Dear Friends,
This is an honest review about the latest edition of the bike Pulsar 150 Dtsi...
Firstly, ever since the years of the inception of its bikes in the Indian market, Bajaj has been producing terrible bikes with cheap parts and severe build quality issues... Each new inception has made its customers guinea pigs of the Bajaj R&D department... This is proven by teh fact that Bajaj had to redo even the pulsar 3 times and still has a far from satisfactory product...
Now to the important points of the review...
FIrst, I list out the positives of the bike :
Good looks - No doubt about that
Comfortable ride
Good handling(though Apache is offsetting this)
Now for the Negatives :
Terrible gearbox - From the time of its inception, the pulsar has always been dogged by severe gearbox problems... The key being repeated false neutrals... And also, the gearbox gets stuck for no reason at all, which is potentially a dangerous hazard to the rider... One would have thought that by now, after bringing out two new versions and now even changing the type of gearbox, Bajaj would have sought to fix this problem... Unfortunately, this was never accomplished and till today, owners still have to "adjust" to it... the common refrain is "you’ll get used to it... Its ok... "
Power delivery - After a year - The Pulsar, unless perfectly maintained starts losing that terrific power that it initially delivers, after about a year... This comes from the personal experiences of many of my friends who are Pulsar owners(and rue the fact) who drive very well.... That racy feel is lost and the bike begins to feel like an old workhorse past its prime....
Poor ride quality - The Pulsar has very poor rear shock absorbers, be it the gas shocks or the regular... With a pilion, the ride become marginally comfortable and softer... Without one, when drving for long distances, one can get a terrible backache... And the suspension is set very hard even when one changes the height of the adjustable arms
Poor mileage - Its a well known fact that 150cc bikes when ridden hard can only give about 35-40 kmpl... By hard I mean 75+ kmph... The false claim of Bajaj is that the bike will give about 50... This is such an overestimation because, it gives hardly about 30-35 kmpl under such riding... Yes, this is a contentious argument for many die hard Pulsar owners who will fight tooth and nail about it... But people, face facts... Its the truth...
False technology promises - Or rather, make believe promises... DTSi is DIgital Twin Spark, which means the engine fires twice over each cycle... Believe me, this does NOT add any value to the mileage... In the long run, the wear and tear of the engine is only increased... Agreed this is "new" technology, but the way Bajaj has utilized it, it just doesn’t live up to its name...
Terrible finish - Bajaj’s build quality has been terrible and its shows most on the Pulsar 150 DTSi... A terribly plasticky finish, with mirrors that fall off like no man’s business... And a problem of poor quality paint being used is highlighted by the ease with which it fades after a year or so....
Terrible after sales service - Bajaj is widely known for its initial marketing gimmicks... And equally known for its pathetic crappy customer service... And as for the Pulsar, from what i’ve heard maintenance is expensive even in the free services cause of unnecessary part changes which are "not under warranty"
Overall, the product which is touted to be Bajaj’s premium product falls far short of expectations... That when the new CBZ Xtreme produces 2 bhp more power at slightly better mileage and the Apache which gives a far better package...
My suggestion to all new buyers would be to check out the CBZ Xtreme/Apache/Achiever/Unicorn in that order before even taking a sniff of the terrible poor quality product know as the
"Bajaj Pulsar 150 DTSi"
Definitely Male - Ha ha... Don’t make me laugh... Its nowhere near it...
Ciao...
Update :
Of late the new digital speedo upgraded Pulsar has been out on the roads, though few in number compared to the existing version....
On questioning many users who have bought this new pulsar, most after the 2nd service say the mileage is just about 45-48 kmpl... Also, the digital speedometer gives minor but irritating problems.... The gearbox is also just a shade better than the old with similar problems....
These are the views of many users whom I met at many signals, not any biased or personal opinion... Considering these facts, I think Bajaj continues to con its customers in its usual false ways....