even on badly potholed stretches. Amongst other things, the V15 also uses a unique combination of a 16-inch rear and an 18-inch front tyre, which seems to work quite well. Both straight line stability and easy flickability into corners makes it an easy to use set up.

At the end of the day, the V15 seems like an overwhelming mix of several concepts. While the design seems to be flashy and trying to break new ground, the riding experience is that of a lower capacity motorcycle with every parameter visibly tailored toward ride comfort and fuel efficiency and somewhere in this melee lies the ideology that as many people as possible should have access to this motorcycle and be able to hold on to a part of India's history.

In the middle of this widely varied objectives, Bajaj may have lost clarity of thought to make it really stand out in any one aspect. And with an introductory price of ₹61,999 ex-showroom Delhi (including standard accessories), it demands a fair premium for a commuter motorcycle.