Bajaj Discover 125ST

This has been the year of low range motorcycles. Bajaj Auto launched the new Bajaj Discover 125ST motorcycle in May of this year – around the same time other bikes in the category like Hero Ignitor and Honda Dream Yuga were launched. Despite launching before these other bikes, the Discover 125ST still offers the highest power in the category; apparently without compromising on the fuel consumption metrics. Is that true? Our mileage review based on test drives by various customers and publications will show. Bajaj Discover 125ST Mileage Review

Official Bajaj Discover 125ST Mileage The Bajaj Discover 125ST comes in the same price range as the Hero Ignitor. The bike comes at an ex-showroom price of around Rs.52,000 and offers a mileage of between 65-70 kilometers per liter in ideal test conditions. Put another way, this is the maximum you can ever hope to achieve and the actual fuel consumption is going to be much lower than this – mainly while travelling in the cities.

What Customers Say About Bajaj Discover’s Fuel Consumption

Most of the Discover range of bikes from Bajaj are known for their great mileage. MouthShut, the website that covers reviews from actual customers has an overall fuel consumption efficiency rating of 4 stars on 5.  In fact, almost every other reviewer has raved about the bike consistent at least in terms of mileage. Except for one user who has noted a mileage of 48+, almost every other user has noted a mileage of above 50. At least two of the reviewers have observed a city mileage of above 60 kmpl. Overall, the users who have reviewed the bike seem to have extracted 55 kmpl in the city and 60 kmpl on the highways.

The Bajaj Discover 125ST bike has also been reviewed by most of the reputed auto magazines and blogs in the country. According to Motorbeam, the fuel consumption in the city is around 55kmpl while driving over the highways can get it as high as 60 km/l. ZigWheels though had an extremely amazing outing noticing a pretty impressive 62kmpl on city roads and an even more impressive 77kmpl on the highways. That’s even  more impressive than Bajaj’s official claim.

BikeDekho, one of the popular destinations for online bike trading, the highways can get you as much as 65kmpl while the city roads can bring the fuel efficiency down to 50kmpl. Most other portals have stuck to the company line claiming a mileage of 56kmpl on city roads and 67 kmpl on the highways – so nothing much to takeaway there.

Mileage Summary
Source City Conditions (kmpl) Highways (kmpl)
Official 65-70
MouthShut 55 60
Motorbeam 55 60
Zigwheels 62 77
BikeDekho 50 65
Others 56 67

Discover 125ST vs Hero Ignitor

So looking at the Bajaj Discover 125 ST against Hero Ignitor, it is a tough choice to decide on which of the two bikes you should really be going for. Both these motorcycles offer extremely amazing mileages and come at a similar price point. The end-choice then ultimately falls on the other parameters like pickup, top speed, riding conditions ideal for your personal requirements,etc. And yes, the looks as well. Which one are you going for? Write to us in the comments.

Honda Dream Yuga

The Honda Dream Yuga is one of the latest bikes released by Honda’s Indian subsidiary, HSMI. The 109cc engine motorbike is Honda’s least expensive release at an ex-showroom price of Rs. 44,600. The bike was launched in May 2012 and from the perspective of engine capacity is not larger than a Honda activa.

Honda Dream Yuga Mileage

Official Dream Yuga Mileage Claim

According to official figures released by Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India, the Dream Yuga delivers a mileage of 72kmpl. That’s better than most motorcycles out in the market today! But does it really offer so much in a real world environment? Check out below.

Mileage Reviews For Honda Dream Yuga From Users

In their exhaustive review of the Dream Yuga, MotorBeam has observed that they were able to extract 58-60 kmpl in city road conditions while on  highways they were able to get up to 65 kmpl. BikeDekho though, in their test found the mileage to be 55kmpl and 70kmpl for city roads and highways respectively. OverDrive, the popular automobile magazine points out that the mileages need not necessarily be that high. Their review suggests a pretty bad mileage of 47kmpl under city conditions – It’s bad because it is nowhere near the mileage claimed by Honda in the test conditions.

So what are the actual customers saying. According to MouthShut, One customer from Kolkata notes a mileage of 58-60 kmpl in Kolkata traffic. Another rider from Navi Mumbai notes 50-55 kmpl. Other customers who have posted in the forum note mileages of anywhere between 50kmpl and 65kmpl. An exception though is a user who sees 85kmpl which may not be a standard. Overall, the bike gets a 4 star rating on 5 for fuel consumption.

Bottomline

Source City Mileage(kmpl) Highways Mileage(kmpl)
Official N/A 72
MotorBeam 58-60 65
BikeDekho 55 70
OverDrive 47 -
MouthShut 50-65 -

Overall the Honda Dream Yuga appears to be offering a pretty decent mileage. Purely from a mileage perspective, I would pick the Dream Yuga over Hero Ignitor simply because Yuga offers a better deal at a lower price than the Ignitor.

Yamaha FZ16

India Yamaha Motor launched the first ever FZ16 model way back in 2008. Since then, the bike has become extremely popular mainly owing to its ‘naked bike concept’. The bike is presently available at an ex-showroom price of Rs. 67,500 in Delhi. The Yamaha FZ16 is not your regular run of the mill motorbike and is definitely not something that an average mileage-conscious consumer should go for. The bike comes with a powerful 153cc engine delivering 14PS maximum output and a 13.6 N.m maximum torque. All this power is definitely going to impact the mileage of Yamaha FZ16.

Yamaha FZ16 Mileage

Official Yamaha FZ16 Mileage Claim

According to Yamaha, this motorbike can deliver 50.81 kilometers per liter of fuel. Of course, as it goes with any official mileage claim, this number was extracted under the most favourable conditions and so you need to take this number with a pinch of salt.

User Reviews on Yamaha FZ16 Mileage

Given that it has been close to five years since the FZ16 first came on the scene, we have had exhaustive coverage of the bike from several sources till date. We will go through a section of reviews from the latest customers. This will be more useful to you as a new buyer given that Yamaha is likely to have worked on improving the bike’s fuel economy over time.

Ever since launch, there has been a number of users who have complained about the poor mileage offered by the FZ16. In their 2008 review, MotorBeam points out that despite the official mileage claim, users are going to be lucky if they see a mileage of 40 kmpl on the FZ16. BikeAdvice in their review around the same time observe a mileage of 40 kmpl in  city conditions and 54 kmpl on the highways. BikeDekho’s review underlined a much worse mileage – 35 kmpl inside the city and 46 kmpl on highways.

So have things changed in the past 12 months? Looks like. According to the most recent reviews on MouthShut, the bike is offering a decent 42 – 47 kmpl even in city conditions. Another recent customer actually calls it a ‘paisa vasool’ bike since it offers more than 40 kmpl mileage. Customers who have had this bike for more than two years claim that the mileage seems pretty consistent between 38-42kmpl all along these years. Another rider who has driven close to 17,000 kilometers sees between 35 – 40 kmpl after this long usage.

Is FZ16 For The Mileage-Conscious?

Short answer : No. We recently reviewed the Hero Ignitor 125cc which offers an amazing 55 kmpl even in city conditions. If you are someone to whom mileage is an absolute necessity, the Yamaha FZ16 is not for you. This bike is all power and style and these things come at a cost. In automotive terms, we call that mileage.

 

Hero Ignitor 125cc

Hero Motocorp launched the Ignitor 125cc motorbike around July 2012. The Hero Ignitor comes in two variants – the lower variant is priced around Rs.55,900 (ex-showroom) and comes with drum brakes and a self start system while the higher end model comes with features like disc brakes and is priced at Rs. 57,900 (ex-showroom). Both these models have alloy wheels.

Hero Ignitor 125cc mileage price reviews

Official Mileage Claim

According to the manufacturers, the official mileage of the Ignitor is around 60 kilometers per liter. Do note that these are under ‘standard test conditions’ which does not include your traffic, pot holes or bumps on the roads. This is the maximum you can ever hope to achieve on the bike

User Reviews On Mileage

According to various customer feedbacks posted on MouthShut, the mileage of the Hero Ignitor 125cc varies between 50kmpl to 55kmpl. As one buyer has summed up, you can be assured that the mileage will stay above 50 in any case.

Again, reviewers on MaxAbout claim they see a mileage of between 50 and 55 kmpl. One reviewer even claimed they were able to get up to 62kmpl in rural area although I would be skeptical about this claim. For most of you, the mileage would not go there.

Zigwheels, another popular auto site, has given the bike a thumbs up in its reviews. However, they have not specifically discussed the fuel economy of the Ignitor. However a few commenters there who have already purchased the bike say they see the usual 50-55 kmpl mileage on their bikes in daily traffic. Again, one buyer claims a mileage of 75 kilometers per liter – as usual, stay skeptical.

But according to Overdrive, the popular auto magazine, the mileage claimed by some posters in the websites discussed above could be true. In their test drive, Overdrive claims they saw a mileage of 64.8 kmpl in the city and 68.9 kmpl in the highway – that is even better than what Hero Motocorp claims in its press release.

Bottom Line

Most reviews of the Hero Ignitor 125cc have been extremely positive. While some buyers have complained about issues with acceleration and brakes, the mileage is not one of the concerns. Almost everyone who has tested the bike say they see a very good mileage of at least 50 kmpl. The average user seems to receive around 55 kilometers per litre in the city. That’s a resounding yes to the bike as far as fuel economy is concerned.

Have you purchased a Hero Ignitor 125cc? What mileage have you observed? Do tell us in the comments.