After halting the production of Platina 125 a few days back and in order to grab more market share Bajaj Auto has yet again tried to play a smart game. After launching the smallest 135cc Pulsar LS, they have revamped their 125cc commuter offering, Platina 125. The changes are not just cosmetic but a lot has been on offer. We enlist the various changes the new bike has gone through.
Major changes:
- POWER DROP: Earlier variant of Platina 125cc churned out 9.53 PS of power at 7k rpm. The new offering now belts out 8.5ps of power at the same engine revs which is a full 1ps lesser than the earlier iteration. This makes the Platina the most underpowered bike in this segment.
- TORQUE DROP: Not only power but torque has also been lowered by slightly less than 1Nm. The new bike produces 10Nm of torque in comparison to 10.85 Nm produced by the earlier variant but it peaks at 4k in the new version as compared to the earlier iterations 5k rpm.
- 5 SPEED GEARBOX: On the positive side of it, Bajaj has gone for a 5 speed gearbox on the new iteration.
- NEW GRAPHICS: In contrast to the cadre of people Bajaj is eyeing, they have given this bike a fresh look by adding flashy graphics.
- WEIGHT DROP: It seems that Bajaj auto is set to chop off all the unnecessary flab from all their bikes. After the low weighing Pulsar 135LS, Platina 125 also has shed 3 kilograms of extra weight. The bike now weighs 110kgs as compared 113kgs for the previous version.
- LOWER SADDLE HEIGHT: The saddle height is also lowered by 5mm to 785mm from 790mm which would aid in the comfort levels of the rider.
- MAINTENANCE FREE BATTERY: The new bike also comes with a 5Ah maintenance free battery.
- LOWER PRICE: The electric start version has been priced at just Rs 36,646 ex-showroom Delhi which makes this bike a fantastic value for money.
Bajaj has almost made it a regular day to day activity to play the pricing game with perfection. However, how would this drop in power mated with a 5 speed gearbox perform in real world, we will find out pretty soon when we test ride this bike. As for now, it seems a very sensible strategy which would make this bike the cheapest 125cc bike to buy.
