Pulsar 180 is a cool bike. it is the best bike if u r choice is power and economy.
my pulsar the first dtsi model is 2003 oct model. I bought it for 30k at 2006.it
was a pretty good bike whn I bought which is a very rare case as usually 180 owners will
get the max juice out of it before they sells. when I am getting it was a normal on with
the only modification being a 120 section zapper in its back. I bought it and first of
All I throwed its air box and put one round cloth filter. Which is good for better
sound and efficiency increased slightly. but low end pull reduced but high end improved. then I put a three piece handle . Since I am a track cyclist I usually lie down during ride being 6 feet tall I could not get it right .so I cutted the rear step of the seat made the front seat a bit longer by 2 -4 inches .so u can comfortably lie down during the ride at high speeds. the bike had a very good top speed which I usually gets
around 120-125nowadays even after the odo tells more than 60000.a good tip for the 180 owners is using speed or any other 91 octane because you can feel the difference since the bike ports a high compression ratio of 9.5. so.i would recommend u to go for high octane which increases ride ability at high speeds at around 80 -120k and it smoothens the engine.
So if u r going for 180 I would recommend the 18inch wheel dtsi since the 17 inch ones r having a very low gear ratio. one thing u can do is to change the 15toothsprocket in the front and change it to 16or 17teeth .this increases the ride ability and fuel efficiency of the bike in long rides. Since upsize sprockets r not available in my place I got a Yamaha 135 front sprocket of 16 teeth the drilled it . But the diff was spectacular.
due to the high gears my bike can reach 77k in just around 5000rpm.so u r still in
green zone .which is very good. since the bike is running high gear fuel efficiency also
increased. since we r having a karizma, a unicorn, a yezdi 250 classic and the pulsar in my home I would say what makes the pulsar unique is its engine .because it gives us both the the power and economy .that’s a great thing when u r considering sky rocketing fuel prices of now a days .But u can never compare a pulsar to karizma or unicorn for its refinement and handling
But the best thing is that bajaj is trying hard to keep up with the Japanese manufactures and that’s really great. But one thing I would say is that those who r going for new p 200or 220 .don’t go for that believe I have already ridden the p 220 and not at all impressed .
if u r going for power buy a 2-3 year old 180, change its air filter and exhaust
to free flow ones change its spark plug with the iridium ones which is available with bosch and NGK(bit expensive though).change sprockets if u looking for good top end .The difference between 200and 180 is the piston .When bajaj put 220 piston in 180 it become 200.So get a 220 piston bore out u r engine .and here u r having one of the best bikes in country which can out beat any new generation pulsar 200or 220.with just below 35000thousand
But the new pulsar 180 didn’t impress me much . it may have the gizmos .but the fact is that they r always having problem . u cant wash the bike with jetting water bcoz sometimes the digital Speedo gets very easily damage .and the bike lacks feel of older pulsar bcoz new bikes r so smooth sound more like a ct 100 rather than a grownup pulsar.and in new gen 180 the gear ratio is so bad that it have a ratio of 12km/1000rpm in 5th gear compared to the 13.8/1000rpm of previous models. so the problem it causes is that u have to give more throttle to reach 60kmph or 70kmph.so it really affects the efficiency if u r a rider rides in 70-80kmph range. Compared to karizma which has a
ratio of 15km/1000 rpm, 180 is really harsh at high speed
so if u r a new pulsar owner one thing u can do is to change its front sprocket to 16teeth one from 15 and change its rear sprockets to say 40or 42 from original 44teeth.this will really help with u r problems like low efficiency and harsh ride at high speeds .
my pulsar delivers me around 45 kmpl in short city rides and around 50-55kmpl at long rides of around 75-80kmph speed . but the efficiency of this bike really decreases if u r
ride is harsh. for a full blown ride u will only get an efficiency of around 40kmpl .
I didn’t have any major flaws with my bike till nw .the only thing I changed is my clutch .if u r looking for a spark plug change go for twin lead type of plugs from bosch which is available for pulsar and avenger range .cost around 105 /plug . but I think its good.
one thing u can do to preserve u r engine is to change the engine oil on the specified time. its really gets u out of trouble . check for fluid leak in battery because the acid causes a good deal of rust in the area. If u a dtsi pulsar owner if u experience sudden drop in efficiency and power check for the magnet and reed switch in carb, bcoz if it is not there u will loose 5kmpl and mid range power. I had mine gone and fixed it for just18 rupees.