Folks,
This review is for a Pulsar 150cc V1. Not the 180. Secondly, I wouldn’t recommend buying this bike as upto 24 new models are expected to enter the Indian Bike market this year. That includes Bajaj’s Pulsar/Sonic DTSi-Fi pair. So, there is no need to hurry for this one before seeing the better ones still.
When was the last time you all saw a Pulsar on road? Better still, when was the last time you all didn’t see a Pulsar on the road? There once was a time when mobile phones were charged for even recieving calls. But then Reliance came, introduced the Rs. 501 offer. Better (or worse) still, they went for the Rs. 101 offer. Now, any Tom Dick and Harry has the mobile phone with them. Kids aged around 12-14? Roadside peanut vendor? Well I’ll say Pulsar is one such. By now, I’m sure many controversies have started. Well let me finish my review.
How many people do u see driving a Mercedes? How many drive a Ford Endeavor? But many drive the Skoda (same class of a Merc C) and Scorpio. I don’t really understand what India is coming to? Very recently, I’d been to KFC. For those who don’t know what KFC is, it is Kentucky Fried Chicken. A decent meal for two costs around 500 bucks. Many people still feel it expensive to come there. But there were a bunch of people who were probably the road romeos sort but they did have the money to eat to their fill. They also burped aloud in such a high-class kiosk!!! Frankly, what does KFC have to do with this? But KFC seems to lose dignity. Am I right?
A similar thing has happened to Pulsar. The poor part of this is, a good bike like Pulsar seems to appear cheap to some people as every nook and cranny has at least a couple of these bikes. According to me, Pulsar is best suited to the college goers who still depend on their DAD for their fuel money and for middle level executives who can afford such a bike. But it does look a lot out of place with local temple priests, rowdies and every one else riding this bike. That too in hooligan style.
The Pulsar has certainly got some really good traits.Firstly, the slightly forward biasing of the weight means, that there is a minor ’0’ weight area in the whole bike which would make any sort of stunts a piece-a-cake for professionals. Secondly, the same also aids for added aggression in braking and manouvering in the city. To make this weight balancing a ’balanced act’, they also added an 18 litre fuel tank. Probably they want to make the concept of ’Fill it - shut it - forget it’ an omnipresent one. And they did it.
Now, the Pulsar has well calculated gear ratios. Firstly, the near square cylinder in its 143 odd cc engine generates superb torque, quite lower in the engine cycle compared to the CBZ, though not the Unicorn. Secondly, the peak power is generated at a whopping 8500+ RPM. This means, revving this engine is always going to be pleasing venture. The gears add value to this light weight powerplant making this bike one of the first bikes to make a clean get-away from the start line. Now, the high revving engine means that it is hard to notice anyone riding this bike slowly, or at lower RPMs. The power from the engine is always assuring and tempting, nevertheless, confidence inspiring. But, the light weight assembly of this engine means that the bike has quite many vulnerable moving parts which need a lot of care. Constant redlining of this baby would mean many visits to the mechanics. Secondly, the CDi unit with a CCV carb can mean that the power delivery cannot be much altered with tuning. Only the mileage and engine smoothness can be controlled. Try tuning this bike for a rich mixture like in bikes without CCV carb and you will end up with the same power and top end, but many pit-stops for fuel. The bike as amazing mileage range. It can give you anything from 35Kmpl to 75Kmpl. It always depends on riding style. But more mileage always could hamper life. But don’t expect this baby to return the same mileage with rash riding. You could end up in tears.
The chassis is a double cradle downtube as mentioned in the manuals, websites etc. This means that from the point where the engine head meets the chassis, there are 2 tubes which support the whole engine assembly. This is a better thing on Pulsar in comparison with CBZ. The CBZ considers the engine as a fully stressed member while the Pulsar cradles it around. This gave the Bajaj boffins with options to use rubber mounts and hence reduce the vibrations. This chassis is meaty enough with sufficient rake/trail angle onto a hefty swingarm. All this in turn results in good handling characteristics. But added external weight distribution certainly has played spoil sport in this bike. Adding salt to injury is the puny 3.00 profile of the rear tire which tends to wear and wiggle in every corner this bike does in higher speeds. I frankly feel that bajaj should’ve used the 180 tires on this one. They’ve done that with the V2 though.
The Pulsar should be maintained as carefully as possible. Considering the market share that Bajaj has got, it is more evident that spares are cheap. The quality of these are not as high as the Kawasaki folks would offer. The best fuel to keep the Pulsar moving on and on is IOC XtraPremium with 91 Octane. Anything else seems to kill the engine. During the cold seasons, it is wise to use Power1. Any other time, use the 20W50 grade oil from castrol. The engine will remain silky smooth. During long rides, don’t fill up 18 litres into the tank. The first major consequence of this will be that the Fork will go for a toss. And the T-Stem on this bike is no mammoth one. It easily goes off alignment and hence will take a great deal getting rectified. Secondly, fitting a K&N on this bike will need some stunts as well. The air-box has to be removed wholly to keep the filter open. Else, the setting is such that either the filter has to be in the airbox, closed or the airbox should come out of the bike. In any other bike, the removal of airbox cap should suffice for the removal of airbox here. ’Coz the airbox cap has a facility to keep the panels at secure.
The electricals are very good. Nothing can come close to the Horns on this one (unless fitted with the same horns :D). The light covers a good area on the roads and are safe enough to protect you at 80 Kmph during highway rides. The regulators and fuses are perfectly calculated and you can hardly blow a bulb.
The brakes are quite powerful. The braking gets magnified due to the forward weighting and hence stopping is easy. The MRFs cannot live upto the expectation of these brakes and hence softer compounds like Dunlop should be even more sharp while braking. Finally, the brakes are no-nonsense and doesn’t make anyone ’IMPOTENT’ as the tanks are re-built. But, it also takes some getting used to as they are Razor sharp. Hence, never do a turn and brake aggressively. You’ll probably lick the mud.
I think this sums up the story of the Pulsar. IF u r buying this bike, tomorrow itself, then go for it. If u can wait another month or two, I suggest you wait for the bigger players. Maybe you’ll thank me later :). All in all, this is the best piece of machinery your valuable money can buy. It has a perfect combo of everything.
Now, Please dont feel shy to RATE this review and put all your controversies into words in the comments section.