I’ve been using my Pulsar from past three plus years. I selected Pulsar above CBZ is mainly because of the looks and features which it had. Something like Switch start, DTSi etc were very new for Bikes at that time. I’ve my friend who booked Unicorn at the same time. We were always comparing these two bikes.
After over 1000 days of interaction with my pulsar I’ve reached a conclusion now. "This bike is not worth for a long time companion". Let me make my statements clear. I’m not an expert in discussing the features of the bike or the technology behind the new introductions. Let me talk about this as a common man who got his bike for his daily use.
First of all, let me say Bajaj maintenance cost is too high when compared to Honda & Hero Honda. I guess TVS scores over all these in the 150 plus CC category. In my case, I’ve been facing problems with the service. Any time I give for service, they do a "Wheel tuning". And also the tyre wobbling never stops. I’ve seen the same in many pulsars which made me say that it’s a consistent issue with almost all pulsars. If you want to try, just speed up (to around 50 KMPH) and leave your arms from the handle for the vehicle to balance itself. You can see the stuff happening. If you are in a downhill ride it is even strong wobbling. Try with other bikes..... This won’t happen at all (I’ve tried the same with Unicorn & Apache).
The spares & service is so costly for us to maintain the bike after the first year (where the free service ends).
Let me talk about the mileage. The mileage keeps going down after the first year. Now I am getting 35 KMPL where in I was getting 50KMPL initially. The unicorn is very well behaving with a mileage of 45KMPL even now. Initially it was in top giving a fair 52 KMPL.
The spare you need to change after each milestones (I meant KMs) I s clearly written on the User manual. If you are going to follow the same, you can spend a Pulsar money for your maintenance. I’ve calculated the money I’ve spent on the bike for service/ maintenance. It’s clocking almost 20K INR for three years. Looks like Unicorn is a double achiever in this case. It’s lesser than 10K.
Having said all these let me make it clear.... Pulsar is good in two things. It’s a good music for your ears when a pulsar starts. And the next is the looks. Pulsar is so sportive in it’s looks. These are the two places the bike scored. I did not like the new model’s tail which vibrates a lot. They could have retained the same tail for the new one as well.
So Guys, my conclusion is that if you are looking for a long time association with your bike then go for Apache or Unicorn. And if you are a guy who really like to have a great looking bike only then you go for Pulsar.