The Pulsar DTSi 200 C.C sold so far has defective front forks..!! Owners please ride carefully and get them replaced with new sturdy ones
You are have bought for yourself a Bajaj Pulsar DTSi 200 C.C just 5 days back.
With just 368 Kms on the odometer you certainly don't want to damage the engine. Therefore you wisely cruise on your spanking new bike at a relaxed speed of 45-50 Kms/Hr. Suddenly out of nowhere a cat appears in front of you. To save the poor kitty's life you brake hard. Aren't you glad that the Pulsar 200 comes with a Disc Brake up front..? You are sure that the kitty's life will be spared.
"Sounds like a bikers nightmare doesn't it..??"
The front forks dives hard due to the sudden braking, the bike stops with a jolt. Then suddenly you hear a "blasting sound"..!! The next thing you notice is copious amounts of fluid flooding in front of your front wheel. The cat meanwhile escapes unhurt and scoots off to safety.
You get down of your bike to inspect the reason for the blast and the source of the
fluid gushing out.

To your horror you realize that the barrel on which the Front Disc Brake is clamped has broken into two pieces.
But this is exactly what happened to Soumya (from Kolkatta) on 25'th April 2007...
Update: Attention to all.. Bajaj Auto has replaced the initial defective front forks of the Pulsar 200 with new front forks with a better and sturdy design.
All Pulsar 220 DTSi bikes now come equipped with these redesigned and stronger front forks.
A few of my close friends also own the Pulsar 200 DTSi. One of them have even been to LEH on his Pulsar 200 DTSi and his bike is still in excellent condition.

The pics were posted in Xbhp.Com by Soumya himself.
I spoke to Soumya over the phone about this incident. He told me that the front fork barrel just gave way on hard braking. To prove this he said that there were no marks anywhere else on the bike which could suggest that the bike had hit somewhere.
The pics scarred the shit out of me. Imagine what is Soumya had been doing speeds of 90 Plus Kms/Hr and had to make an even more emergency stop..??
I had never seen anything like this before.. Bajaj had definitely messed up this time. Either there was a flaw in the design of the front fork barrel or there has been really poor Quality Control on part of Bajaj Auto.
A comparision of the front fork barrels of the Pulsar 180 (on the left) and the Pulsar 200 (on the right) below shows the difference between the two designs.

Before I saw these pics, I was very impressed with the Pulsar 200 DTSi and was thiking of getting one for myself very soon. But now I was starting to have second thoughts.
There was something seriously wrong with the design of the front fork barrel.
Everyone at XBhp.Com were shocked.. a few even gave advice to Soumya to sue Bajaj Auto.


My faith with Bajaj now seems to be returning back.
Attention Pulsar 200 owners: Inquire about the replacement of your front forks at your Authorized Bajaj Service Centers. Till then ride very carefully. And yes, be very careful of Cats crossing the road..!!
Follow the "Defective Pulsar 200 front fork Barrel" thread on XBhp.Com: Click here
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