[hyper123]

You have maintained your bike really well! Can't believe it is one year old.
One Q though: did you experience any brake fade (front disc) or decrease of brake fluid after one year of riding?

Happy biking!

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Haven't updated this thread in a long long time. Completely forgot about it, to be frank. Hopefully, will get some pics and type in a complete review after the current Chennai rains get over. Till then, one small updates-

Bike has completed 2 1/2 years and around 27000 kms. I know the running is very less, but that is mostly because it was always used for short runs (College used to be near, now office is also near-by).

+ves

• Power! There may be better bikes out there, but my pulsar always brings a smile on my face! All thoughts about new bike, upgrades vanishes when i get to ride it.
• The bike has aged really well, IMO. (I heard some bad experiences from other owners). Havent replaced any major parts till date. Even the silencer (the ones people warned would fall off) is company original, but is at the end of its life.
• Paint quality. It still makes me smile after a good wash. Bike still looks good to my eyes.
• Had 2 falls. Due to helmet usage and good protection offered by the stock leg guards, no major injury happened!

-ves

• Poor headlamps! Wish it was d.c or projectors like the modern pulsars!
• Still on stock MRFs. Good generally, but very poor on hard braking!
• Still not satisfied with the service centres. Anyone can suggest a good bajaj service center in chennai (preferrably between adyar- tambaram radius)?
• Vibrations makes their intentions clear after 7000 rpm.

OVERALL: I still love the good old P180 DTSi. Upgrade planned when an affordable 250 gets launched (hopefully by end-2010!).

One pic taken 2 weeks back- (Sticker on rim is red, not yellow as it appears due to flash).

Originally Posted by hyper123

One Q though: did you experience any brake fade (front disc) or decrease of brake fluid after one year of riding?!

No decrease of fluid noticed! Have noticed small amount of brake fade when i did long runs. However, long runs were very rare. Bike has been used mostly for 15-20km per day short runs.

@MODS: If anyone comes across this thread, please change the title appropriately. Thanks in advance.

[bmw_m5_titus]

Sujai, You have maintained the bike very well. Looks beautiful just like when you first posted the pics. The Black coating has faded and chipped at some places, I think.
How is the gearshift now?

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by bmw_m5_titus

How is the gearshift now?

Thank you.

I haven't felt the gearbox is a big issue. It is by no means smooth either. But i haven't felt any problems while on the run. Luckily for me, false neutrals are not an issue yet.

The main issue with the gearbox is if you come to a stop in 3rd or 4th gear. Shifting to neutral in one-go could prove a bit tricky! Almost impossible once the vehicle is turned off!

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

'Sir, castrol power 1 (xxW40) is for 180, 200, 220'. We put Castrol activ only in other smaller bikes!'
When the authorised service centre guys themselves told this , i had to go oil "hunting", and finally ended up with 15W50 Motul 5100 semi-synthetic.

Pack looks like this: (Pic from Motul 5100 Engine Oil)


First impressions: Defenitly better than the Castrol stuff the service center guys put in, specially after the engine gets heated up. Noticeable difference in gearshift too.

Kms done till now: 28650+ in 3 years and 10 months!

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Date of purchase- 28/04/07

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

OOopsss!!! You are right... Its 28/04/06...

I myself missed this second post! The date if purchase is 28/4/06, and hence its going to complete 4 years in another two months!
(Last post title was wrong too. I think i'm getting too old! )

Rear tyre is still the stock Nylogrip Zapper 100/90 17. Looks ok, but i think 4 years and around 30k kms is time to retire. Looking to upgrade.

I am not looking at outright cornering grip. But defenitly need good grip on road+ decent grip on sandy/wet surfaces. Saw the following options-
1. Dunlop Monster.
2. MRF Meteor.

Any suggestions? Any other tyres i should consider? I felt (by touch) Meteor to be a bit softer compound than Monster.

[shishir_bn]

My 5 year Pulsar150 has run 60k kms and till date I have changed only one gear sprocket and once disc brake rim.Apart from this every 2000kms service and oil change. It is giving me 57-58km/ltr as FE.

[revtech]

how many kms have you used motul for ? I plan on changing to motul semi synthetic as well.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by shishir_bn

My 5 year Pulsar150 has run 60k kms and till date I have changed only one gear sprocket and once disc brake rim.Apart from this every 2000kms service and oil change. It is giving me 57-58km/ltr as FE.

Thats a very good FE.

My FE last time i checked was 346kms (Reserve to reserve) for Rs400 worth Shell unleaded! That comes around 46.7 kmpl!

I am really impressed, as i am not so obsessed with mileage, so havent checked it for a long time! But these figures are better than i expected. I always used to approximately calculate that its 40+ kmpl

Originally Posted by revtech

how many kms have you used motul for ? I plan on changing to motul semi synthetic as well.

I just changed to Motul, and have completed only around 100 kms after the change. Hence i cant comment on it, just yet.

However, initial impressions are positive!

[revtech]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

I just changed to Motul, and have completed only around 100 kms after the change. Hence i cant comment on it, just yet.

However, initial impressions are positive!

ok do keep this thread updated.as i am keen to know how this oil performs in the long run.

rev

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

UPDATE: Silencer changed!

So, after almost 4 years and 28500+ kms- the famous silencer rusting issue finally came up. This was the stock silencer that came with the bike. Got it changed from SVC. Was thinking about going for KRP exhaust charger, but the hassles of buying it from bangalore and bringing it down reduced my enthusiasm.

Rates-

Silencer Assembly- Rs. 3480/-
Exhaust Gasket- Rs. 15/-
VAT- Rs. 439/-
General service - Rs. 75/-

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Shell unleaded! That comes around 46.7 kmpl!

Things got even better with Shell Super. Filled Rs.400 Shell super, ie ~7.2L and reserve to reserve showed 350kms. Thats ~48.6kmpl!

I always had doubt again premium fuel. But this has made me think. Even though shell super is worth Rs2 more than ordinary shell unleaded, but Rs.400 worth unleaded got finished after 346kms, and shell super got finished after 350kms!

Got to try three four times, to take an average value for both!

[revtech]

wher did your silencer start rusting from ? my bike is around 4 years old as well but haven faced any Major issue with rusting.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by revtech

wher did your silencer start rusting from ? my bike is around 4 years old as well but haven faced any Major issue with rusting.

Black/chrome silencer?

AFAIK, the intial batch of black 180s did have this problem. Few of my friends got it replaced for free during the warranty period itself!

Rusting was not such an issue when i had the bike back in kerala. However, once in chennai, the silencer end cap (round one at the end) rusted very soon, and fell off just before i got it replaced!

EDIT: Saw your black beauty in team-bhp garage!

[avinash_m]

@CrAzY_dRiVeR: Nice write up and very well maintained machine! Made me nostalgic. I too got mine when it was just released, infact was the first bike in this color scheme in Bhubaneswar city (used to be there back in 2005). Had to sell it off as it was too expensive to move it to Mumbai, wasn't even 3 yrs old.
Bhubaneswar being near to the coast, I too faced the same rusting problem and got the silencer changed under warranty. Guess, the replaced ones are better in holding off the rust.

Regards,
Avinash

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Kms run: 28850+ kms.

Bike was running on stock tyres till now. Planning to change both the tyres before its 4th birthday.

Changed the rear tyres, as of now. After some thinking, went for MRF Meteor 100/90-17.

Initial impressions:

• Road grip has improved substantially in sand/wet conditions. Much better than my 30k old Zapper-c.
• Looks bigger than the stock zapper, Although both are of same size.
• Doesn't appear to be good for cornering (which is not my style of riding anyway!)

Originally Posted by avinash_m

@CrAzY_dRiVeR: Nice write up and very well maintained machine! Made me nostalgic.

Thanks Avinash!

Even I'm facing trouble with location change. Bike is now in Chennai, although its kerala registration. Had taken N.O.C from kerala, however registration in chennai is proving to be a headache. So, thinking of cancelling N.O.C and sending the bike back to kerala.

R.T.O rules are so outdated! Why not just let people pay the road tax for other state vehicles, rather than insist on re-registration!

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Its been around 4 years (As of April 28th, but i wont be using the bike for a month starting tomorrow, hence the report now).

Got it back from 30k kms service today.

Workshop:Bajaj ASC, Trivandrum.

Work requested: 30k kms service- no oil change (Was changed recently to Motul). 10-15 km/hr vibrations in speedometer readings, Petrol leak when the bike is kept in side stand with too much lean, upgrading to avenger 60w system (from the old 180 avenger).

Work done: 30k service. Air filter changed.

Work NOT done:
1. VIbrations in speedo- Service guy says its normal for analog meters.
2. Petrol leak in side stand position- He adviced me not to put in side stand if bike is kept for more than 30 mins.
3. Upgrading electricals- Cannot be done, because it cannot be done.

Time taken: 2 days. (Not a problem, as there were lot of bikes in for service. However, disappointed as they didn't inform me once the work was done. Nor was my call answered)

Overall experience: Somewhat below average. (Because i had much worse incidents w.r.t service).

Bill amount- 248/-

After 4 years, bike still continues to thrill, and is at the same time cheap to run and maintain as well. No major issues yet. Bajaj service still disappoints though!