Team-BHP - Bajaj Pulsar 200 NS : Ownership Review, 2200 Kms

I have covered more than 21,000 km on the NS. Absolutely enjoyed every minute spent with NS. 3 of friends have bought the 200 NS, tend to disagree because they face some niggles every now and then. They will not bad mouth or support the bike. Come on people, no bike is perfect. Only real problems that I have faced with the bike is

• Had to replace the battery under warranty. Had to wait for a couple of weeks to get the battery and it is cumbersome to push start the bike.

• Recently during the 20k service, the advisor advised to change the rubber component in the engine as it is prone to oil leak. So changed it. After that oil started oozing out of the gasket (I doubt if it was shoddy workmanship while replacing the rubber component).

• Been facing noise from the cone set since the day of delivery. Finally replaced the cone as soon as the bike ran out of warranty. I would blame the advisor for this because he was reluctant to replace it for free during warranty. (My advisor has been friendly and hence I did not escalate the issue)

• Chain – sprocket life has been pathetic, lasted only 14k km despite decent maintenance. Hoping that the second set would last longer.

For all you people out there who are looking for a 25 bhp of power and are not willing to spend more than lakh (and couple of thousands) of rupees OTR, 200 NS is the best (and only) bet you got. Bajaj is not synonymous for reliability and be prepared to face some minor issues like chain needs tightening often, some rattling noise etc. :thumbs up

Fuel efficiency is consistently around 38 kmpl and the best that I have managed is around 42 kmpl.

Quote:

Originally Posted by katchkamalesh (Post 3585935)

Do let us know what problems your friends faced with their respective 200 NS. The information would be useful for both owners and those considering buying one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Motard_Blr (Post 3586001)

Do let us know what problems your friends faced with their respective 200 NS. The information would be useful for both owners and those considering buying one.

Please have a look the following thread to get a perspective.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motorb...j-chennai.html

The NS mentioned above has casued the most of the problems.

My second friend was unhappy from the day 1 because the his NS had a big chip on his rear right panel (the dealer failed to keep his promise of replacing the panel during 1st service) and he has been unhappy since that experience. His experiences at ASS did not turn out to be good, the ASS failed to resolve all his complaints like rattling, bike veering to the left, cone set noise and clutch being tight. Even after the service he had some complaint unresolved and again had to leave the bike in ASS for the 2nd time. Service has been a let down for him.

Third friend is like a cat on the wall, he is neither happy nor unhappy. But occasionally he complains about the rattles.

P.S My friend 1 has done some serious rides astride the NS. He has been to Goa, Munnar, Wayanad, Dhanushkodi etc from Chennai.

I have replaced the BS-26 (26 mm output) carb in my Royal Enfield Thunderbird AVL with a UCAL UCD-33 (33mm output) carb, the one which is used in Pulsar 200NS (probably same as used in Enfield Bullet 500). Now I am so much confused for the tuning purpose. Some say:

Turning the screw clockwise = Lean mixture
Turning the screw anti clockwise = Rich mixture

Where as my rookie mechanic says,
Turning the screw clockwise = Rich mixture
Turning the screw anti clockwise = Lean mixture.

Say it BS-33 or UCD-33, but can any one help me out if this screw is Volume screw of Air screw? And turning it which way will make it lean?

Quote:

Originally Posted by pathik810 (Post 3783207)

This is correct:
Turning the screw clockwise = Lean mixture
Turning the screw anti clockwise = Rich mixture

The screw actually meters fuel and not air. So clockwise = closing the metering hole = less fuel = lean mixture. And vice versa.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Motard_Blr (Post 3783233)

Thank you. The entire theory by you refers to the carburetor shown in the image right? It is of pulsar 200 ns.
Just conforming.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sridutt (Post 3797032)

I am planning to pick up a bike in the next 6 odd months (just for the heck of it) and the AS200 seems a VFM option. Considering these are the same, are the bags comfy to ride with?

I have been thinking of going back to 2 wheels for some time now. I had my heart set on the R15 but the committed riding position is making it difficult to commit to the purchase decision.

This has made me consider the AS 200. Suits my requirements a lot better than the R15. But I used to own the first digital speedo p150 for 7 odd years and faced a number of quality issues (silencer caught rust and fell off when I went over a hump :Frustrati)

@preetam how is the bike doing? And I do have a few queries:

have you faced any rust issues? specially the silencer?
how does the underbody exhaust fare in waterlogged areas? does it stall since the silencer would be submerged very early, compared to any regular silencer?
the front forks got misaligned on a rough road? is this normal? have you faced a similar problem?

Looking forward to your thoughts.

Quick update:

Bike has completed 34,300km and got it serviced at Jai Bajaj yesterday.

I had couple of issues which were fixed.

Replaced front tyre with MRF Zappers (set me back Rs.2700)
Excessive chain noise – chain cleaned with diesel and mechanic was generous with OKS chain lube.
Jerking feeling - issue with front fort was sorted. Fork needed adjustment.
Clutch was hard – had to replace the clutch lever as it was not aligning properly thereby making it hard to operate.
Oil leak from the clutch cover – replaced the gasket again (cost – Rs. 116). Hope this one lasts!!!
Replace front disc pads – pad cost was Rs. 149 and Labour was Rs. 142!!
Rattle noise from the near speedo (must be from the plastic fairing) unresolved

I used to use Motul 5100 but this time switched to 7100 as 5100 was not available. 1.5l pack of 7100 cost Rs. 1185 and I was handed over the remaining oil.

Total cost of servicing was Rs. 2360.

Some interesting observations:

Riding the bike can easily cruise at 80-100kmph without breaking a sweat.
Riding position and handling is great. I commute 50km a day every day in Chennai traffic.
Decent fuel efficiency of 38kmpl.
Doesn’t cost much to service the bike and its easy on the pocket. I used to own R15 and I had to spend Rs. 2000 for every 2000km covered.
Parts comparatively last longer. In R15 I had to replace brake pads and chain very often for the same driving style.

I had to replace the rear tyre at 26k km with MRF Zapper 140 section tyre. NS is currently on its second set of chain and this has lasted more than 20k km. I believe that it might need replacement may be during the next service.

Overall, this bike has been a great companion. Even though there are some niggles, I would recommend this bike over R15.

Most of my problems with R15 were because of the bad experiences at ASS and also due to expensive parts.

Folks at Bajaj especially at Jai Bajaj, Gowrivakkam, Chennai have been very helpful and have been doing their best to keep me happy.

Last Tuesday, Chennai city traffic police decided to block the entire Sardar patel road stretch so that the governor could go whizzing past. The problem was that the police started to regulate the traffic long before the governor had actually started.

As a result, traffic started moving at snail's pace during peak hour. I had to inch my way through the traffic and it had a significant impact on the bike.

The radiator fan failed to kick in and the engine temperature went up. All of a sudden I hear a pop and the entire coolant fluid was emptied into the road. Switched off the engine and managed to take it to service center at 9:30 PM.

Long story short, I was fortunate in a way that I managed to leave the bike at service center. However, yesterday and today being holiday, I was told to come back on Friday for the job card.

Hope that there is no serious problem with the bike.

I checked engine oil and there seems to be no discoloration. Hoping that coolant and engine oil did not mix..

Had left the bike at the service centre for a week (considering that it was Ayudha pooja holidays, the time taken to repair and replace the parts was okay).

The coolant pump and the radiator fan had failed and this resulted in spewing of coolant. Paid Rs. 2600 to replace the parts and get the bike into shape.

Fortunately, the coolant did not mix engine oil. Unfortunately, when they opened the head to verify it, I believe that there was some leakage. I’m able to see a thin layer of bubbles in the engine oil through the small window at the bottom of the crank case. I am not able to confirm this.

The hose connecting the air inlet chamber and carburettor came off from the carburettor end and started sounding as if the vehicle was fitted with a free flow air filter. The mileage dropped drastically by around 8 kmpl (the bike did sound great and the pickup was good). Now I have got it fixed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by katchkamalesh (Post 3845360)

The coolant pump and the radiator fan had failed and this resulted in spewing of coolant. Paid Rs. 2600 to replace the parts and get the bike into shape.

Good to know that your bike is back to its best. Any reason as to why the fan did not kick in when the engine got heated. I drive during peak hours and the chennai traffic makes the fan kick in regularly. Scared to think of such a scenario happening in the middle of a jam. Would be great if you can find out the reason.