Both scooters use twin-valve four-stroke engines, self-started and force-air-cooled, both with iron cylinders capped by alloy heads, and both with top-rate castings and finish. Their variomatic-gearboxes run off centrifugal clutch systems and both engines are rubber-mounted. The difference is the Wave's larger capacity: 109.73cc versus 102.
The Wave has an engine built fresh from the ground up. Bajaj decided on slightly larger capacity with the goal to offer a slight Performance edge, yet squeezing out decent mileage aided by DTS-i, as well as roller bearings for the rocker fingers. DTS-i is basically dual spark plugs on opposed sides of the combustion chamber for better combustion.
The new Wave motor, unlike the Activa's, is a short-stroke unit with 57 x 43mm bore and stroke measurements. Most short-strokes suffer from poor low-end torque, but this has been worked on, and to Bajaj's credit, is largely unnoticeable, thanks to the addition of a resonator within the silencer, a system called 'Exhaust-Tec.' A Keihin carburettor feeds the air-fuel mixture via an inlet port designed for good swirl.
The Bajaj team emphasise they spent many man-hours perfecting the critical variable transmission — the CVT system — before coming up with the right tune for this engine. The CVT has been optimised to minimise losses and provide the best combination of economy and riding pleasure. It is assisted by ignition mapping to allow the engine to short-shift to lower revs (better economy) when held by riders at low throttle openings. At the same time, if the throttle is twisted for power, revs rise to boost power.
Noise reduction is an area that has received a wave of attention - an example being a compressed rubber damper within the clutch casing. Yet, we found the Wave a smidgen louder On the Road as compared to the Activa, which always purrs akin to a newborn kitty. 'Ride control', alas, remains on at all times on the Wave, and we found this the single largest irritant — if we wanted to control revs and gears, we'd prefer to do it at our discretion, rather than have it forced upon us.
Neither engines put out any vibration, both running smooth as silk, and there's not much to choose between them when it comes to Performance either. The Bajaj, however, feels a bit peppier through the rev band, but the Activa's engine claws back some ground with its slick operation.
Our acceleration tests had the Wave hit 60kph from rest at 12.28 seconds, while the smaller Activa took 13.13 secs to get to the same speed.