2017 UM Renegade Commando Mojave first ride review

The Mojave is the second most expensive motorcycle in UM's Renegade Commando range, and sits under the Classic. It looks identical to the standard Commando, save for its matte-finished sand brown paint job. It also gets a bigger leg guard to offer better protection. As far as accessories are concerned it gets a little pouch on the fuel tank for keeping documents and one saddle bag as standard, on the right hand side, though the left hand side saddlebag will be sold as an optional extra.

The design is inspired from the iconic, last generation Harley-Davidson Fatboy, particularly the front end, with the round headlamp mounted onto a square plate along with three ridges on either side. The paint job is inspired from the Mojave Desert in California and the bike gets a sticker on the side to tell it apart. Unlike the UM Renegade Commando Classic, the Mojave gets a matte-black treatment for its spoked wheels and the exhaust. Paint quality and fit-finish levels are good, and are certainly a huge improvement over the pre-production models we tested over a year back.

The UM Renegade Commando Mojave's front-end design is inspired from the iconic, last generation Harley-Davidson Fatboy

The instrument cluster is a single pod unit housing the speedometer and a tiny display at the bottom that includes a gear indicator, fuel gauge and odo/tripmeters. The display could have been larger in size and a white backlight instead of the blue one would have it more legible. The Mojave continues to offer a USB port on the side of the tank mounted instrument cluster like the other models.

It uses the same 280cc, liquid-cooled single cylinder engine as the Classic and other UMs, offering 25PS and 23Nm, and comes mated to the same six-speed gearbox. Engine refinement is decent but the unit lacks the bottom end grunt you would expect of a cruiser. Shift quality from the gearbox could have been better too, though clutch action at the lever is light.

The UM Renegade Commando Mojave looks identical to the standard Commando, save for its matte-finished sand brown paint job

Given the identical setup, the Mojave feels the same as the Classic on the road, and feels comfortable cruising at 90-100kmph in sixth. Cycle parts are the same, and the Mojave uses a dual cradle chassis, conventional forks upfront and hydraulic shock absorbers at the rear to offer a likeable ride quality. The suspension soaked in even the biggest of bumps with ease, while the frame along with the suspension and TVS tyres makes for a light, nimble feel in terms of handling.

Aesthetics suggest the Mojave is the more city-centric bike as compared to the Classic, but there is virtually no difference between the two on the road. That said, the Mojave is priced at Rs 1.80 lakh ex-showroom New Delhi, just about Rs 4000 over the price of the standard Commando, which is a good deal considering the distinctive paint job and additional luggage on offer as standard.