pulsar 220 long term ownership report/review

The idea of owning a bike came into me when I was in class 8th after my seeing my cousin brother’s brand new “Hero Honda Passion”. And since then my wait for turning this idea into reality started. In this long period of wait (from class 8th to 2nd year engineering).

I had got my hands on many different machines including “Bajaj Super Scooter”; “Bajaj Kristal Scooty” and a “Maruti 800”. Its very clear from above that all the 2 wheelers I drove were of Bajaj and thus I was pretty sure that my bike too would be a Bajaj one and to be very straight forward I was sure it would be a Pulsar 220F”.

My father agreed to buy me a bike in March 2011 and thus loosing no opportunity I went straight to the showroom and enquired about the bike “The price”, “The colors available”, etc. One thing more I was pretty sure of was the color of my bike and that was any shade of “Silver”. So finally I had everything enquired about my bike and the only thing left was to get it booked.

Finally all set, I decided to get my bike home somewhere around “holi” and thus accordingly I went to the showroom to get my darling Pulsar 220 booked. I opted for the “midnite grey” color. But to my surprise this color in jodhpur was available only at one show room and that to after a booking of around 20 days. So plans to get the bike home near about holi failed and the bike was now expected to come in the “Navratras”.

Finally came the delivery day “12th April 2011” when I finally got my hands on my beast. The journey of 5kms from my house to the showroom was appearing to me as the longest journey of my life. And finally we reached the showroom and finally I caught the first look of my darling beast

Day one itself, in a matter of 4 hours the bike had travelled 50kms and let me tell you the raw power you experience the 1st day is just awesome no other bike in this segment can match this raw power of P220. Days passed by and I found everything in this bike to be the best but then I happened to have a trip of 100 kms on this bike and this is when I found that this beast lacks a lot in comfort. Your hands actually start paining on longer journeys

You can never hate this bike if you have once owned it, the shear raw power make you to fall in love with it.

The mileage is too good if you actually drive it whilst keeping mercy on your bike I usually travel within a speed range of 60-90 and i get a mileage of 38 in city never calculated the highway one and am quite satisfied with the mileage.

Comfort is what you can’t expect on this bike especially if you are up for pillion riding. It’s a tiring bike on longer stretch of journey.

Admiration from random people on streets is guaranteed be it a bike enthusiast, a child, or a girl admiration is guaranteed.

The best part about 220 is that its owners are very active over the internet you can find all possible information on this bike within a matter of seconds which is not in the case with other bikes on this segment.

Accidents in these 2 months I have met with 1 major accident and let me tell you If I would have met with the same accident on any zma or R15 I would have literally turned up my bike into a crap. On accident this bike shatters down in to pieces which can be literally placed back on the spot even buy a non- mechanic guy and I have experienced this.

After my accident I saw 4 probable that could have broken due to the accident lying on the road unbroken, which I fitted back to their position instantly, I am quoting the word of a fellow Karizma-R rider and a very good friend of me who just behind me at the time of accident “abbey badi sai gaadi hai yaar iske parts bikhar jaate hai but toot te nai”.

For a new owner of this bike especially if you have never driven any bike of this segment or higher everyone else on road will appear to be lacking traffic sense. The moment you accelerate you’ll find one or the other vehicle to come in your forcing you to breakdown your speed a bit.

You will definitely enjoy riding this bike.

This is for those owners who are very much into automobile or mechanical engineering field. You would love to experiment on this bike. I opened up my whole bike (carburetor, air filter, chain etc.) on the 7th day of its arrival as couldn’t resist to try some engineering on it and let me tell you doing this was not at all tedious, the whole process was cream.

I am very much satisfied with this bike. Every bike has its pros and cons and so does this bike has. But its one of the best thing you can get in this segment. Every bike is very respectable but the fact is Pulsar 220 is both respectable and lovable you actually develop an obsession for this bike. Love you Bajaj for making this bike.

New R15 long term ownership review

Turn on the ignition and the bike transforms to a beast waiting to be goaded.
Turn on the gas and the bike glides into motion.
The gear shifts are smooth and, yes, I have tried it all the way upto 6th (and could have gone higher too as the engine urges).
Wisdom prevails, and I stay within the 5K RMP during the run-in period (1000kms).
The only challenge is having to put your shoes under the gear lever to shift up which damages your shoes, so I must get a pair of riding boots, assuming they make any difference.

I am not much into Drag races but yeah one day I felt to race against Pulsar 220 which is considered more powerful on paper. But the result was something else, I defeated Pulsar 220!
 Can you believe it? A 150 CC beating the shit out of a 220 CC mill? (I am not promoting drag races so don’t do it as it can be dangerous)

As far as I remember, the only expenditure on the motorcycle has been the regular servicing and maintenance, which is a must.
The bike as such has been too good so far and not troubled me in any respect but one.
The tyres. I know, time and again, i have said that the R15’s MRF Zappers are the best you can get in the country with soft compound rubber that lends amazing grip. However, there is a huge compromise that you need to do for getting those soft compounds and that is the life of the rubber. I remember having changed the rear tyre at about 8500 km the first time.
This time however, the rear has given up in just about 6500 km and there is hardly any grip from it to the extent that the bike fishtails after a couple of quick downshifts. Plus, weirdly, the tyre looses air pressure in a couple of days if not ridden. If ridden regularly, the pressure will be good for not more than five to six days. Tyre definitely needs a change, but the question remains – the same MRF again or try something else?
That will soon be figured out. Apart from that tough, there is hardly anything to complain about – R15 continues to impress me every time I am out on it even today, a year and half and 15000 km later since I got it!

Handling is the biggest plus point of Yamaha YZF R15. Why wont it be? Yamaha R15 is made with same technology as the Yamaha R1. The confidence which you get while riding THIS bike is just out of the world. I am still a rookie and I dont feel any danger while doing the knee dragging (I am still trying to learn it). It has a Delta Box Chassis, the same which Yamaha R1 uses!
Let me clear out a myth here. I am around 5ft 11 inch tall and weighing around 60 KG. Some say that you get a back and wrist pain while riding.
Trust me, I didn’t feel any back pain. Yeah, the wrist pain is normal but you can get rid of it soon or you can wear the riding gloves which will make you look even more cooler.
The riding position is the best according to me. It is very stylish and give you a feel as if you are riding a superbike.

No one will disagree with me in this matter. The design is the best in the country and it is the best looking bike. I daily take the bike to my college and often gets request from Girls for a free ride at the backseat. But I deny them as I need to show some attitude. 

Mileage is also great. Of-course you can’t expect Splendor mileage with Yamaha R15. It gives me 42 Kmpl consistently. With heavy ripping it can give you 35 to 38 Kmpl. The quality of the bike is so good that the mileage will never drop unlike other bikes. For me its no big deal as my Scooty Pep also gives the same mileage. 
This is the only thing which scares the customers. Its cost is 97,000 (Ex Showroom) and a 1 lakh bike is considered to be a posh bike. That’s what they say here. According to me the price is justified because of the kind of technology they have used. Its liquid cooled with delta box chassis, forged piston, good looks, top class tyres, super quality and you name it. It has everything advanced.

 

new 2011 yamaha r15

This is the new yamaha r15 which is about to be launched soon.Want to know the changes on this sharper and sportier baby? read on...

rear panel and tail light - yes!The ugly looking tail lamp and rear panel is taken away.The new tail lamp and rear panel seems to be inspired from the R6.Now thats a fine ass ;)

increased wheelbase and fatter rear tire -This baby now has a fatter rear tire,maybe an 120mm(looks like one).People hated its skinny tires when r15 was launched three years back.Great work,yamaha!
The wheelbase is also increased and this will aid in stability.it also makes the bike look more bigger and longer.
Though these two things come at the cost of handling.I think it will not be as agile.

fairing - The fairing now looks more sharper and aerodynamic.It has been redesigned with a few air ducsts and other changes.The indicators are mounted lower.

other changes -It now has sportier looking split seats whcich have also been raised.There are new 10 spoke alloy wheels and a new swingarm.Also notice the grab rails have been removed.There is a addition of tire hugger too.

According to realiable sources power,torque will not be changed and it will be the same 150cc engine.
Heres a pic to know how you guys will look on the bike.Dream on...

new hyosung gt250 coming to india

This is what the 2012 hyosung gt250 which is expected to come to India will look like.There are only a few minor changes,one of them the ugly-looking headlamp.Everything else is same too and there are not any changes expected in the engine department too.

WILL IT SELL?
That depends a whole lot on how they price it.The cbr250r which is available for 1.43l will be a direct competition,and then its a hyosung(not a very well known brand in India).So unless they price it really well,it aint gonna sell.what i think is they should price the naked at 1.2-1.3l and faired one at about 1.4-1.5l.
make no mistakes,this baby GT makes more power than ur cbr!

here are some more spy pictures

 
 
 
 

Will R125 come to India?

                                                                                                 
This question has been around for 2-3 years now.People blindly believe those 'desi' blogs and websites.
Websites,to increase their 'hits' are spreading this romour.
So here are some of the reasons the r125 will not make it here:
1.Price-The so called rs. 90,000 price tag of r125 is nothing but a romour.
The price of r125 in european countries is around 3 lakh rupees!!Needless to say,no one in india pay that much for a 125cc bike.The only way for it to be priced sensibly is to be manufactured here.

2.specifications-The r125 makes about 14.5 bhp and 12.2 n.m torque which is even lower than our rtr 160's figures.The p220 at 75k rs. makes 21 bhp and makes 20nm of torque!!
Also it would be really dumb to sell a physically smaller r15(150cc) alongside a physically bigger r125(125cc).

so there you go, enough reasons to think more realistically and buy the bike currently available and not to wait for r125!