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Feb 21, 2010

16 Pulsar 135LS Review [Part II] What's so special about the Pulsar 135LS?

What’s so special about the Pulsar 135LS..??

The "LS" in the name stands for "Light Sports", and that exactly is what makes this baby Pulsar special.

Light: Being Light in weight provides a good power to weight ratio:

The bike weights just 122 Kgs with fuel and engine oil. A massive 21 kgs lesser the Pulsar 150 and other 150 cc bikes as well. It means that the 13.5 Ps generated by the engine is not wasted in hauling more of the dead weight of the bike. This gives the Pulsar 135LS a power to weight ratio that is even better than the Pulsar 150, Unicorn, CBZ Xtreme, Hunk, FZ-16, Fazer (any of the current air-cooled 150 cc bikes)..!!pulsar 135LS



Sports: 4 Valve per cylinder engine with DTS-i (Digital Twin Sparkplug Ignition) engine provides Sports bike like performance.

What’s a 4 Valve per cylinder engine and what is its benefit?

After tasting first blood with the Pulsar 135LS, I just can't wait to ride bigger Pulsars with a 4 Valve head..!!

The Pulsar 135LS is the first bike from an Indian bike manufacturer to feature a 4 valves per cylinder layout. In a 4 valve single cylinder engine, there are 2 valves to let in the "air + fuel" mixture and another 2 to let out the exhaust gases. A very simple analogy would be: Imagine if you have 4 nostrils to breathe instead of 2. This would mean that we would be able to suck in more amount of air and expel more air and that too faster whenever we would need it most, that is while running hard.

4 Valve DTS-i Engine


Almost all the bikes manufacturer in India has the 2 Valve per cylinder layout. In a 2 valve engine, the "air + fuel" mixture is fed into the cylinder via one intake valve and the second valve lets out the exhaust gases after the combustion. Most normal riding, these basic 2 valves per cylinder layout is more than enough as in day to day riding one will rarely rev the bike to its limit like on a sports bike. International super sports bikes like the Yamaha R1, Honda CBR 1000RR, Suzuki GSX-R1000 etc. all feature the 4 valves per cylinder layout.

In a 4 valve single cylinder engine, the engine can suck in more "air + fuel" mixture and also expel the exhaust gases at a faster rate. It means that the engine will perform better at higher revs and allow you to rev it higher. The DTS-i engine further ensures that the fuel is burnt optimally and efficiently.


Are there any drawbacks of a 4 Valves per cylinder engine?

The now extinct Kinetic – Hyosung GF125/170 were bikes that first came with the 4 valve per cylinder layout

Currently the Yamaha R15 and the Ninja 250R are the bikes with the same layout

The high end performance definitely improves in a 4 valve engine, but as a trade-off the low end grunt of the engine tends comes down a little bit. This is the reason why the Yamaha R15 and the Pulsar 135LS seem to have less pickup at slow speeds.

To overcome this, the engine can be designed where the stroke is shorter than the bore of the engine cylinder. This is done so that the engine can be revved faster. The other solution could be and which the Bajaj R&D has resorted to in the pulsar 135LS, is to make the Stroke longer than the Bore of the engine. This improves the torque at low engine revs to potter around town and therefore be rewarded by good fuel efficiency. And when in a sporty mood, one needs to rev the engine hard and benefit from the 4 valves per cylinder layout.


But why am I so excited with the Pulsar 135LS..?? Haven't I ridden better and faster bikes than it..??

I have in fact ridden faster and more exciting bikes than the Pulsar 135LS. But the reason for my excitement is that, if the Pulsar 135LS is the shape of things to come from the Pulsar stables (read: faster, lighter, sharper handling).. I just can't wait for the future.

After tasting first blood (of the 4 Valve engine) with the Pulsar 135LS, I just can't wait to ride the bigger Pulsars with a 4 Valve head..!!






Pulsar 135 LS: Price

Rs. 51,000 (Ex-showroom Delhi)


Colors:
  • Passion Red

  • Midnight Black




Bajaj Pulsar 135 LS Specifications:

    Engine Type: 4 stroke, air cooled, 4-valve, single cylinder, SOHC, DTS-i
    Displacement: 13.66cc
    Max Power: 13.5Ps @ 9000rpm
    Max Torque: 11.4Nm @ 7500rpm
    Bore x Stroke: 54 x 58.8
    Compression Ratio: 9.8:1

    Gear Box: 5 Speed (Pattern- 1 Down, 4 Up)
    Starting: Kick + self start

    Front Suspension: Telescopic front fork with antifriction bush (Stroke 130)
    Rear Suspension: Trailing arm with Co Axial Hydraulic cum gas filled adjustable shock absorbers and triple rate coil spring

    Front tyre: Tubetype Unidirectional 2.75 x 17″
    Rear tyre: Tubetype Unidirectional 100/90 x 17″

    Front Brakes: 240 mm Disc Brakes
    Rear Brakes: 130 mm Drum Brakes

    Fuel Tank: 8 liters, 2.5 liter reserve (1.6 liter usable)
    Headlamp: 35/35w
    Electricals: Full DC

    Wheelbase: 1325mm
    Ground clearance: 170mm
    Kerb Weight: 122 kgs








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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.







16 Comments:

Sajal said...

In order to get better throttle response and produce lesser vibes at high rpm Bajaj should have gone for DOHC configuration instead of the SOHC configuration for the P135.

A DOHC configuration with Shorter Strokes would definitely have been a winner in comparison to the current configuration and the bike would have built speeds much faster and would have been much much smoother!!

I mean off late I've noticed that the Bajaj R&D have been pulling their hands off at the very last moment of engine development. For example, when the P220 DTS-I engine was developed, this configuration should have been implemented for that only. Else, the 220 DTS-I just remained as the -Fi version of the 220 DTS-I Fi!!

GAGAN said...

evolving with baby steps!! right way to go i would say!! :)

Payeng said...

I agree with both Sajal and Gagan.. and as Gagan rightly put it, its one step at a time.

Sajal said...

yeah right!! at least now we have a home bred 4-valve config!! at least a platform to begin with. :D

Unknown said...

hey Payeng, i liked ur style of writing n the review. I want to kno when to change the oil & do 1st serviceing of pulsar 135. I have ride it 300+ km always within 50 kmph limit.

Payeng said...

@Zeon, chainging the engine oil after a couple of hundred kms (and before the first service) is actually recommended by some.. as it flushes out the fine engine particles that float in the engine oil during the intitial running in.

It is not compulsary though and you can still stick the "owners manual" of your bike, which will surely mention the interval of your free serices. If I am not wrong, the first free service is at around 500 kms.. Please do refer to your bike's "owners manual".

Anonymous said...

seeing the model the price is too high for pulsar ........ one can opt for yamaha gladiator with high pick up in lesser price .......

Anonymous said...

Is This Pulsar (light sports) better than Honda CBF Stunner regards overall performance...?

Unknown said...

rePlying above>>
p 135 is far better den hOnda StuNNer..!! regarding power P135 givs power of 13.5 ps at it max . Stunner acHive max power of juss 11ps isntead.
milage > it is roughly same, in some condition such as 60+speed riding pUlsar gives better milage den stUnner.
n if v look at features stuner is nowhere around pulsar..
clip on handel bar
nitrox suspension
digital meter
led tail-lamps
hawk lights
exhos TEC silencers.. and many more

p135 is a bike which can beat evn many of 150 cc bike n even lighter den stunner... takes 5.2 sec to achive speed of 60

reliable and eficient..
..
n best n unbelievable thing
on 5Th gear yu can ride at speed of 16 km/h at 1200 rpm .. n also 120km/h at 10500 rpm

Azhar Hasan said...

well i bought the bike a month back and totally satisfied with its performancce.....i stuck to the manual....being a engineer myself i know much abt engines n all.... for first 500 km to 750 km .... never exceed much throttle .... ride between 50 to 60....
After first oil change then ur free to try nething u feel like.... bike is very sturdy n awesome brakes....

The rear suspension may give a sound initially.....u just need to adjust the plastic frame ... some times its a bit too tight.... the service centre will do it for free....

Lubricate the chain ... this will reduce the noise....never use mustard oil....get it from service centre ... its again free...

Always remember .... never start self in the morning first start....always kick start.... bike got auto choke....will warm up itself....same as in honda city and many good cars...

I have tried it till 127 kmph ..... bike is smooth ofcourse will have some vibrations n dats in pulsar 150 too.....but the grip is awesome..... the more u increase speed the more becomes the grip... thats due to the aerodimension of the bike...

handling is superb.... as the weight comes from shoulders the handle seems very light and very easy to zig zag.....u can never thinnk abt it in 150....

Mileage is aroung 65....try to drive in top gear mostly n use very little clutch.... this gives better fuel efficiency and lesser resistance to ur engine....

Comparing with the rest of the bikes......guys....this is LS....light sport.... u dont go with this bike to ur market to buy vegetables.... if u want to do so get another brand....this is not it....u wont find even a place to hang ur stuff....because of the simple reason.... ITS NOT MEANT TO !...

Ride safe....this is a good bike.... enjoy it.... never use adultrated fuel....

Anonymous said...

it seems that pulsar 135 is a copy cat of cb 110 twister of honda,the whole feature of the bike seems to be inspired from the body of honda cb110,the only differnce is that pulsar 135 is quite bigger than cb110 but all in all the design,the placement of its features is exactly what cb110 had.too bad for this

Subby said...

@anon above,

Its funny that you say that. Because the Pulsar 135LS was on sale from Dec 2009 and the Twister was on sale from the beginning of 2010.

So how can something which has been launched earlier be a Copycat..??

Anonymous said...

@subby : You are completely right man...The already hot looking 135 LS gets an all new sporty rear tyre hugger which apart from aiding looks also helps in keeping the muck off most parts.

Anonymous said...

pulsar 135 is the best..........!

Chetan_XD said...

LOL..........P135 is just a bullshit.
its four valve and twin spark tech is just hype and nothing else
i own Honda twister which seems to be puny and easily beatable by the P135....i remember the day when i was coming from the office late night and i beaten the P135 rider....and dont even think that rider was a newbie...he was a quite experienced and had blown full throttle of P135.
but alas i beaten him very easily!!!!...
Honda must have using the forged piston technology. (like yamaha) for its bikes! but the problem is Honda never creates hype for its bike like bajaj! :(

Anonymous said...

@Chetan_XD
i agree,

the line that best describes the honda twister is
"Tiger in the skin of a sheep"!!

Yeah....I own Yamaha FZ and once even i felt hard to beat that beast...its unbeatable in the traffic for sure!

i dont know weather the Honda is secretly using the technology like Forged pistons or DiASiL cylinders for its bikes but it's for sure that honda never creates hype for its bikes.....

for example go to the Honda website and check the page for CBR150, they could have add the massive top speed information of the bike but they didnt.........................:)

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