You don’t have to be a motorcyclist to have heard about the Indian motorcycle manufacturer called Bajaj. Bajaj has been servicing the needs of the delivery market across the African continent for years, selling more than 5 million units in Africa in the last 10 years. Another important thing to note is that Bajaj Auto, the motorcycle division, is just one of the many divisions run by the Bajaj group. Focusing on the motorcycle division, they have grown and built their company over the last 70 years and have now become the world’s fourth-largest two-wheeler manufacturer and the largest three-wheeler manufacturer.
There’s no denying the fact that Bajaj is a juggernaut in the motorcycle industry with a big focus pointed in the direction of the delivery market across the world. Although very focused on the delivery space, Bajaj has also been in charge of building engines and motorcycles for many European and Japanese motorcycle companies over the years. This surely gives buyers peace of mind when investing in their products—knowing that quality and engineering are at a high and trusted level.
So, who are we dealing with in South Africa? They go by the name of TransRev Bajaj; a passionate team who are the sole authorised distributor for the South African region. After slowly growing their footprint in SA thanks to the Qute (four-wheeler), the tuk-tuk RE4s and the CT125, they are now ready for the big leagues. Ready to take on the competition, they contacted us to give their new player a test. Welcome to the Bajaj Boxer 150…
The Boxer 150 enters its way into an already very competitive delivery market with importers selling their workhorses like fresh bread at a bakery. However, this does not faze Bajaj one bit, with the Boxer bringing its years of experience from upper Africa and India to the growing South African market. With that said, let’s turn the key.
So, what is the Bajaj Boxer 150 all about? The Boxer is a born and bred city dweller with drum brakes at each end, plush but well-damped suspension, a fully enclosed chain guard, standard crash protection, centre stand, USB charge port, gear indicator and a 145cc single-cylinder motor. The Boxer is as simple as it gets when it comes to “form vs function” leaving you with a satisfactory feeling once you’ve taken a step back and considered everything.
The Boxer fires up from a cold start with ease (considering it’s a carbureted motorcycle) and idles with little to no vibrations—you can hardly tell the bike is running. Run the little 145cc single-cylinder motor does, eking out 12 hp at 7,500 rpm and 12.1 Nm of peak torque at 4,500 rpm, not much parked next to a Panigale but right up there with its competitors. On the road you find yourself tapping through the smooth 5-speed box with enough low-down torque to short shift and lug off idle speeds without any hesitation. The Boxer excels at inner city speeds where 80 km/h and below are expected. With that said, the Boxer is more than capable of doing the odd bit of highway travel too.
Bad road conditions, congestion and any other form of downtown roughness is where the Boxer comes in handy. The Boxer’s lightweight is complimented by a well-mannered suspension setup, with the front forks working well for budget chaps and the rear SNS suspension double spring taking care of the rest. The rear suspension compared to the comp may seem stiff, but add a box and some weight to the equation and it all starts to make sense. The only thing that I wish the Boxer came equipped with was a front disc brake, as I felt the brake pressure and stopping power could have been a bit better.
Photo credit: Bjorn Moreira / ZA BikersA long day in the cockpit is made bearable by a comfortable seat, narrow 11L tank, rubber footpegs and low handlebars. When ridden at moderate speeds you can comfortably see a return of 50 km/L, which works out to 550 km on a tank filled with R247 of fuel. If you take your average Uber Eats rider’s 150 km daily trip into consideration, that’s just under R70 a day on fuel. Crazy right?
Bajaj makes it even more of a no-brainer for the micro-enterprises and micropreneurs by providing a ‘rent to buy’ payment option at affordable instalments of R650 per week for 18 months (this includes two free services).
The Boxer comes with a 20,000 km / 2 years warranty plan that allows riders to service their own fleet, as long as they keep to the service intervals (5000 km) and use Bajaj servicing parts, their warranty will stay intact for the duration of the 2 years. A factory-fitted box and bracket are available for the Boxer at an additional price of R3000.
So, what is it going to cost you? The Bajaj Boxer 150 doesn’t come in cheap, nor does it come in at a premium, but rather a mid-range price of R22,900. The Boxer offers a lot of value at its price, with lots of room for riders to have flexibility when servicing and again a quality motorcycle backed by a juggernaut so parts shouldn’t be an issue. TransRev Bajaj has said that they should also have around 30 dealers by next quarter.
For more information visit: www.africabajaj.com
