Long term ownership report of Pulsar 150 DTSi

[ashis89]

I am or rather was a proud owner of a silver grey Pulsar 150 DTSi. It is a May '04 model, with round headlamp and has clocked 43k kms. I got it 3 years ago with 17k kms under its belt.

A bit of background: The story starts on 6th April 2009. I was delivered a 5 year old,shining P150 at my doorstep. It belonged to a colleague of my dad who was retiring shortly and didnt want to use a heavy bike at all, wanted to move on to an Activa. My dad heard his offer to sell his bike and decided to buy it for me.

The bike was in very good shape but had a rusted silencer(a common Bajaj problem). Also the stock shock absorbers were replaced with the new gas charged ones.

After buying, I changed the lock set and started saving for a new silencer set. The bike was very peppy and stable but heavy and difficult to maneuver in city. Tried once and attained 115 KMPH indicated, before running out of road.

I changed the silencer to a new Exhaustec one(Rs.3050) and there was a significant change in the driveability in the lower gears. The bike pulled cleanly from 2k RPM with a sudden surge comming post 3k RPM(almost like a turbo-spool). I loved it and the new silencer was definitely worth it.

The downside was I felt the top-end had become blunted/restricted. The bike wasn't free/happy beyond 90kmph, though it did go upto 100 kmph whenever I took it. I never ventured beyond. The sweet-spot was cruising at 70-80kmph all day long, with no vibrations and a sweet burble behind you.

Performance:

Acceleration was good but was a bit in-sufficient for the new-gen 150cc/180cc bikes. But I was happy with it. It lacked a bit of top-end but I used it in the 70-80kmph range and the bike had quite a punch.

Handling:

The bike was very stable on the highways and wasn't much affected by the cross-winds. Corners were never its forte and you need to plan before approaching a tight corner. The bike was heavy and wasn't very nimble in the city,compared to the Caliber.

Braking:

The front disc was a life saver for me on several occasions and were pretty much adequate for me. The rear brake was also fine. Panicky situations didn't bring any drama.

Fuel Efficiency:
Now the best part. My Caliber used to return anything between 40-50 kmpl in city and 50-55 kmpl on highway. To be noted: I use heavy throttle and like ripping the bike in the city.
The Pulsar returned a min. of 45 kmpl in city and max. of 53 kmpl. On the high way, it returned min. of 57+ kmpl at speeds 60-70kmph and a best figure of 69 kmpl. It hovered over 60+ kmpl many a times.

Will be putting up a list of spare-parts change and regular maintenance that I did during the 3 years.

[ashis89]

The bike, my Silver Streak, proved to be reliable for the 3.5 years that it was with me. It never let me down and was fuss free.

After buying the bike, the first and only problem that I faced was the rusting of fuel tank(a common problem due to water seeping into the fuel tank). I got the tank drained and more than a litre of water came out. Got the tank cleaned and repainted.
Total cost Rs.500.

Also changed the whole lock set, consisting of the main handle lock, the 2 side-panel locks and the fuel tank lock(total of 4 locks + 2 keys). Cost me Rs 510.

At 20,000kms, the rusty silencer was roaring at higher RPM, to my disliking. Placed an order for a new one as it was not readily available.
Also the tail lamp was fused.

The parts changed were-
Silencer - Original Exhaustec(black color)- Rs 3050 + Rs. 20 for fitting
Tail lamp bulb- Rs 20

At 22,000 kms, the brakes felt a bit inadequete. Got then checked at the routine service. Rear pads were changed. Front pads were fine another 5-8k kms but I got then changed as they were almost 6 years old.
Rear brake pad - Rs 120(Bajaj Genuine part)
Front brake Disc pad - Rs 137(TVS)

After the front brake pad change, the front wheel wasn't free. I felt the brakes didn't release properly after braking. Got it checked and found that the release/rebound spring in the brake assembly near the brake lever was rusted and broken. Since the spring isn't available standalone, I had to buy the whole brake assembly(consists of a spring, a piston, a couple of washers and a rubber bulb type cap).

Top Brake assembly(Bajaj KBX make)- Rs 312

At 31,000 kms, the rear tyre(MRF Zapper 90/90) was giving up during cornering or rash riding. I was also getting wheel-spins in 1st/2nd gear under hard acceleration(which I loved and yet, safety is more important). So I got the rear tyre changed. (The tyre store owner was trying to convince me not to change the tyre as according to him, it still had thread for another 7k kms.)
Rear tyre- Ceat 100/90 -Rs 1600
Tail lamp Bulb- Rs 20
Rear left side indicator- Rs 100

At 33,000 kms,
The horn was not working properly. It didn't work sometimes. The mechanic said one of the dual horns had turned weak. It was changed but the problem persisted. Checked out the horn switch and found that it was corroded. Since the switch isn't available separately, had to change the complete switchgear.

Left switchgear set(non-illuminating type)- Rs 560.
Left dual horn- Rs 120

At 34,xxx kms, the speedometer went kaput. Got the speedo cable changed and everything was fine. Also got the clutch cable and accelerator cable changed, as a preventive measure(probably they were the original 7 year,35k kms old) and for smoother feeling. I was happy.

Speedo cable - Rs 70
Clutch cable- Rs 130
Accelerator cable - Rs 120

At 37,xxx kms(Dec '11), the bike had been lying idle for almost 3 months as I had been posted at B'lore and my bike was at Bhubaneswar. The battery had become weak and dad got it changed.

Amaron MF battery- Rs 1600

After that, got my bike transported to B'lore and received it on 17th Jan '12. Started using it here in B'lore.

At 39,xxx kms, the headlight illumination felt low. Got the bulb changed at a Bajaj A**. They didn't have any branded bulb. I had to make do with a local one.
Bulb- Rs 40 + fitting Rs 10.

I wasn't happy. So at the 40k kms service, I again got the bulb changed. To my dismay, again a local brand bulb was available. I wasn't getting time from office to look around for Philips/Osram, so again compromised. But, I was happy. The local brand bulb was more than upto the mark.

Bulb- Rs 50
Front Left side indicator- Rs 110
Tail lamp bulb(again?) - Rs 20

Now after 8 years and 43k kms later, the bike could still happily cruise at 80-90 kmph all day long and still delivered 50+/- kmpl in B'lore traffic. I felt the front tyre was due for replacement(it was 8 years old and had miniscule cracks on it). The paint was also fading slowly. Time for replacement bug was biting me.

So I decided to get myself a new bike as I didn't feel like to ride an old bike anymore. Sent off my Silver streak to be sold off in Orissa.