Update - 17, 000 KMs, Feb 2011
Still going good. Put my bike to real test on Nice road, Bangalore.
Touched 107 max - full throttle - many times on 40 KMs stretch with pillion but wind plays a role.
NVH is very low beyond 60 all the way up to 100+. In fact, NVH is high only around 55-65. Back pain due to the standard mounting(not due to the shock absorbers as such, they are doing great). Uni shock mounting itself reduces the shocks to a great extent unlike standard ones.
Update - 15000 kms, 2years+1. Fun to ride - cool
Road grip/balance/handling
My usage is mostly inside the city limits - shorter sprints
And the’not so good’ thing is shocks. I wish Bajaj gave mono shocks.
Update after 5000 Kms/3rd Free service done
Absolutely no problems. Im surprised over mileage - Im getting 52 now, single ride, avg speed ranging between 45 to 70. I am using shell fuel and oil. This does make difference. Handling is like a toy in Bangalore city traffic. Superb balance and I think it has best acceleration in its segment. Over all, easy ride in traffic.
On the negative side, I found the suspension should improve. Gas shock seems to amplify the shock on bad roads in Bangalore. Believe me, compared to Uni, Pulsar shock absorbers are hard.
Beware of anti-incumbency factor: Many Pulsar owners tend to suggest Unicorn. They are right to some extent. But the mentality is that, one tends to think that if Pulsar is so good, Honda may be even much better!
Chosing between the extra push and road grip of the Pulsar against refined Honda engine and over all ride quality. Really difficult to decide. Probably, I would love to own both.
Hi Guys!
Finally switched to Pulsar from a TVS F2, after it started giving back aches. All this happened, after a visit to Goa, where I rented P150 for a couple of days. I enjoyed the ride for 2 days, and impressed with it.
I wanted a bike with excellent stability, handling, brakes and acceleration, which were lacking in F2. I did consider Unicorn also, but not Apache, as I knew TVS before for over 4 years in Bangalore traffic.
I have done over 1500 kms so far, first service done, with normal petrol / engine oil, and below are my experience with Pulsar 150.
Stability- 8/10. My expectation is met and I would say it is excellent. Low speed(<10 Kmph in city traffic) or bad roads, this bike is rock solid. I have not gone over 70 as it is run-in period upto 2000Kms. At 70, it is quite stable, and even from Unicorn owner(a friend of mine), has lauded this for its balance & stability.
Handling - 8/10:I could negatiate curves at reasonably good speed. And in city traffic, you can aim and shoot at short sprints. Yes, it goes in the direction where you desire. I think, shock absorbers are best in its class, which complements acceleration and brakes.
Brakes: Again, I rate this at 9/10: Excellent brakes. This is what makes one feel totally under control in city traffic. You can aim, shoot and sprint relying on brakes - back as well as front disc. On approaching a pot hole/speed breaker, you can defer braking unitl a couple of meters away from it in a city traffic, when average speed is around 50 Kmph. This lets you overtake others easily. I do not know whats going to happen when tyres are slightly worn out after a year or so.
Acceleration: 9/10. I would say this is best in 150 cc so far in Indian roads. The low end torque is the most useful element in city traffic, full marks to Exhaust-TEC. It picks up instantaneously, with crisp throttle response. If one is new to 150 cc, you need to take extra care initially. Unicorn also has comparable acceleration, but a little behind in terms of stability and brakes.
Gear box: I would rate this 7/10. Yes, I think it can be better. In fact, it is not the gear box, rather, gear shift mechanism. Unlike other bikes, including my previous F2, this one does not give kind of feed back as you shift gears. Also, it is too sensitive - while running, at the slightest touch, it goes tizzy. you may hear huge noise, as if it is breaking dow right away. Nothing happened so far, I rather found a new way to solve this:
One needs to learn to handle it Pulsar way; it works fine. Change the gear(close throttle - clutch - hit gear lever - release clutch - open throttle) as quickly as possible, it works better in Pulsar. This is bit different from other bike. Of course, when u do this, careful in city traffic!:)
Finally, looks. Very few people have a different opinion here. I rate this at 10/10
Misc features: LED tail lamp looks excellent. I have seen this one malfunctioning very often, but so far, no issues. Auto cancelling indicators are a bit troublesome. Intially I thought indicator buzzer is not required, but now feel it is required. Many times, indicator gets off, much before you take a turn, esp. in City traffic. Side stand indicator light is good. Advance reserve indicator may not be of much use. Somehow, I liked classic speedo compared to digital. Fuel indicator is good. However, it can never give exact reading and only display is digital, not measuring mechanism I guess. This is the same case with classic fuel gauge. Head lamp is a bit disappointing. I think no other bike comes close to TVS in this department. As far as seating position is concerned, I think normal seat is better than bucket seats, but don’t have an option.(Im slighly over 6 feet)
Big question is fule consumption: I have got an average of 48 so far with rpm maintained around 4000.(that means, speed around 50 to 60). I heard it around 50 to 55 kmpl, but need to check few more times to get a better reading.
Overall, I am quite happy with this one so far. Will update further when I cross 2000kms and push it harder to reach 90 or 100 on highways. Engine has become smoother after first service, and I believe, it will further improve after second service. Unicorn is definitely better here, but I think it has lesser compression ratio(and hence not so efficient in fuel consumption compared to Pulsar)
It is a pleasure to ride this bike. I always felt it is aking me to push it further. Turn the throttle for a couple of seconds, it asks you to change the gear and speed up. This bike is about acceleration, brake, and total control with excellent handling.
Further updates will follow after 2000+ kms / next service. Please suggest if any of the reader have got better results with special engine oil/petrol additives.