Hi Guys,
I am the proud owner of a Pulsar DTSi 180 - (The first version). I dont know what all the others are cribbing about. I think its the best engineered bike in the country, nothing else even comes close.
Fuel efficiency : 50Km/ltr steady in 2.5 yrs with a daily mix of city stop start driving and 100kmph runs on Mumbais eastern express highway. (once on the highway 80-110 kmph has been normal cruising speed even in heavy rains with low visibility where the only way to drive was to latch on to the tail lights of a car in front and tail it )
Never once did it give up on me - I do 100 km / day on a avg and in two and a half years my bike has done 50, 000 Km. Still as good as new. No major repairs even after two high speed crashes where both me and the bike came away with lil damage. I have used it every single day since feb 2004 except for 1/2 days in every 3 mths when it was sent for service.
Good handling
Good stability,
Good performance
Good Mileage
Very cheap parts (light on wallet)
200% satisfaction.
For those of you who didnt have a good experince with the pulsar, a few questions:
1. Did you run it in properly or did u screw its happiness from day one?
2. Did you bother with regular periodic maintenance from a authorised service center or did u go to your friendly neighbour hood mechanic (to save a few pennies on untrained labour and duplicate parts); that too only when the bike was so abused that it refused to work. Note that this is a high qualiy high performance bike which requires periodic preventive maintainence from a service center where the folks understand the bike inside out (need not be authorised but that helps)
3. The pulsar 180 is a powerful bike for experienced and responsible riders and not for kids in college with a show off attitude.
And as a last parting note - this preventive maintenance that I wrote about need not be expensive.
A few tips for
1. Never talk on your cell when driving - even if u have hands free (always pull over and then talk )
2. Always wear a helmet (a good quality one - unless you r a cat with nine lives)
3. Always wear a protective jacket of leather/denim. saves skin and flesh when if u fall.
4. Preventive maintenance not only prevents breakdowns but also keeps your bike in as good as new condition.
5. When over taking from left dont go much faster than the vehicle you are overtaking. If someone hops across suddenly you can stop.
6. Always drive at a speed where you can stop in the distance that you have clear visibility. - I have done 125kmph on the highway but wont ever try that in the city -
In short drive fast as per road conditions - dont drive rash.