This is a longish review, to make best use of your time I am letting know who should read this:
-new/resale bike buyers
-bajaj management and bajaj pulsar product team
-bajaj dealers
-& of course bike enthusiasts :)
I have been a bajaj pulsar 150 new (digi console) user for the past 8 months, and I believe someone who’s done all the free servicing for a new bike is well qualified for a basic review, so here it goes..
First off, I am not very impressed with the whole bajaj pulsar experience, this right from talking to dealers, checking the bike, getting the delivery done and riding 8K kms, let me at the same time tell you that this a very subjective and localised experience and can differ due to hazaar other reasons.
THE BAD and THE VERY BAD
1.The Prospecting and Purchase:
I had a bad time getting the bike delivered after paying 65K upfront.. "registration and insurance takes time to get done" is what was told everyday, on other hand I personally saw a dealer staff (supposedly transporting a fresh bike to another dealer) crossing 65-75kmph in the very first few kms. Its anybody’s guess what it would have done to the soul of the new bike.
2.The Servicing:
After my second servicing, all exposed parts like kick, petrol knob, light and indicator switches and key usage jammed so badly that I had to use both hands to turn the kick or pertol knob etc. it still remains like that and its a pain to use. this I suppose is due to corrosion after servicing..
To my utmost horror 30-50% of the metal parts started getting rusted within days of the servicing, almost every single nut - bolt is a shade of rust brown today and no dealer is ready to accept the fault. It pains me to see a brand new bike looking 5 years old within months.
The service center guy promised he will talk to the Regional Manager and see if the parts can be replaced. Its now 3 months and I havent heard from anyone. If Bajaj is listening I make a open plea here for your response, I belong to Adyar, Chennai, TN and you can write to me at dennism75@hotmail.com
*3.Riding:
*My guess is Bajaj compromised looks for riding pleasure, the Pulsar Gear is the worst ever assembly of manual transmission in bikes, its so bad that I would not even give it 1 /10 for its quality. some of the issues are
Notchy Gear Box: I promise you I would not have bought the bike if I knew this, sometimes the noise is so loud that I have to literally see if the thing is still attached to the box, and many times I change gears with trepidation. and yet many times nowadays I see the gear getting auto stuck in the middle of 4th and 5th with a noisy rattle at speed of 50. this happens all by itself while my feet rests and heart pumps at the speed of the rattle..
The worst part is that the gears go out of sync with the green neutral light on the console, I have had missed risky crash and freak accidents when the neutral light glows while the bike actually is in first or second gear, so when I release the clutch unassumigly the bike jumps up right between your legs to your horror, the service guys still have not solved this problem.
Comfort: After an usual hour long drive I dont feel the comfort of having ridden a 150 cc bike due to the egronomics, things like fartigue, lower back stress is common unlike the bikes in the past I rode, I think theres enough room on this for bajaj to improve. All the award in this category goes to Unicorn. its time bajaj picks up cues on good engine automobile development from the Japanese
4. Digital Console:
Another example of compromising looks for quality, Bajaj really exploited the look favoring indian customer with this fancy console. The biggest draw back is if there’s any problem with the battery the console is completely off and so u will not have the fuel indicator, KM reading and speed info at your disposal.
this happened to me when after the second servicing the battery fuse got corroded (bad metal) and refused to power the bike. the second is that the console turns into large black blotches in hot afternoon sun. though this is temporary it shows that the LCD panel is not suited for hot indian sun and is meant for car dashboards etc
The fuel indicator bar and a red indicator light on the console have no real meaning, it would have been a good thing had it indicated approx 1 litre for every bar, it sadly does not and frequently the bars jump up and down like your mobile network indicator all this for no reason
5. Turn Radius:
A very very big drawback on this bike is the turn radius, the bike handle simply gets stuck when you are looking to take a u turn or sharp turn out of a narrow lane. especially when you have to take the bike out after parking, you need huge room for turning the bike in the opposite direction.
Bajaj should allow more maneuverability on both sides so that you can turn the bike in one or two backward forward iterations on a 15 feet road, I dont know about other bikes but I can tell you that the yester year Samurai and Yamaha RX is best in the category
*THE GOOD and THE OK`
5.Looks: *
without doubt Pulsar scores over every single indian bike in looks, the closest is CBZ and Apache. This is a highlight because more sales and numbers on the road actually negates looks and exclusivity but Bajaj still rules this space. The orange console (though just fancy) adds a highlight and backlight LED adds to the oomph factor
*6.Pickup and Speed:
*I will give "above average" for this section, But I certainly see the new splendour giving me a run for the money in the second and third gear. Otherwise a good job on the technicals here.
7. Mileage:
My Pulsar 150 now gives 45-47kmph in city riding and am not a power rider, I have now also realised petrol station wher you fill makes greater difference... SHELL for one is good and I see doing 3-4 km extra for every litre
*8. Tyres and Brakes
*I will give full marks for the disc brakes, rear brakes and the tyres for what they are. This is a bike which will stand by in good stead when you think you have already crashed into the impeding object.
I hope this is useful and Bajaj takes some cues from the reviews, If you think there an area you can help me with or have another opinion on what I wrote let me know about it.