[v12]

Its been almost a year since we got a used 2008 Pulsar 220 after selling our Machismo 350 and Yamaha RX100. We needed a bike for daily use and since we got a good deal on this 220 - we decided against buying a brand new bike.

The bike is serving us well and its been too long that we are riding a stock bike - and frankly speaking I am getting a bit bored with the looks. As with all my previously owned bikes, I have never kept any of my bikes stock. Have always modified them in some way or the other - and only cosmetic modifications - since I do not want to mess up with the mechanicals.

Option 1
Now its time to give the P220 a cosmetic makeover. Our initial plans were to go completely crazy and convert the bike into another Cafe Racer - which would mean replacing the mudguard, tank, handlebar, rear fender, headlight, tail lights - with those of either a Royal Enfield - to give it a British look. This option would turn out to be an expensive option + require a lot of modification to the chasis to mount the tank and other parts. So Option 1 was ruled out.

Option 2
Give the bike a Street-fighter look by removing the front fairing and the rear mudguard. But however ugly it may look - I always feel that in any modification (however extreme it may be), the bike should not lose its identity. The P220's main identity was the front fairing - so Option 2 was ruled out too.

Option 3
This was the most simplest and cheapest option. Minimal modification in terms of the below :

• Since the bike is almost 5 years old it has lost some of its shine. So a paint touch up.
• Getting rid of all the decals on the bike and putting custome made ones. Just basic decals with the words "PULSAR" and "220".
• Getting a few parts painted matt black (the exhaust can, rear grab rails). Dont want to paint the engine black since this will make the engine look smaller in size (as if it is not small enough).
• Painting the wheels in a different color - not sure which color though. Either full black or a combination of golden/black.
• Replacing the rear mudguard with the 200NS indicator/number plate clamp.
• Installing a tyre hugger. Will the Yamaha R15 V2 one fit the P220 - what are the mods involved?
• Use of carbon fibre wraps for certain parts (the side panels)

Would appreciate more suggestions and of course pics of modified P220s to get some more ideas.

Thanks.

Shopping starts today.

This will be painted black along with the rest of the bike panels. Need to figure out a good number plate light to go with this clamp.

[desigNation]

Originally Posted by v12

Option 3
This was the most simplest and cheapest option. Minimal modification in terms of the below :

• Since the bike is almost 5 years old it has lost some of its shine. So a paint touch up.
• Getting rid of all the decals on the bike and putting custome made ones. Just basic decals with the words "PULSAR" and "220".
• Getting a few parts painted matt black (the exhaust can, rear grab rails). Dont want to paint the engine black since this will make the engine look smaller in size (as if it is not small enough).
• Painting the wheels in a different color - not sure which color though. Either full black or a combination of golden/black.
• Replacing the rear mudguard with the 200NS indicator/number plate clamp.
• Installing a tyre hugger. Will the Yamaha R15 V2 one fit the P220 - what are the mods involved?
• Use of carbon fibre wraps for certain parts (the side panels)

Would appreciate more suggestions and of course pics of modified P220s to get some more ideas.

Thanks.

Shopping starts today.

This will be painted black along with the rest of the bike panels. Need to figure out a good number plate light to go with this clamp.
Attachment 1054807 Attachment 1054808

hello there, i suggest the third option ,please dont go for a cafe racer look,on a bullet yes, but not on a pulsar.you could remove the front big fairing and the light cluster and give a mean naked bike kinda look.

[v12]

Thanks designation,
Yes agree with you, the cafe racer look goes only with the British bikes But i wouldn't mind making the 220 into a cafe racer since i am going more for a cosmetic mod. But it will involve a lot of modification which is why it was ruled out. Although we did convert a puny RX100 into a cafe racer - it didn't run like one, but sure looked the part.

Coming to the 3rd option, i wouldn't want to lose the front fairing since that would take away the identity of the bike. Something which i don't want to lose - did the same with my RX100 Cafe where I still retained the RX100 monograms, tanks, side panels,to ensure that the bike looks like an RX100.

So the front fairing will remain and i have some ideas in mind for it. Probably some sticker work mentioning Pulsar or 220 somewhere on it. Will photo shop and post some pics later.

[Motormania]

Probably some custom wrap job on the entire bike, like say the Rockstar graphics, Monster Energy livery of the Tech3 Yamaha team or something of that sort. Even a simplistic matte black all over would look good I suppose.

[Schoudhury]

Please let me know how exactly fit that part ( which i assume is a pulsar 135 part) after removing the mudguard.
I also picked up the same and fitted the side indicators on it , but not able to get it fitted on pulsar 200 as it would need some modifications .

Cheers.

[v12]

Hey Motormania, thanks for the suggestion. The custom wrap job on the entire bike would definitely look good. But i am not looking at any graphics or too much of stickering on the bike. Have never been a fan of Matt finish so that option also ruled out. The carbon fibre wrap job that i was talking about would only be restricted to the side panels and maybe the rear panels. The rest of the bike will be painted or touched up with a metallic black finish.

I did check out a couple of cf wrap at a good number plate guy. He said that there would not be a problem of the sticker peeling if it is done very carefully. So lets see next week we may get the side panels cf wrapped. This is a sample cut out he gave me.
Hi Schoudary, i presume you are talking about fitting the holder to the older Pulsar 200 since the NS already has such a holder.

The rear number plate / indicator holder is not a direct fit on the 200/220 after removing the rear mud guard. I haven't tried it out myself but will check it out tomorrow and see how the mud guard mounts are. Mounting the new holder will definitely require an additional bracket to be fitted. Once it is figured out, will definitely post detailed pics.

[sarsh11]

A friend of mine had his Pulsar modded, he replaced the front headlight's with the 2x Circular headlights (like the ones from the RX, but a bit smaller of course).
Also since you're already contemplating some paint, why don't you paint some of the visible chasis/suspension/rims with a bright color of your choice (Duke Orange?).
And there is always the reflective rim-tape, which gives you a bit more visibility for night riding.

If you're into those snazzy electronic stuff, you could get LED tail lights/indicators. My friend who I mentioned earlier also got a remote locking system, not sure how that works though.

Just my 2 cents

[rakesh_r]

One of my friend Joel Raju wh is from Mumbai too has done it.His bike has been modified both performance and cosmetic wise.Performance-big bore,bigger carb and an ffe(not seen in the current pic).You can go for angel eyes too as seen in the third pic.Looks brilliant at night.

[v12]

Thanks Sarsh - From the list that you have provided, reflective rim tape is definitely on my list too. But I have not yet finalised the rim color yet. Depending on the color, I have to chose a rim tape.

Rakeshr - Perfect pic and the perfect modification I had in mind. Thanks a lot for the pics. If possible, could you post some pics of the modifications done to install the number plate holder. I like the color of the wheels on this bike - matches with the blue (reminds me of the Subaru Impreza). The color I am planning on is dark goldenish one (with the spokes painted black).

[Sheel]

V12 - From the looks of it, it appears as the brackets are straight from the P-135 LS. Though to be sure, I shall let Rakesh answer this.

Rakesh - Does look neat, but what about monsoons & Bombay?

[v12]

I stand corrected - yes Sheel, these are the 135LS brackets and not the 200NS ones. I believe for the rains you would have to install the original mudguards to prevent water splashin onto the pillion/rider and the underbody.

Here are 2 mods I did in Photoshop :

[Sheel]

1. I like the first picture.

2. Get a better set of indicators

3. Experiment with different set of RVM's. (The stock is nice, but...)

4. Experiment with the black paint. Scour for shades. I like the big-bang R1 paint. Appears rich.

This is what my half mind cooked up

[v12]

Originally Posted by Sheel

1. I like the first picture.

2. Get a better set of indicators

3. Experiment with different set of RVM's. (The stock is nice, but...)

4. Experiment with the black paint. Scour for shades. I like the big-bang R1 paint. Appears rich.

This is what my half mind cooked up

Thanks for the response Sheel!

1. I too liked the first picture. Is it because of the dual color on the wheel?

2. I was thinking of the R15 V2 RVM's but they are too big and squarish and will not match the rounded fairing.

3. Indicators - I was thinking of the 200NS indicators - but need to check some after market ones too if I like any.

4. Shades of black Hmmmm. I always thought black had only one shade . Can you post pics of the R1 with such a shade?

[StrangeWizard]

The first pic looks great because of the dual colours on the wheels. Golden looks awesome on black.
I suggest get the wheels painted like the ones in the 1st pic, and also get the CF wrap on the panels which you have done in the 2nd pic.

If you wanna get some new stickers then go for some sleek font and not the font which is there in the 2nd pic.

Cheers

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by v12

Thanks for the response Sheel!

1. I too liked the first picture. Is it because of the dual color on the wheel?

I paid attention to the wheel (the difference) when you pointed it out. I really can't decide as to which wheel combo would I prefer.

2. I was thinking of the R15 V2 RVM's but they are too big and squarish and will not match the rounded fairing.

Can't the length be shortened? Scour for other bikes RVM's as well. I am sure you shall come across a good pair. May not necessarily be an OEM.

3. Indicators - I was thinking of the 200NS indicators - but need to check some after market ones too if I like any.

Yes, as with RVM's, scour around.

4. Shades of black Hmmmm. I always thought black had only one shade . Can you post pics of the R1 with such a shade?

This is a generic pic you shall come across if you use Google.

And the R1 which I absolutely dig in the world & am sure, everyone would has mods to die for. Colin Edwards too when saw it was all praise for the bike.

The mod list is extensive. Here it is

Mods so far:
Graves with Cat Elim
Watsen Flush Mounts
Zero G Double Bubble
Brembo 20-18 Master
Spiegler Lines
Custom Led Tail light
Targa Fender Eliminator
D3 Grips
As of Tomorrow
Gilles VCR rear set
PC-V+AutoTuner
Vortex Gascap

The bike is @ Florida & here are the pics.







And here how it looks like (currently)




In addition to all this, get good levers & play with the rear-sets (if you can). And it would really be sweet, if it can be converted from the ugly twin shock set-up to a mono. And I would have kept it devoid of any sticker job.

Before everyone starts shooting me down, I am posting the pictures of a black R1 for comparison & for some fun. And I have seen V12's bikes. I am sure this will be one hot P-220 in India to watch out for.

Thanks