I always wished to own a powerful bike but my parents were always too concerned about my safety so they got me a bajaj platina. So I had to wait till I was earning to get one. I wanted anything over 150 cc. I planned to buy Bajaj Avenger at first but when I went to showroom I found the new Pulsar 180cc UG4. It caught my attention and I scrapped the idea of avenger. So I booked one and got delivery on 1st sept 2010 from Krishna Bajaj Gurgaon. Before bike a word or two abt the dealer. Krishna Bajaj is one of the worst you can find. They will make you feel as if they are doing some favour to you by selling bike to you. So recommendation for people please beware of them. Now abt the bike, I’ll review what I have felt in 5 sections mentioned above :
Fuel consumption: Disappointed a bit as it was claimed to be around 40 kmpl but I have never crossed 35. and let me tell you people I am very particular about run in of bike. maintaining the bike speed below 70 and above 50, tyre pressure, tank full fuel load etc. But still not that bad as I did not expect much from the power bike on mileage front. 3/5 on mileage.
Comfort: This bike is not a tourer so people who are looking for touring and expecting comfort are wrong according to me. This is a power commuter. daily 50-70 kms won’t hurt at all. The bike is a bit heavy so takes time to get used to, but once u use it for few days u’ll not be having any issues. No back pain or wrist pain for me so far. so 4/5 in comfort.
Reliability: Nothing major technical problems that I have found. Only a bit issue with the head lamp assembly. it gets loose after 2-3 months of driving and needs tightening again. Don’t know if this is the problem with my bike only or with all. Other than this all is well ;). 4/5 reliability factor.
Handling and control: This is a big improvement in 180. Broader tubeless zappers and clipon handle bars make the ride more in control. even on 70 u’ll feel that the bike is riding on 40kmph. But here one point which will disappoint the people who like to zig zag in traffic is this is not the bike for you. this bike has increased wheelbase that its predecessors so it has great straitline control but not very agile in traffic because of longer turning radius also the weight factor comes in, so unless u are well built hunk u cannot control this in slow traffic. Also front disc is bigger giving it good braking power, but con here is if applied wrong guys will lose their definitely male thing against the tanks. Also if not controlled well this bike can give quite a fall. What amazes is the top speed stability, I have driven this at 121 Kmph on Delhi Gurgao Express way and its not at all intimidated by winds from the trucks etc. And until you cross 110 the bike is really under ur control. It has front telescopic forks from P220 making it more stable. 4/5 Handling and control.
Looks: Scores full here. wider rear tyre, clip on handle bars, no kick, white rpm meter, all black theme, bigger telescopic forks at front, bigger disc brakes, split bull horns etc. gives the bike one of the best looks int its class. so full marks for this hear turner : 5/5 Looks.
I have tried to cover all pros as well as cons in the review. But for this bike I felt cons are lesser than cons. As this value for money cost me 70K on road.
18th Feb 2011:
Thanks for all the responses. Due to the nice response from readers I am adding few more comprehensive things about the bike. I’ll be targeting a few cons and few pros of the bike (advanced).
UG3-- Pulsar 180 UG3
-->This bike is more powered than UG3. It has 17 BHP. This is bcoz of introduction of O ring chain system. Drawback of this, we have reduced torque for disposal by 1 Nm. torque figure about 14 Nm. This reduction is felt by people who have driven UG3 as reduced pick up due to increased weight. Still bike goes from 0-60 in under 5 seconds and boasts of true top speed of 124 Kmph which is better than UG3.
-->Open chain requires more maintenance and frequent oiling. Especially in rainy season.
-->The bike is not for taking mom to market or temple, saree guard is more of sports bike and not foot support as in lower power bikes. Same is the case with split grab rail. My mom had quite a problems with that nothing to hold while sitting on the bike. Also split seats rejected big time by my mom :). Still the point is the bike is targeted to youth so no complaints from me.
-->The bike has excellent illumination from head lamps so full marks on that. Also the backlit instrument panel switches look awesome.
-->To feel the true grunt don’t open all the accelerator at once go smooth and this sweety will show you real pulling power it boasts of. A drawback here the bike has ery short first gear ratio but, after that all gears have proper ratios. Also the torque distribution is even all through to the 5th gear the bike never breaks a sweat till 100 Kmph after that it takes a while to go up.
I hope the addition of these points covers most of the remaining aspects which I felt I missed. Will update more if I have any new findings.
15-Apr-2011: The love continues
ODO: 4900Kms nearing second service, will write abt the service details once I get that done.
This bikes still amazes me with the drive everyday I go to office. New information for you all is the fuel economy is now way better than I mentioned in first review. I am getting almost 38 Km/l now.
Also bought a new CBZ Extreme lately. No disregard to any brand but I must say I was really disappointed with both product and sales of CBZ after the 180 experience. I might be wrong for a lot of people but that’s what I felt. I’ll be adding the CBZ extreme review soon as well once I complete some miles on that because its too early to decide anything.
I would suggest to wear helmets and drive responsibly to all the people and especially to those who ride power bikes. Also please respect others who are on the road as well.