UM Renegade Commando Classic and Mojave Edition First Ride Review: Royal Enfield Rival, Finally?

At the last Delhi Auto Expo held in February 2016, UM Motorcycles was one of the brands that made all heads turned towards itself and had everyone talking about it. It was almost instantly that people gave it the title of a worthy rival to the segment leader Royal Enfield – a no small feat by any means, and it gave the company a base to build upon, a base that manufacturers only dream of. The company then took its own sweet time to launch the Renegade Commando and the Renegade Sport which received a decent response from the market but not like what one expected from these motorcycles.

Now, they are ready for their second innings in the Indian market as they have launched not one but two motorcycles in the form of the UM Renegade Commando Classic and the UM renegade commando Mojave edition. What’s different, what’s good, what’s bad and is it worth your money? Let’s find out.

The Looks

Let’s start with the biggest attraction point of these motorcycles and arguably, its USP – the way they look.

The Renegade Commando Classic takes the tried and tested route for attracting cruiser lovers by getting a lot of chrome treatment, saddle bag and a wind deflector at the front. All of which makes the motorcycle look bigger that what it is and at first glance, you might even think of it as a higher capacity motorcycle. There’s even a USA badge at the rear fender completing the look. Interestingly, it also gets a small pouch on the fuel tank that’s big enough for some loose change or your smartphone and also protects your fuel tank from getting scratched in that area.
UM Renegade Commando Mojave edition. (Photo: Manav Sinha/News18.com)

The Classic edition was first showcased at the 2016 Delhi Auto Expo and its launch was expected, but the surprise offering came in the form of the Mojave edition. It is essentially similar to the Renegade Commando in almost every way. The only changes come in the form of an added saddlebag, the tank-mounted pouch just like the Classic and the matte finish paint job. It is an ode to the Mojave Desert in America which is signified by a badge on the side panel of the motorcycle.

Apart from the changes, both these motorcycles carry over the design from the Renegade Commando, which means, they also get the good bits like the pillion backrest and the cleverly integrated USB port on the side of the tank-mounted instrument cluster.

Speaking of the instrument cluster, it shows pretty much every information that is necessary for the rider but the digital readout font size is quite small which often requires more effort to read than it should. The fact that it is mounted on the fuel tank and not on the handlebar does not help its case either.

Overall, though, both these motorcycles look fantastic and will give no chances of complaints in terms of looks to typical cruiser lovers.

What’s Cool?

The best part about the motorcycle has to be the comfort it offers. The foot pegs are forward set, the handlebar sweeps back towards the rider and the seat height is low enough making it usable for those with shorter height and helping the rider plant their feet on the ground firmly when the bike is not in motion. All of this comes together in a great way and the comfort extends to the pillion rider as well since they get the luxury of a factory-fitted backrest. The availability of a wind-deflector on the Classic edition feels like a blessing and the fact that both these motorcycles have a fuel tank capacity of 18 litres, means that you don’t have to worry about fuel stops for those weekend getaways and long highway rides