12 150 C.C Test Ride Series: "New" Bajaj Pulsar 150 DTSi

"This is the Fourth in the Series about my Report on Test Rides (that I took in Bangalore on 20'th November 2006) of the latest 150 C.C motorcycles"

The Bike: Bajaj Pulsar 150 DTSi (143 C.C, 13.9 bhp, 12.76 Mn Torque, Front Disc Brakes, Electric start, Alloywheels, Digital Speedometer, L.E.D Tail Lamp, Self Cancelling Turn Indicators, Backlit Switches.... Phew..!!)

Showroom: Khivraj Motors, Indiranagar Bangalore

Likes:
+Styling (the best among other 150 C.C bikes)
+Goodies which the competiton does not provide (Digital Speedo...)
+Guaranteed "Chick Magnet"

Dislikes:
-Did not get a test ride..
-No "Monoshock"..??

The Show room had the typical Bajaj Showroom look to it.. bright, neat and tidy. But like the Hero Honda Showroom.. here also it was difficult for me to make out who was the customer and who were the showroom guys... Finally I got hold of someone from the showroom and asked him if the New Pulsar 150 DTSi was available in the showroom... To my delight he said "Yes..". But there was just one model of the new 150 C.C DTSi and that was booked by someone.. Which meant that I wasn't be able to take any test drive.. Sad... Also there was no brochure of the New 150 DTSi available.. So I couldn't get the exact details of the tech specs of the bike... but the showroom guy told me that it was the same old 150 DTSi engine... But now in the official website of Bajaj, the power of the new Pulsar 150 DTSi is mentioned as 13.9 bhp (a slight increase from the earlier 13.5 bhp)

[Update (12-12-2006): According to Overdrive and Bike India Magazines, the cubic capacity of the Pulsar 150 has also been increased from previous 143 C.C to 149.01 C.C]

Price: The price quoted to me was a shocker to me.. Till now I had always observed that Bajaj products were usually priced very aggressively relative to its competition.. which meant the pricing of Bajaj products to be a couple of thousands below the competition. But this time the Pulsar 150 has been priced at Rs.Rs. 65,539 (On Road Bangalore), which is more than its nearest competitor Hero Honda CBZ Xtreme's price of Rs. 63,977 (On Road Price Bangalore)..!! Bold very bold of Bajaj..!!

Looks: The Pulsar twins (150 & 180) are the "Best Looking" motorcycles in India today... no doubt about it... If there was any competition in the form of the brilliantly designed TVS Apache, the addition of additional goodies in the Pulsars have made sure that there isn't any threat to it. Its the bike which would turn most number of heads.. (both male and female)!!

Goodies that have been included in the Pulsars and which the competition dosen't have are... a Digital speedometer, Tail lights which have LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) in them and not conventional filament bulbs, Self Cancelling Turn indicators... Switches which are backlit in the dark. All these additions have ensured that no other bike can even come close to the pulsar in a beauty contest..

Apart from the goodies, the new Pulsar has redesigned side and tail panels... these have been borrowed from the yet to be released Pulsar 220... the bike also has the "Phantom" headlamp (encased in black plastic) of the new Pulsar 180.. the bike just looks awesome and agressive, even when when its just parked on its stand... I am extremely Impressed by its looks..!!

Test Ride: Opps..!! Sorry, wasn't able to get one..

Conclusion: From my test ride of the CBZ Xtreme, its clear that the Pulsar 150 DTSi has its work cut out against the most powerful and stable handling 150 C.C ... Moreover the Pulsar no longer has the price advantage over the CBZ. Its infact the costliest than any other 150 C.C models including the CBZ Xtreme.. (at least in Bangalore).

Wish I had taken a test ride of the Pulsar 150.. Will do that soon anyway...

Bajaj rules the 150 C.C Plus segment in India with a massive market share of over 60%... and most of these is due to the 150 C.C Pulsar DTSi.. it will be interesting to note whether Bajaj will retain its marketshare...

Likes:

• Styling (the best among other 150 C.C bikes)


• Goodies which the competiton does not provide (Digital Speedo, LED Tail lights, Switches that glow at night and Self Cancelling Turn Indicators


• Guaranteed "Chick Magnet"

Dislikes:

• Did not get a test ride..


• No "Monoshock"..?? [It'll look great with those 17" wheels..!!]

Related Posts:

• Autocar India: 150 C.C Comparision



• Bike india: “Bajaj Pulsar 150 DTSi is the fastest 150 in India”



• Overdrive validates My Test Rides..!!



• 150 C.C Test Ride Series: Hero Honda Achiever & CBZ Xtreme



• 150 C.C Test Ride Series: Honda Unicorn



• 150 C.C Test Ride Series: TVS Apache

Disclaimer:

This is to remind that the Views or Opinions in the blog are entirely mine unless explicitly stated. The Views and Opinions published in this blog should in no way be related to any other person or organization associated -- directly or indirectly -- with me.