Sometime this May, the bajaj dealer in pune gave a test ride cum demo of this wonderful machine in our office. My Tamil friend (known for his passionate expressions) exclaimed “Machi - Ommalley Features” this supposedly meant “Dude - Great features”. For 50K and odd, we could get a bike with decent power, superb looks, disc brakes, tachos and electric start.
In the era of performance bikes and cruisers placed at Greater than 80K, (Did you guys know, Kinetic’s new model Acquilla priced at Rs 1.25 Lakhs), the bikes from bajaj provided a welcome shift to value.
1. Pick up
My friend bought this bike (on road some 60K and odd). I liked the pick up. I could go from 0 to 60 in under 6 sec. Road grip is good. The big tyres in rear really helps.
2. Engineering
Kudos to bajaj for the wonderful engineering. The build quality is excellent. The assembly design is perfect. The engine has low noise and vibration levels are acceptable. It is quite silent and smooth not witnessed for a bike of its class till date.
3. Riding Comfort
Great in cities. In fact great for rides upto one hour. I get back ache for longer rides. That is the story with all non-cruisers. Also the pillion rider comfort is some cause of concern. Not many in Indian roads are used to ride in basement with pillion sitting on 2nd floor. But, style gurus tell me that is the fashion. When I wanted to take my mom or my wife, they flatly refused to sit. First it has an awkward foot rest, quite high and totally uncomfortable if ladies sit sideways. Indian women…:-)
4. Gears
Now this is an irritant. Bajaj would have done well to concentrate on this. Gears shifting is not smooth. It slips sometimes. Gearbox design is something to be improved upon.
5. Mileage
This gives a consistent mileage of 50 Kmpl and the lower cc (150) gives more. Ofcourse the bike is new. New bikes tend to give more mileage. Whether this would stay is something to be confirmed by time.
6. Maintenance
The free service is OK till now. I don’t know what will happen after 3/4 years. Going by bajaj brand, I am sure this would be nice.
7. Looks
Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. I leave it to you. My choice was the black pulsar. I prefer bikes to be of color black and metal.
8. Spares
They are slightly on the costlier side but I do not regret spending on them. They are of top class quality. Their spares are better available and quality more reliable than those of others like Fiero and CBZ.
Overall this bike provides true value for money. This offers refreshing looks, great pickup and roadgrips. Handling is smooth except for gear box. Every new bike have these sort of problems which will be sorted out in few months. Hope Bajaj sorts this out. They admit having received this problem and are working for it.
If you like zooooooming, this is the only bike for you.
Cheers,