Owners review of the 2009 Pulsar 220 DTS-i by Gagan from Gurgaon..
Hi guys, this is Gagan from Gurgaon..
Well, 7 months down the lane since I brought the Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-i home.. this review was long due!! So am getting to it straightaway.
I had a pulsar 150 late 2005 edition prior to this and I had no complains with that pair of wheels and it wasn’t easy for me to part with it, but I knew what I wanted and I went for it.
Bajaj launched the "Fastest Indian" campaign for the Pulsar 220 DTS-i and I knew at that time that the Pulsar 220 DTS-i was finally coming of age. I took a very brief test ride and decided for it. For some reasons I didn’t place the booking at the pro-biking outlet and did it at the dealer outlet in Gurgaon. It anyways went through pro-biking but that’s another story.
The bike was delivered after 2-3 weeks. The bike came fitted with the leg guard and sari guard (i so much hate them!! :) and black in color. Bike's base price was around Rs. 63K and add VAT and insurance to it and it became around 72K. They put in half a liter of petrol and booted it up and gave the throttle a twist and it welcomed me and my wife with a big roar.
That was the welcome part in flashback, now current date, bike after 2 free services (3rd due in April).
Look & Feel:
Everyone knows how it looks, but how it feels is what I need to say something about. The saddle is perfect with an aggressive stance and the rider actually feels like taking on the road and traffic. It was a welcome change from the pulsar 150 handle bar to the Indianized clip ons, anyone who has seen the actual clip ons will notice the slight elevation on the screws. It took a little time to get used to the fairings as I was used to ride on the 150 where pretty much everything turns with the handle. Fairing is quite a generic term but i know all of you would understand it if you have seen the 220 [:-)]
Overall it is not a hooligan roadster, but it has a class of its own.
Handling and riding experience:
The bike is well balanced. The basic test of balance what I do and I "don't" suggest anyone to try it, is gain some speed on the bike in a straight line and on speed around 70-75 leave the handle bar for few seconds. If the bike decides a direction on its own then there is something wrong, and if it holds the straight line you got a good bike. The same test is done for wheel alignments too but on a new bike you don’t really expect a bad alignment of wheels. But then again am sure there can be many arguments for this test but that’s my personal opinion.
The bike never shakes or wobbles on high speed. Little bit of vibration? Yes it is there but hey I can bet you will get that on the frigging R1 too [:-)], after all you have an engine going ballistic right under your butt.
The most amazing part that I noticed and is also a very small thing is that on braking hard on the rear wheels, and when the wheel locks you can hardly feel it, a little bit of exclamation from the bike is all what you feel. Sorry I can't explain the "exclamation from the bike" part. Try it and you will understand it. Real soft and smooth front disc breaks which actually suited my 1 and a half finger braking style and I already discussed the rear ones.
Pulsar 220 DTS-i sale price = 63K
Vat + insurance cost = 9K
Riding Experience + Heads turning = Priceless..!!
The gear box also took sometime to get used to because "good morning!! the first gear is down and the rest are up!!!". Gear changing is yet to show any issue and I think that Bajaj has improved on the Gear Box a lot when I compare it with my 2005 Pulsar 150, that was a different gear box.
The soft compound Tubeless tyres have already given me some surprise in the 5th month only. I saw the rear tyre flat one fine morning and took it to get it checked and fixed. The puncture guy pulled out a good solid long nail and filled the whole. I thought it’s done but on the second thought I decided to scan the tyre once more and found a similar second nail. That should have been it but I had a third thought and guess what there it was, the third nail. So three nails out of a 5 month old tubeless tyre. Guess that’s what you get on soft compounds but they are undoubtedly the finest when it comes to holding on to the road and have been through some scary situations to actually realize that the hard way [:-)].
Satadal Payeng: Gagan dude, I am not very sure if soft compound tyres leads to more punctures.. maybe it could have been bad luck on your part with the punctures.
Engine and Performance:
The 220 CC engine is shelling out what it promised. First, second and third gears don’t put any surprises but shift to 4th and then 5th and you are in for the surprise that made 220 DTS-i the Fastest Indian. On the highways I need to make effort to slow it down whereas it was the opposite on my 2005 Pulsar 150. It starts talking in 90s before you even notice it on the speedo.
Fuel efficiency wise I am yet to actually feel the difference on the fuel cost after my pulsar 150, of course if you remove the petrol price rise factor out of the calculation.
I think that would be it from my review, I have never been able to detail out every minute details of any of my test rides of any vehicle, guess I only like riding/driving and not talking much about it. So pardon me for keeping it short and with less technical jargons.
Shoot a note/comment if you have any questions related to my pulsar 220 DTS-i experience.
Pulsar 220 DTS-i sale price = 63K
Vat + insurance cost = 9K
Riding Experience + Heads turning = Priceless..!!
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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.
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