Hi All, I for long wanted to buy a pulsar because I had enjoyed my friends’ bike earlier. Now I have got one 150 dtsi UG3, on March 2010, the latest I guess. My brother got a Unicorn on April 2010 and my friends, a Hunk and an Apache RTR. So I can give you a good comparison by experience. Now the best thing about the pulsar is its noise and handling. When I say feedback I mean to say that I hardly have to look down at the console to monitor the bike performance. Because the sensation that this bike gives itself is jubilation. I understand when to shift the gear and when to put on the clutch and when to brake. It is like a poor man’s Ferrari. I feel the vibration running through my legs, hands, hips straight to my spine and brain.
This is not present in any other bike except suzuki samurai. Now it becomes very difficult when you are riding a Unicorn or Apache. The Unicorn is so silent that you don’t get to know if it is "ON". You need to monitor the tachometer to shift gears. The hunk screams unpredictably. U get no feedback from the ride at all! The pick up of pulsar is very rapid and appealing as compared to the Unicorn, Apache and Hunk. The fuel economy of pulsar is fabulous. I ride for 32-35 km a day and I manage it all with just 600 rs per month. Of course I don’t burn fuel unnecessarily not even in the cross road signals. Oh yes don’t use it if you are in marketing and when trips are far and regular. I am a software developer :D. I like the fuel indicator at the tachometer is very useful. I get an average mileage of 65kmpl in city. It is more than expected. ;) Now the Unicorn gives an average of 70-72kmpl. And the Apache give 50 while hunk gives 45-50 kmpl.
The engine ignition controlling switch helps me a lot in this regards. I simply switch "ON and OFF" the engine easily.Most importantly, the stability. Pulsar is the ultimate choice when it comes to stability. The bike does never slips off at even 50 or 60 over sand or wet road near the turns. Trust me I overcome it everyday. Whereas the Unicorn slips off the most and Hunk the next. I am happy that I am alive, Unicorn would have killed me. Unicorn’s and Apache’s tyres are thinner and weight is very low. Now with this weight when you overtake a truck or viz, in both ways your ride becomes very very unstable. In pulsar it happens negligibly. Now the worst part of a pulsar is the seat. I, like many people complain about the seat. It forces a rider towards the fuel tank. During my commuting I rearrange myself a bit backward regularly but still after a couple of distance I drop down and my pant rise up to my chest :D. And boy! it hurts because I am a male. And you almost scream if you brake even harder. To Bajaj, please make the seats better.
The service centres of bajaj is the worst I have seen. They don’t work properly on the bike at all. I have given it twice since my deal and till now they did not solve the problem I have. They even cheat sometimes. Another problem with the pulsar is its gearbox. Like many people even I have faced it. There used to be transmission problem. Like giving false-shifting(It moves down without actual shifting). But once I found a remedy it is much interactive than the Unicorn, Apache and Hunk. The later ones make clicking effects while shifting, whereas my pulsar does not. I had a 6 inch long and 5mm round steel rod piercing my pulsar’s rear tyre putting a 2mm aperture in the tyre and tube while riding, soon after I bought it, but still my pulsar is performing like a new one. So no problem with newer problems.
So as a verdict I am really enjoying my ride everyday, and it is the best choice hoping that the new pulsar will be more comfortable to seat and better looking like the Fazer Fz :)
Thank you.