[gururajrv]

As promised in my initial report of my Brezza ownership thread, to all my fellow TBHPians, this is merely a tribute to my bike which has been a wonderful companion ever since it entered my life back in 2007. It is never boring for me to ride along on this engineering marvel even after a decade.

Brezza's initial ownership report with my promise:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...obsession.html

Background:

It was Jan or Feb 2006 - when news started to float around bigger CC Pulsar on the cards from Bajaj to hit the markets very soon. Auto-expo (I do not remember which Expo – vaguely recall that to be Delhi) had the nearly production ready model of the 220 with host of new features ready to be introduced to the masses with segment first projector headlights, auto-cut off indicators, backlit switches, rear disc brake and bigger news was the Fuel-Injected engine ready to rule the roads! When everyone was speculating it to be in the markets very soon, I was in my 12th year of my education, with a hope to be an engineer after the finals scheduled in Mar 2007. I was riding a Pulsar 150 DTSI back in the day with all my surfing skills being put to test almost each day trying to find some scoops or test mule pictures of the Pulsar 220 DTS-FI on the web. Back in 2006-07, though there was a significant dependency already created on web magazines, I was only hearing about the new bike once in a few months but I didn’t give my hope away. I was still counting on Bajaj to release the bike soon. Time rolled, with a blink of an eye, my exams kept fast approaching and I was merely serious about studying – not sure what drew my attention away from studies, was it too much of biking / video gaming / sneaking my way out for long rides / too much of mingling with different groups back then / over-confident teenager on his ability to clear the exams just like shifting gears on a bike / certainly I wouldn’t mention any leaning towards having friends on the opposite gender side here because of obvious reasons (wife and mum).

Anyways, I gave my exams with intent to become an engineer after the results were out. Guess what, I did clear the exams at my first-go at it as I was (over) confident of clearing it. So am I an engineer now? Working in automobile sector? – Time to hold onto your thoughts thinking if this blog is going to be too technical. Certainly not, I cleared my exams no doubt, but never scored the minimum percentage to earn a ranking for myself (LOL again – trying hard not to use much smileys to remain compliant with the rules). So my path later transitioned from science background towards commerce in 2007.

A day sat back, I was thinking if I screwed up things for myself! Ok will never drag the story too far because it becomes never ending then. By then I had my Pulsar 150 backing me up for all the tough times for the tough transition my mind was preparing for! Then one final day (don’t really remember the date) mostly May ’07 last week or Jun ’07 first week, news broke out on the web triggering a wild-fire in the biking industry especially in the 200+ CC segment when the legend HH Karizma (ZMA) was ruling the roads and enjoying monotony in the segment for years, but it was time for Bajaj to have finally launched the most anticipated bike ‘PULSAR 220 DTS-FI’. So all the lost hopes started to take life back because I was not an engineer, but this new thing started harboring ideas of learning the new tech associated with this bike because I was an avid follower of Pulsars since its inception. Bikers will still remember how the first version of Pulsar (round doom) 180 was capable of and how it changed the perception of biking industry. Hence, the decision for Pulsar 150 had come into picture in 2005 when I got one for myself.

Jun 2007:

Yes, this month totally was pestering season to my mom and uncle again to get a replacement for me because I was craving for more power (yes, back then 20PS made a big difference).

9th Jul 2007:

The day when persistence won over resistance. Finally I get my approval from my uncle and mom for the replacement. Perks did come with some conditions that were put-forth for my own future, which I agreed to without a 2nd thought.

Ok what were the conditions?

Firstly, I should focus on my studies and shouldn’t only be with bikes and other related stuffs that comes in tow with these machines such as long rides, roaming, loafing etc etc.
Secondly, I should stop whining over the past failing to become an engineer! Yeah this was the obvious one.
Final and the most difficult part for me were to trade my Pulsar 150 with 220. Yes, yes, in the excitement of getting a new bike, I had indeed forgotten the 1.5 year old bike that was with me throughout.

They knew this very thing where I would keep both of them but financial commitments back then for my mother didn’t really support us to do that – else, my mother would have let me kept both, fearing this uncle put a stern condition on this very front.

With all the conditions being consented upon, I surged ahead to reach the showroom at 10.30 AM IST along with my uncle. We met the sales supervisor directly and were told it was indeed launched in Karnataka as well and they were waiting to get final approvals from RTO for deliveries to begin. Without thinking twice, I told him to take the booking without a doubt on the bike. He told me the tentative delivery of the bike would take a minimum 2 months (2 MONTHS!!!!). I was a little taken aback because I was ready to trade the bike on the booking day itself because we needed the booking amount instantly for the sales supervisor to log my name in! He then agreed to take a look at my bike and was happy to trade the black Pulsar 150 with the new 220. He evaluated and fixed the exchange deal at Rs.42,000.

With our agreement, supervisor arranged for the local pre-owned dealer to drop in to the showroom to give me my money and take the first ever possession away. With heavy heart, I did bid goodbye to my old friend and my first ride on the very same day. I had not seen DDLJ until then to understand the feeling of heavy heart. I totally experienced it for the first time.

With all the sentiments for the old bud kept aside, I cheered myself up and handed the cashier an advance of Rs.30,000 and booked P220 in Black disguise (my favorite color) with the rest of the payment to be arranged in the coming days when we get the estimate time of delivery for the bike.

I then left back home with my uncle – the only question that popped in mind was “Dude!! Are you serious?! You had only that bike to roam around, now what is it that you going to do and how are you going to ride to college?!”

I asked my uncle and the response was something that will not be forgotten easily – I thought I’ll borrow his 2 wheeler Kinetic Marvel (remember the hefty scooter)? It was one good vehicle with 110cc for an automatic scooter back in the time and was marginally powerful to ride around. I thought he would agree to give it to me to manage until the new one came in. But he was waiting to see me walk to college because I never walked around even if it was for a KM, from the time I got P150. Did I tell you my college was way too near to house about a KM away? That’s how my uncle and mom setup the residence such that I don’t take bike for college commute. But I was different which they realized after getting my P150. Most of the time I used to take a detour to my college and the 1KM stretch meant nothing to me. I used to take the longest route possible. Back then they had this ring road concept laid around with fresh tarmac in Mysuru. I used to go for a ride in that stretch for 10-12 kms and get back to college only after I was satisfied in the morning with the ride. Which is why, this time around he got the shot right! My friends were all dumb-struck to see me walking around to their house during that 1.5 months wait. That was the funny part.

With the entire walking drama running for about 1.5 months straight, my patience ran thin big time. I started following up with the dealer rigorously almost each day, just after breakfast, exactly at lunch and at around snacks time in the evening before they shut the doors. I then finally came back to uncle asking for his help through his known associates, one of them his far cousin being former General Manager of the showroom we had booked the bike. But the said relative had quit the showroom 2 years ago when I purchased my P150. But he was able to influence his contacts. By then, it was 2nd week of August and I was craving to ride, ride and only ride. To add to the dismay of not having a bike yet, commercial of P220 on the television started making rounds back to back making me a mad wild animal at home.

Link to commercial below – Hamaara Bajaj slogan reintroduced with Pulsar 220!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuNXyWU4NAs

Looking at the commercial now on YouTube, reminds me of watching it on my Thomson TV - NOSTALGIA reintroduced.

Pulsar 220 in Black makes it look more massive and sweet at the same time. Other colors available at the time of launch were Blue, Red & Silver. Same pattern of Pulsars followed when it came to color options.

19th Aug 2007:

I had borrowed my family friends new gen Pulsar 180 DTSI with digital console and few cosmetic changes finished in stealth black. It was a fulfillment to ride the bike after a long time. I visited Karigatta Hills that’s very much near to Srirangapattana which’s again about 25 kms from Mysuru, in the same bike and it was the feeling of regaining my livelihood temporarily during that NO-BIKE period. I offered my prayers to god with an earnest request to have the bike delivered ASAP to me, being the first request to him. I then rode back home that day which is a Sunday to relax for the next half of the day. Somewhere, I felt like dialing the number of my uncle to check on the status. To my surprise, he gave me the number of the current Sales Manager at showroom back then. With prayers running in my mind, I called up the gentleman and the conversation sequence went as below;

Me: Hello sir, I’m Guru, relative of Ex-GM (that’s it!)
SM: Hey Guru, sweet news. Truck has just reached our stockyard. That's it - I was on cloud 9!
Me: Without dragging the conversation further, Sir, thank you so much for making my day, but can I take a look at the bike and pick the bike of my choice from the lot you have received?
SM: Sorry chap, there were only 3 bikes that were alloted to us for now, it came with 3 colors, which included Black, Silver and Red. So there’s only one Black and it’s all yours unless if you wish for the wait to extend further.
Me: That’s it; I had it called a wonderful day for the instant approval from god being sent so soon in matter of 3 hours. Said a big thanks and hung up the phone.

Next call was to the sales supervisor Mr.Raghuraman (I wouldn’t forget his name as he was way too understanding and helpful for the restless teenager back then)

Me: Hey Raghu
Raghu: Sir, why don’t you come along with the residual money to get your long awaited possession.
Me: you’re my savior sir! Hung up!

Called up uncle and mom with great excitement. Told them that my Exile was over as my treat was in the stockyard waiting. Their response was it was actually their Exile that was over and wasn't actually mine!

20th Aug 2007:

Mom arranged for the residual to be paid to the showroom. I was in no mood to go to college on this day because I was anticipating the bike to reach me on the same day. But they had PDI and other formalities to be done at the stockyard. Back then, I never knew what PDI they were talking about because I had seen the same wording on the mud flap of my P150 when I took the delivery of it.

He advised me that the delivery date is fixed on the next day.

21st Aug 2007:

Got up, offered my prayers again like a good kid, and took blessings from my mother and uncle that day in the morning. I had my friends who had bunked their classes to accompany me to the showroom to witness the delivery and ride. We took off from my place and reached the showroom by 10.30 AM IST again. But to my disappointment, I couldn’t find the bike around and called up the advisor again. He told me clearly it would be another hour for the bike to be transported to the showroom. That one hour wait felt bigger and worse than the 1.5 months long wait.

Finally 11.45 AM IST roughly, the showroom personnel rushed towards the entrance to see the wonderful sight of the big bike back then. That was the hint for me that it was indeed there and GOD it was so lovely to witness the sight of this sweet bike and I immediately took my handset back then Nokia N73 music phone with 3 or 5mp cam (sorry if I’ve the wrong facts mentioned about the phone as I have tried my best to rally each cell in the brain). I clicked the below pic when I first met this Machine with Attitude;



Next up, they took the bike inside for a clean wash and I couldn't wait to check the bike in detail. As soon as it was out of the washing bay, I just hopped onto the bike and fired it up with odo showing 15kms (Stockyard to Showroom) on the floor itself - these pics bring in a lot of old memories (look of a teenager with a smirk!)



Then the very next moment was to ride back home and get the blessings showered upon my bike alongside my uncle and mom:



Okay this was the long story of my persistent nature to own a better bike back then.

Now to the details:

Manufacturer: Bajaj
Variant: Pulsar 220 DTS-FI (Fuel Injected)
Ignition type: Digital Twin Spark
Cubic Capacity: 220
Power: 20PS (~19.5 bhp to be precise)
Torque: 19.12Nm
Weight: approx. 150 kgs (correct me if I'm mistaken)
ECU type: Open Loop system (correct me if I'm mistaken)
Gears: 5 (One down - Four Up mechanism)
Brake Type: Front 260mm and Rear 230mm Disc
Tyres: MRF Zapper running on 17inch alloys. I did run on IRC for nearly 20k kms on a soft compound ones and the bite improved significantly. Straight pick from Ninja 250.
Ex-Showroom: Rs. 70,857/-
On-Road Price: Rs. 91,364/-
Fuel Type: Petrol
Fuel Tank capacity: 15Ltrs
Buying Experience: 10 on 10 for VST Bajaj
Current odo reading: 58.8k kms
Fuel Economy: 35kmpl with "Twist Your Wrist" manner. Sane riding would return atleast 38-40kmpl even now. Certainly not exaggerating.
Protection Gear: LS2 Helmet, DSG riding gloves. My apologies as I have not got myself a riding jacket yet which is a crucial element for any rider! Planning for one now because I wasn't really focusing on these elements back then.

I STRONGLY advise any 2 wheeler rider to use Riding jackets that is padded ones to keep you safe. Please remember, you may ride safe but what about those who are around you?! Kindly take extra caution while riding each day in and out.

Payment invoice and bills attached;

My experience with this Marvel:

Well, at first, this bike is a delight to ride on the FI system. Feels big and inspires confidence instantly. I am not going too technical in terms of describing the character. However, this bike was an eye-grabber back then when I took the delivery of the bike as mine was the second bike to my city. It did draw a lot of attention whenever I used to ride along or park it anywhere in the street. Whenever I stopped at signal, damn there used to be a lot of questions coming across asking a lot about the bike that appeared to be a beauty in the eyes of the beholder. It was damn fresh in the market back then with meaty stance. I enjoyed every bit of the attention and the pleasure the ride gave me each minute. I never used to be at home which obviously worried my uncle and mom. But I was a good kid spending most of the money on bike and the refuels.

Riding at night was indeed another world to be back then because of those projectors spreading a wide light on the dark patched roads making it seem like a HELLA focus light covering the stretch. Trust me, I barely remember days having to use high beams because low beam was the best to ride around with the wide spread. You could notice a P220 easily coming right at you with that sparkle from the projector hitting your eyes.

Handling, I couldn't notice or complain anything much on this front. But a lot of reviews said Pulsar's are known for bad handling but my ride never gave up on me.

Braking, it was a welcome addition to the conventional drum systems back then. It gave a sense of good bite at first. Please note, I did have some issues around rear brakes because the bite wasn't really adequate enough which was later understood there was a design limitation to the brake system which caused most of inconvenience to the riders. I did replace the KBX brake calipers with Bybre when P220 DTSI was introduced and the bite considerably increased.

Exterior styling - full 10 on 10 if you ask me personally. It still has that X factor in it that has made this bike survive with different heart for over a decade now since it's firm foot existence.

Performance, I will rate 10 on 10 again because I have never been disappointed in this 10 long years of ownership of this bike. I'm totally content with the overall performance and the way this bike is sculpted. I should also give credit to the Motul 300v Factory Line Synthetic Oil which protected my engine since then and made the running smooth for nearly 6-7k kms. Yes, I used to change the engine oil between 5-7k kms depending on the viscosity check I run each time. Damn, the engine used to turn smooth instantly after refilling with new oil. Oh, by the way did I mention the torquey nature of the bike? It pulled right from the very bottom of the rpm i.e. 1,600 roughly at 5th gear with Odo reading as low as 23kmph! It was that good back then and power, needless to mention it was as if gliding on the road literally. Man this bike was a beast on highways for a 220cc motor. I used to ride frequently between Mysore and Bangalore, the record time was 1.55 hours straight in the stretch, i.e. from my uncles place in Mysore to my house in Bangalore. This was in a different league altogether.

As for the niggles goes, no product is free of issues and I faced quite a number of them with frequent visits to service center:

1) 2008 Paint flakes peeling off on the rear seat covel which was later replaced since this was reported across first lot of bikes.

2) 2008 Fuel Pump area seepage that was reported back to back which was later fixed after several attempts by incompetent service personnel. To my shock, they also changed the tank but the issue persisted showing they couldn't diagnose the issue at all. This was just an adhesive issue, wherein it had to be applied around the rubber beeding that held the pump inside the tank. Then one final day, there was one personnel in the entire showroom who was extremely competent when it came to servicing FI 220's fixed this with the glue he applied and ever since then it never cropped up again. I caught up with him since then and started getting my bike serviced by him each time. I should give credit to this man Mr.Surya from VST Bajaj who kept his customers bike at top notch condition. My friends do visit him even now to get their rides serviced.

3) 2008 Rear Disc Brake squeaky issue that created a lot of noise around under heavy braking. This was later fixed with subsequent brake pads replacement whenever it cropped up. Bybre equipment addressed this issue completely and eliminated the same in 2012.



4) 2008 Headlight assembly replacement was done once because the highbeam glass started cracking up due to excess heat generated by 55w bulb setup. Somewhere the quality of the glass was not at par with the setup used. It was escalated and replaced immediately with supervision from Bajaj engineer himself. Now after a decade, it's showing the same signs but I feel it's due to the age factor of the glass. I'm not looking to replace it now but will empower it with an LED bulb setup in the low beam which should help.

5) 2012 Unintended bore replacement: Back in Bangalore for my work, one day when I had dropped bike for maintenance, I was told the rings were out and they had to replace the bore altogether when the odo was standing at 48k approximately. I didn't think twice that rings could have been changed separately, fearing a seizure on long rides, I gave a go-ahead for bore replacement. Only that night I realized I could have managed to ride it back to Mysore to get the rings replaced from my trusted magician (service personnel) - I wouldn't want to call him in conventional terms. It was already done, so nothing more could have been rolled backward.

5) 2013 Blown out fuse caused a bit of a problem to me when I rode to Mysore from Bangalore. Luckily my bike didn't want to cause much of an inconvenience to me further because it went off when I switched a gear near the entrance of my hometown. Luckily I had my friend's house very near to the spot my bike stopped. Then towed it to my service personnel's house directly and he replaced the fuse instantly. Then my bike was back roaring again.



6) This point is to express my discontentment over discontinuing the FI system in less than 2 years from the time of launch. I do understand the tech was ahead in time when it was launched. But Bajaj should have kept the model untouched. However, it was pure service support incompetency that Bajaj couldn't tackle with the dealers finally calling for an upgrade from FI to Carb - Yes, that was rolling back to conventional system in 2009 when the FI term was recoded to Fastest Indian with all black scheme. Man I loved the bike when I rode two of my friends took the delivery on the same day, and I was convinced for the massive potential it packed in the engine with a Bigger Carburettor and Jet, flooding the chamber with air and fuel to burn at a rapid phase. All I missed was the crisp throttle response my FI gave me each time. But it was clear the carb P220 had higher top end figures.


7) With the recent service done few months back in Bangalore, I was told by the service personnel to switch to Carb! I mean why would I do that except for niggling issues with service and spare support as a lone reason?!

I paid almost a lakh decade back only to have the best tech equipped system on a bike and you are asking us to switch to conventional mechanism only to have better service? Please Bajaj, I have seen the service support on Pulsar 150 as well back in 2005. It wasn't great either on the carb version either as one of my friend's well-maintained P180's carb was screwed up in the service when he got the jet cleaned up and only to end up selling his bike because of incompetency in the service or diagnosing the issue. I will not be switching from FI to Carb for sure.


8) Oh, did I mention the decal theft issue on this model? Man, I have nearly spent 4k getting new decals each time because these were easily picked off by the decal thieves. There was one time when I just ordered the entire set of decals and kept it inside my wardrobe. At some point, I myself removed all the decals and got plain stickers designed in the same font and had it on my bike. I was frustrated.

Apart from the above concerns, there was literally nothing to complain about the Engine, ECU or its performance (touchwood). It is even now a GEM of a bike that guards me each time I take a ride on it. I did few rides in thick rain, scorching sun, windy weather, but this chap never failed to impress me.

Fuel Injection, Throttle body and ECU unit from Bosch AFAIK:

Mastermind hiding behind the air-filter box. Very hesitant to pose for pics:


I also once rode down from Mysore to Bangalore to get my bike serviced and tuned from Venkat sir's Auto Service located in Banashankari. He laid his magical hands on my bike with the DnF tool and the way bike responded on my way back home on the highway was tremendous with noticeable change in the acceleration and fuel economy.

I wanted to add more pics to the write up. Unfortunately, my PC crashed back in 2013 which took away most of my memories with its dead HDD. I could somehow retain few of them, whilst the few were shared by my friends. Few pics below;

Coorg ride in the initial days - Wasn't really knowing the importance of proper gear back then!

I couldn't do much of upgrades around the mechanicals placed on this bike due to it's basic nature of ECU being open-loop system. Thus, the upgrades were restricted to cosmetic and electrical upgrade alone:

-> 2008: I got the alloys, swing-arm and front forks painted to matte black from the boring silver. This transformed the look of the bike back then and it became a heart-throb to the onlookers.

-> 2010: Upgraded my low beam to 35w HID setup 4300k, which serviced me for nearly 4 years before giving up. It did make a good difference on the road with the beam being quite strong over 55w stock setup. This was a Chinese HID setup which my friend helped me to get from one of the dealers in Bangalore for a good bargain price. No warranty or guarantee associated to it for which I was ready.




Now after 10 long years of ownership, bike's still going strong, but my frequent rides have stopped oflate since 2013 due to transitional phase from Rider to a Driver was running on full fledged with most of the time spent on Baleno.



It's pretty hard for a bike to impress a rider - most bikes fail to do and end up landing in pre-owned forums. But this one with me is really different, it hasn't really given me a thought at all to switch or upgrade. For sure, there won't be any replacement. But if I do plan in future, it would be an add-on to the garage and surely I won't or can't replace this very LEGEND!



Pic taken when it clocked 50,000 kms:


Pic taken at the time of this review standing at 57,800 kms:


Back in the college days, my close friends had the same set of rides with one unique Pulsar 200 finished in metallic blue missing in this frame - mine alone was a classic 220 FI:

This bike made me learn an important lesson in my life - Add some P factor to ride and then surge ahead with PRIDE!

Thanking my fellow 220 FI riders back from Orkut days - Technical Forum for Pulsar 220:

1) Current Bhpian Ricci - One of the tech savvy guys I have ever met back in those days who kept sharing his insights on the bike. We used to connect more often on the forum alongside Venkat sir as a guiding master helping to sort things with our bikes. Damn, I miss those days.

2) Current Bhpian praful - for the immense respect he still has on his mile munching Pulsar 220 FI. I believe he was part of the forum back then.

With this I look forward to ride many more kms on this machine even if another bike gets added on to my garage in future! At last, I have accomplished to have spent another weekend productively on TBHP and thank the forum for rejuvenating the spirit within me.

Some random pics from 2007-2011:

[Aditya]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to Motorbikes. Thanks for sharing!

[ashwinprakas]

Personally I would've opted for the Carb conversion provided that the wiring and ECU was also replaced appropriately. At the same time I applaud your passion to keep the motorcycle running in stock condition as the DTS-Fi is a rare sight these days.

Your decade old motorcycle looks fresh compared to my 2015 DTSi model.

[abhishek46]

Bikes come and go. Especially from the Bajaj stables.
However, the 220 is very alive, even today and still kicking.

And people still remember the "Fastest Indian" tagline, even after almost a decade.

Appreciate your passion to keep your bike in top condition even after a decade.

[gururajrv]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

Personally I would've opted for the Carb conversion provided that the wiring and ECU was also replaced appropriately. At the same time I applaud your passion to keep the motorcycle running in stock condition as the DTS-Fi is a rare sight these days.

Your decade old motorcycle looks fresh compared to my 2015 DTSi model.

Ha ha. Thanks Ashwin. My love for this bike cannot be explained in words. I'm just overly connected to this bike and happen to talk to it while astride riding alone Frequency of rides have come down drastically but I somehow manage to get it serviced now and then to ensure it retains the freshness. Our lives make us too busy to just take sometime out to thank those who support in our lives. This also includes our daily rides supported by bikes and cars. So, I took sometime out for the beloved bike and pen down my thoughts.

Originally Posted by abhishek46

Bikes come and go. Especially from the Bajaj stables.
However, the 220 is very alive, even today and still kicking.

And people still remember the "Fastest Indian" tagline, even after almost a decade.

Appreciate your passion to keep your bike in top condition even after a decade.

Thanks Abhishek. Yes, Fastest Indian tag is very much alive even today and it's still running strong. Somewhere, this took a strong hold in the 200+ cc segment which grabbed most of young hearts towards it. Bajaj did launch many bikes but the Pulsars especially the 220 stood like a rock in their stable. I sincerely hope they bring back the FI tech and plug it back with 220. However, RS200 is holding up the pride for them in 200cc segment now with FI tech but it lacks the punch of the bygone era of 220 even though the bike is far ahead in terms of build quality, refinement and in many other grounds.

My 220 FI with my friends Bumblebee - 2 years back:

[naturalvikas]

Beautiful words there mate. You have written my mind. Even I was a 2007 P220-FI rider. Have owned DTSI P220 and couple of KTMs after the FI but none of them came remotely close to how riding on a 220-FI felt like. It left me stranded in rains, it broke down in the middle of nowhere and i had to push it for 30kms, it was expensive to maintain back in the day, but these things never deterred my love for this beautiful machinery. My love for this machine is unconditional. Even today, after 10 long years, I regret selling off this bike. It was fun overtaking karizma once in a while at traffic lights. I still remember how smoothly and cleanly it pulls in lower rpms. Bajaj should recreate this magic in 400-500cc space.

[IshaanIan]

Wonderful write-up I would love to hear your thoughts on the new NS200 and the Dominar 400, starting with the NS, the Pulsar line-up went from becoming cradle frame setups to twin-spar box frame machines. Would be interesting to know a P220 enthusiast's opinions on the new generation of Pulsars

[gururajrv]

Originally Posted by naturalvikas

Beautiful words there mate. You have written my mind. Even I was a 2007 P220-FI rider. Have owned DTSI P220 and couple of KTMs after the FI but none of them came remotely close to how riding on a 220-FI felt like. It left me stranded in rains, it broke down in the middle of nowhere and i had to push it for 30kms, it was expensive to maintain back in the day, but these things never deterred my love for this beautiful machinery. My love for this machine is unconditional. Even today, after 10 long years, I regret selling off this bike. It was fun overtaking karizma once in a while at traffic lights. I still remember how smoothly and cleanly it pulls in lower rpms. Bajaj should recreate this magic in 400-500cc space.

Thanks Vikas. Even at this age and mileage in odo though 50k is merely half the life it’s completed, it still holds the same grunt and strong torque. Acceleration is still enjoyable at all the time. I’m sure you’d be missing it reading your comment above however steam runs out past 120-125kmph. I believe Fuel filter change is imperative alongside air filter cleansing. Tyres are showing it’s age and have to get it replaced soon. You said you’re owning a katoom! Which one is it? The good kid 200 or the rabid raccoon 390?! 390 is just miles ahead in terms of performance and handling, so I wish to refrain from speaking about another to be legend in the making currently.

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

Wonderful write-up I would love to hear your thoughts on the new NS200 and the Dominar 400, starting with the NS, the Pulsar line-up went from becoming cradle frame setups to twin-spar box frame machines. Would be interesting to know a P220 enthusiast's opinions on the new generation of Pulsars

Thanks IshaanIan. My thoughts on the following:
NS200: oh it just transformed the perception of Bajaj to a great extent when it was launched and proved Bajaj is certainly aiming towards becoming a better brand when it comes to producing better bikes. Though its borrowing few mechanical heart of a KTM, it’s character is totally different. It’s cousin KTM is rugged and notorious in terms of performance and handliing. But, this chap comes out like a nerd who’s obedient to his master in terms of delivering linear power and smooth experience in terms of refinement. Somewhere the oomph factor of a Pulsar known for grunt note is long gone, its already made its way to many young hearts and it’s decided to stay for a longer time with its reappearance. It also brought itself with a new genre of frames like you’ve mentioned. It stood unique in the market with its look and offering which is the only character of a Pulsar it’s retained whilst the looks is purely refined and framed well.

D400: I haven’t ridden it in person. Can’t comment much. But one of my colleague who owns it says it’s just the right bike for a right price one can buy in the market today. I also feel the same. But again it’s got its mechanical influence from its notorious sibling 390. I feel Bajaj has their intention clear. They do not want to pose as a threat or competitor to their sister company KTM. Rather, they’re targeting 2 different set of mindsets here. For me instance, I’m more into performance riding and love mad acceleration. So any day i’d choose KTM over Dominar. But for those who love linear acceleration and would want to have a relaxed and stress free mindset, they would choose Dominar. I’m not being judgmental here but this is purely from my standpoint when I try to understand the manufacturers approach.

NS, RS or Dominars are purely for those who would enjoy the looks and linear performance. It’s indeed proving to be VFM at the EOD!

KTM’s are performance oriented machines and their approach is clear.

Bajaj has not gone ahead and tried screwing things up by differentiating their approach from KTM. Rather they’ve tried to balance the equilibrium effectively and efficiently is what I feel.

With all this said, they both are 2 different genres of motorcycles anyone would enjoy. I would surely enjoy if both were parked in my garage (being greedy is good at times)

[Zinda]

Lovely writeup!

Originally Posted by naturalvikas

I still remember how smoothly and cleanly it pulls in lower rpms. Bajaj should recreate this magic in 400-500cc space.

The magic is created bro - Dominar!

[gururajrv]

Originally Posted by Zinda

Lovely writeup!

Thanks Zinda just tried giving tribute to my own ride. It deserves to be mentioned everywhere in fact. A veteran indeed!

The magic is created bro - Dominar!

Magic that’s seen both in broad daylight and as well as at pitch dark nights. White is my favorite. Eye grabber instantly and does mark it’s presence in your heart! Bajaj has a record of hitting sweet spots

[SHANKY11]

What a great set of coincidences, man!

I own a 2008 Pulsar 220 FI too. Even I am going to sell mine in a month or two max since I am upgrading to the Duke 390 now. Lastly, even my 220 was an upgrade from a Pulsar 150 which I had for close to 1.5 years. Seems like a very similar story here.

[gururajrv]

Originally Posted by SHANKY11

What a great set of coincidences, man!

I own a 2008 Pulsar 220 FI too. Even I am going to sell mine in a month or two max since I am upgrading to the Duke 390 now. Lastly, even my 220 was an upgrade from a Pulsar 150 which I had for close to 1.5 years. Seems like a very similar story here.

ha ha ya mate - pretty much close! Sad to know its leaving your garage very soon. And yeah for a worthy cousin D390 let me first congratulate you now before the racoon makes its way to your porch. Will be waiting on for your review on your 390

[thevwguy]

Hi there. Wonderful read and to be honest it looked like an EXACT reveal of my P220 FI haul. From your purchase to the mods to the replacements, every single thing has been at the exact same time or year at least which is so uncanny and words can’t express how much of a deja vu it is. I had my cocktail red P220 for 9 years and 65k KMS before letting her go in hopes of trading up but worst decision ever. I’m still in the deciding phase and ride-less and hand to part because I got a decent offer. Though the pulsars are loathed for bad handling, poor build quality, I beg to differ and I’m going to take it that you do too? I and a lot of people are still surprised that she lasted these many years after all that abuse and use which stands as a testament to doing a small bit of maintaining, waiting for the engine to warm up, cables, oils and filter changes can last a decade. Literally in your case. Although the only difference between our rides apart from the colour would be I had no engine work done and I had white alloys. Man was that a wrong move. Though it looked amazing, it was such a pain to keep clean especially after a chain cleaning session

Some last day pictures. Excuse the one without a helmet please or any riding gear for that matter. That was a crazy ‘I’m way too awesome’ phase and I intend to invest heavily on gear for my next upgrade *fingers crossed *

[gururajrv]

Originally Posted by thevwguy

Hi there. Wonderful read and to be honest it looked like an EXACT reveal of my P220 FI haul. From your purchase to the mods to the replacements, every single thing has been at the exact same time or year at least which is so uncanny and words can’t express how much of a deja vu it is. I had my cocktail red P220 for 9 years and 65k KMS before letting her go in hopes of trading up but worst decision ever. I’m still in the deciding phase and ride-less and hand to part because I got a decent offer. Though the pulsars are loathed for bad handling, poor build quality, I beg to differ and I’m going to take it that you do too? I and a lot of people are still surprised that she lasted these many years after all that abuse and use which stands as a testament to doing a small bit of maintaining, waiting for the engine to warm up, cables, oils and filter changes can last a decade. Literally in your case. Although the only difference between our rides apart from the colour would be I had no engine work done and I had white alloys. Man was that a wrong move. Though it looked amazing, it was such a pain to keep clean especially after a chain cleaning session

Exactly mate. You mirrored down my thoughts. I agree each and every point. This machine is built to last. Yes the only part that I’m regretting is “not so focused” decision when they told me on the bore replacement. I was lost at work and gave a go ahead and only to realize later I did a blunder. Thanks to my lost mind

Connection is still running strong with the bike even today.

And with the build quality, it may not be upto the levels of a Honda or Yamaha but can certainly stand upto what it’s built for! This is indeed a testimony for the service it’s rendered for 10 long years

If you get a chance to buy back, I’d suggest you go for it if you’re missing the ride. I’d still keep this in my parking lot, even if I don’t ride it much.

[SHANKY11]

Originally Posted by gururajrv

ha ha ya mate - pretty much close! Sad to know its leaving your garage very soon. And yeah for a worthy cousin D390 let me first congratulate you now before the racoon makes its way to your porch. Will be waiting on for your review on your 390

Seeing your thread now made me realize how attached I have been to mine. It definitely would not be easy to part ways with her. Even though she covered only 16k kms in those 9 years (mostly used for touring) I have loved her and maintained her with great care. Never once did she let me down anywhere. Did a long ride last weekend considering it to be my last. Hope to find the right buyer for it who will own it with the same passion and enthusiasm.

Will definitely pen down a review of the D390 soon.