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May 8, 2007

20 My Mechanics 150 C.C Bike Review

I ask for advice from my trusted mechanic for a 150 C.C bike from the models available right now in India

I am in Bangalore now to join a software company (what else..??). The first thing I do is take my bike (a Yamaha RX100) which has been lying around idle at my friend's place for the last 5 months for servicing. I take it to my trusted mechanic "Raymond", whom I used to visit before I left Bangalore for my MBA.

Just to know his opinion, I tell him that I am thinking of a 4 stroke 150 C.C for myself and ask for his advice on which model should I go for..

Here is the conversation for you:


"The Pulsar isn't very good in quality compared to the Honda bikes.."

    Me: Raymond, I am thinking for getting a new 150 C.C bike for myself. Which one do you suggest..??

    Raymond: Is mileage your top priority?

    Me: No Raymond, a 40-45 km/l for me will do. I want a 150 C.C with decent performance and quality. (If I wanted mileage, wouldn't I have gone for a 100 or 125 C.C bike??)

    Raymond: Go for the Hero Honda CBZ Xtreme or the Honda Unicorn.

    Me: What about the Pulsar 150 DTSi?


    Raymond: The Pulsar isn't very good in quality compared to the Honda bikes.

    Me: What about the TVS Apache?

    Raymond: Well, you can try it out too. According to me it's quality is decent.


Raymond promises to have my RX100 ready by the next day. I leave Raymond's Garage thinking about his advice.

"I could make out why many guys must have gone for the Pulsar. Its like falling in love with a Hottie..!!"

Being someone whose trade is to sercive motorcycles daily, I cannot doubt Raymond's opinion. But then I wonder, if the Pulsar hasn't been that great in quality, then how come it has sold more numbers than the 150 C.C models of TVS or Honda..? and that too consistently for over 5-6 years..?? How did it become the biggest brand in Colombia beating the Japanese brands..??

At that very moment a Blue 150 C.C Pulsar DTSi UGIII overtook me. I could not help but admire at the form of the bike. A minute later I see another Black Pulsar UGIII, this time a 180 C.C.

Although I am not exactly planning to buy a 150 C.C, I could make out why those guys must have gone for the Pulsar. Its like falling in love (infatuation, if you may say so) with a Hottie..!! When you see one, all you care is to be with her at all costs. Maybe flaunt her in front of your friends and hope to make them jealous. It dosen't matter whether she is a bad cook or has a volatile temper. It's like being a teenager once again.

Is this the reason why there are so many Pulsars on ever corner of almost every city of India..??

"The initial period is like a Honeymoon. But what after that..??"

They say "Love is Blind", well I don't really subscribe to that completely. According to me "Love overlooks the faults and concentrates on the positives".

The initial period is like a Honeymoon. But what after that..??



Let me give the Testimonies of two of my friends who were Pulsar owner's:


  • During my MBA I had a classmate Akash Rana who is from Haryana. Akash is a bike enthusiast. He owned a "Classic" Pulsar 150 (the initial non-DTSi model) back home. He accepted that the quality of his bike was far from perfect but he loved the way his bike made him feel and used to narrate fond memories of his rides on his bike.


  • I met another friend of mine Anuj Agarwal, based in Bangalore now and an entrepreneur. He had a Pulsar DTSi (Non-alloy version) for three years. He said that after three years, he wasn't very satisfied with his bike.

Both Akash and Anuj had now sold off their Pulsars but for different reasons.

Akash like a true lover chose to concentrate on the positives while Anuj expected more his Pulsar in terms of reliability and wasn't happy when his expectations weren't met.


"The only true Bike Lovers I can think of in India are owners of the Royal Enfield Bullet and Rajdoot-Yamaha RD350"

The only true Bike Lovers I can think of in India are owners of the Royal Enfield Bullet and Rajdoot-Yamaha RD350. Their bikes aren't the last word in reliability. You can't expect the Bullet or the RD350 to always respond to your whims. Those bikes have to be maintained with the kind of love and attention you would shower on a baby. It is difficult to explain the kind of loyal fan following both these bikes still command.

So is the Pulsar building a community of Bike Enthusiasts similar to those of the Bullet and RD350..?? The many Pulsar Clubs in India and also in foreign countries like Colombia and Indonesia might just prove this.

Back in India just check out the internet biking forums and Orkut Communities.. there are numerous bikers who are Bajaj fans. But surprisingly, many of them don't even own a bike..!!

The Pulsar might have given birth to many a bike enthusiast but there will always be a sizeable number of prospective bikers who would be looking for a hassle free ownership and expecting a good quality and trouble free product.

Just for the sake of those bikers I hope that Bajaj makes a product which is comparable, maybe even better than the Honda bikes.


Till then maybe the average biker should pay heed to "Raymond's" advice.

By the way I forgot to tell you that Raymond rides a Royal Enfield Bullet when he goes touring across the country with his biker friends.






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.




20 Comments:

nilu said...

i have been a p150 dtsi (non-alloy) user for 3 years now.so far, i havent taken the bike for an out -of -schedule service....and the bike hasnt ever let me down anywhere.
but of course, i had seen to it that the oil-levels were normal, plugs were clean, filters were clean, battery was ok...and i had used only premium fuel.

the reliability that i enjoyed on that bike made me go for the p200 literally blind-folded.i guess it all depends on the care you render your bike-aka royal enfield.

this is in my opinion and need not necessarily be in sync with others...
but i guess the pulsar can never be a rx100.

Anonymous said...

well my pulsar 150 is just 3 weeks now and its too early to comment abt its reliability..but my brother has had a pulsar 150 for over an year and hasnt had any reliability issues yet..but still..hope my bike doesnt let me down..

Anonymous said...

"Its like falling in love (infatuation, if you may say so) with a Hottie..!! When you see one, all you care is to be with her at all costs. Maybe flaunt her in front of your friends and hope to make them jealous. It dosen't matter whether she is a bad cook or has a volatile temper. It's like being a teenager once again.

"The initial period is like a Honeymoon. But what after that..??"
They say "Love is Blind", well I don't really subscribe to that completely. According to me "Love overlooks the faults and concentrates on the positives".

I TOTALLY AGREE WITH U AND THE VERY SAME HAPPEND TO ME!!. The honeymoon is over !! I'm knocking the doors of bajaj service very often now.

99% of the Pulsar owners are aged between 19 to 30...they look for style and only style..they don't really care of mileage and reliability..Buy a PULSAR.. Use it , sell it after 1-2 yrs max!!

Saj.

Payeng said...

Hey rrn,

Don't let the above post bother you.. 30,000 odd Pulsar owners in a month surely can't go wrong.

Also lets keep in mind that the Pulsar has outsold more than any other 150 C.C in India for the last 5-6 years.

Just like Nilu, service your bike regularly.

And guess what..? I am planning for a Pulsar 200 myself.

Anonymous said...

To me he has point, Honda along with Hero has big reputation in quality. Bejaj bikes are pretty good in my opinion but after the manufacturing issue I'm a little misplaced. TVS, Yamaha are good, but resale value I would think be less than others.

I think you gotta look at 3 things

1) How long you're going to keep the bike?

2) How much you can afford on the bike?

3) And what purpose are you going to use the bike?

After you narrow down the bikes. Look at quality and performance, reputation etc.

MunnaiBhai (MBBS)

nilu said...

what i have noticed among new pulsar buyers is that they buy the bike for looks and performance. and kids today just dont know what "running-in" is. the moment they take the bike out of the showroom, their speedo touches 70kmph. how do you expect the bike to perform well after such a beating? i dont think any other bike would be able to stand such punishment.
to drive my point home, when i got my p200, there was another guy who was taking delivery of a black p200. while i started from the showroom at a leisurely 30kmph, the other guy shot off like he's riding a R1....i mean how can you expect the bike to serve you well after THAT?

Anonymous said...

Not that I had any doubt in your writing style, but the post was great. And mentioning the RD350 anytime gives my ego a boost.
The most relevant part of your article to my opinion is that the Pulsar might have given birth to many biking enthusiasts. Very True. I would even say probably CBZ started it, but Pulsar definitely was the crowd puller.
I still have a 180 back home in Gauhati which I drive for my 1 week vacations.
I dont get a high as in Delhi I commute with my 350, but the 180 definitely has something addictive.
And most importantly as you mentioned, its not about quality and niggling issues if you are even so much of a biker. And what really is a bike if it doesn't need your pampering, no really!

Anonymous said...

Payeng watch out b4 u go 4 a P200

check this link -
http://www.mouthshut.com/review/Bajaj_Pulsar_200-124393-1.html

nilu said...

very true utpal...it is worth mentioning that aprilias, ducatis, bimotas and other italian beauties need much much more attention and care in details to the bikes....but look at their fan base.

very true in case of RE or the RD350 too in India

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Payeng watch out b4 u go 4 a P200
check this link -
http://www.mouthshut.com/review/Bajaj_Pulsar_200-124393-1.html

I guess some of us know who this anonymous is.
For every negative link there is about the P200, there are 100s of positive response too, for e.g.
http://www.mouthshut.com/review/Bajaj_Pulsar_200-124811-1.html

Payeng, dont worry for the 200, Great Bike

Payeng said...

Anonymous,

thanks for your concern.

But I made up my mind to go for the P200 sometime later..



By the way.. here is what I have heard of Royal Enfield Owners say about their Oil Leaking bikes..

"A Bullet leaves it's mark whenever it goes..!!"

:-)


(the present R.E offerings though have improved tremondously in quality)

Anonymous said...

Thats true, SP,

Many pulsar ownwer buy the bike bcos of its cosmetics, and say a bit of performance numbers.

Two of my freinds have Pulsars, The UG3 and the earlier version. I test rode both the bikes, and I just could not get the hold of the bike, bcos I didnt find the Tank so comforting, after being used to my Apache's knee curves, wherin the knee easily recesses.

For most of Indians, Bike means Pulsar.

Whhen I first bought my bike, ppl asked me "Is it a Pulsar ?"

I said Whoa, are all bikes to be called pulsar in India.

SO there you go, the reachability of the pulsar's even in those who dont even know tits of true biking.
I dont even know why does, Bajaj, introduce upgraded versions soo quickly, actuall ythey shud alloy the bike to be in market for a long time, so that there is a spare part penetration.

a commentator on my blog said, that he isnt gettign clutch plates for his classic pulsar.

In any case, there nuthin I c for the pulsar revo, to stop, only thing i would agree with u is that Bajaj, improver that quality of their bikes, and make it a renowned manufacturer.

Arun Murali said...

truly said maltesh. The current pulsar owners will never accept it, they are living their dream. When the Pulsar twins were released no other company were in position to provide competent products. TVS was still recovering, HH was trying to repeat the success of Splendour with high mileage 150cc bikes, Yamaha is still sleeping. They launched it right in the gap leaving it with 4 years of no copetition market. HH has returned back with XTreme and TVS with Apache. Market will reflect reality now but pulsars will rule for another 2 odd years before the others become acceptable through out India.

Some of my friends too have pulsars, they have some issues but they do not have problem because their GFs think it looks good. Probably good enough reason for them.

Anonymous said...

hey thats not true!!!! i own a p180 2002 model n it still touches 115kmph n guess wat? it still gives the mileage of 48-50kmpl! need i say more?

Anonymous said...

Nice comments Bro! I have a Bajaj caliber & a '95 Bullet Standard 350. The Caliber was my 1st bike in my college days in Pune & d Bullet was bought when i started working..The Bajaj has always been reliable while the Bullet has given me pain by breaking down or taking a toll on the finances while servicing..but as u said its been a pleasure to own it &
ride it on long rides or on d city roads esp when it comes to a stop on the signals while lesser mortals on their plastic bikes stare at the Thumping Beauty (:)due apologies to all the Indo Jap bike owners!)..the feeling of seeing the bike shine in the sun with all its metal & the oh so stimulating thump emanating from the silencer is a feeling you need to experience!

Anonymous said...

hi guys ... i completely agree with the comment that pulsar is fastest selling bike . my friend got a p180 fear the black model last year :-) he is happy :-) but still says that unicorn is much better when compared to its mileage engine and stuffs like that .. i personally get irritated to see so many pulsar on the road now days(ONLY THE 150cc ) and finally i have booked a unicorn black and its really cool and i am inspired due to its size . its really big . initially i had a problem deciding between apache rtr and the p180 . but the rtr was rejected because of my height . and p180 because it was slowly becoming like a p150( i am pointin that its common on roads )...

Anonymous said...

People who own a brand_s bike never say that has any problem because the expensive bike also has some negetive pts.

Anonymous said...

I want to bye a 150cc bike.I have two bikes in my mind NEW BAJAJ PULSAE 150 DTSi and HERO HONDA HUNK.Which one is the best?

Thumpmeister said...

Nice comments Bro! I have a Bajaj caliber & a '95 Bullet Standard 350. The Caliber was my 1st bike in my college days in Pune & d Bullet was bought when i started working..The Bajaj has always been reliable while the Bullet has given me pain by breaking down or taking a toll on the finances while servicing..but as u said its been a pleasure to own it &
ride it on long rides or on d city roads esp when it comes to a stop on the signals while lesser mortals on their plastic bikes stare at the Thumping Beauty (:)due apologies to all the Indo Jap bike owners!)..the feeling of seeing the bike shine in the sun with all its metal & the oh so stimulating thump emanating from the silencer is a feeling you need to experience!

Anonymous said...

Its really surprising to see people commenting by looking at few people who couldnt maintain a bike!!
i own a Discover 135 2009 model, its still smooth and awesome! Maintaining a bike is not a kids job!! u need to take care of each and every aspect. My dad owned a Bajaj Chetak 92 model, then he took a Discover135 and i own a KTM Duke (Manufactured by Bajaj).
My dad goes to native on Discover which is 200kms away from Bangalore, i took the bike to Tirupati and back in a day covered around 530kms, and there was no problem with the bike on the whole journey nor there is any problem today!! So for those who cannot maintain a bike, buy the Honda or Hero who do not wanna strain themselves about maintenence...then dont go for the Beasts!! Go for the cats!! I have seen people who have Honda, Hero and Yamaha facing problems...Karizma, FZ, CBZ, Unicorn, Shine, etc...the list never ends.
Anyways all u Bajaj Haters...u are gonna go bonkers with the New Pulsar 200NS. The best bike of 2012, thats a bet!! Cheers Bajaj! And if u all see how Bajaj came up, the amount of hard work they are doing, they deserve this place!! Way to go Bajaj!

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