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Old 28th September 2010, 11:43   #1
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Pulsar 150 2010. Advantages/Disadvantages? EDIT - Booked a Honda CB Unicorn

Hi guys,
I'm planning to buy Pulsar 150 DTSi in the next 3 months coz my wify wants me to ride it! Is it a good bike now, as i was interested in it when it was launched after that i didn't enquire much about it. What are the adv/dis-advantages of owning it. Is ownership cozy to the pockets after 5 years or so? I would like to have this bike for around 10 years or so. I'm 5.6" and would like comfortable placing of my foot as my present bike(Fiero f2) is a little over height. I would like a good pillion comfort for my wify. Please help me.

Thanks,
Ramki.

Last edited by ramki067 : 28th September 2010 at 11:48.
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Old 28th September 2010, 12:42   #2
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ramki067 i have pulsar 150 dtsi since 2006 Jan. Total kms coved till now is around 50k. Apart some general service i have not spent anything extra.

I had replaced clutch cable twice and may be 4 rear break liners. recently i replaced the front disk break pad too. and ya once replaced the speedo meter cable too.

Am pretty happy with the milage, performance and also the maitenance.
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Old 28th September 2010, 12:43   #3
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Ramki, I own a Pulsar since 2005 (5.5 years almost), and I can say its a reasonably fun, quite reliable and reasonably fuel efficient bike!
The only untoward sound I hear from my bike is a faint buzzing sound from the fairing because I rear ended a rickshaw 3 years ago, and nobody has been able to fix it.

I am only a wee bit taller than you, and have absolutely no issues riding the bike. Heck, I have a dear friend who is all of five feet tall, and she has no problems riding my bike.

Only 'disadvantage' , sort off, which I see with this bike is that : Its common. Waay too common. Buy one in black and you wont be able to locate it in a crowded parking lot easily.
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Old 28th September 2010, 12:50   #4
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Well, both the replies are of the older generations of the pulsars, the newer ones are better off.
I dont own a P150 UG IV but my friend does and I ride it quite often.
The bike is real nice, comfortable, reliable and quick too, it has covered 15000 kms with just 2 servicing and still can reach 120+ kmph. As you can see my friend doesnt service the bike, which is bad, but the bike handles that too.
But what I would suggest and what my friend would agree upon is to get a P180.
There is hardly any difference in price, but yes its worth it.
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Old 28th September 2010, 14:31   #5
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Thanks abhayshanu, Will consider 180 if it suits my finance.

Yes the new one is UG 4.5 . How about its negative/positive points. People here are telling to stay away from Pulsar. Any serious reason for it?

I ride for about 1 1/2 hours daily up and down to office and does Pulsar suit my daily commute? and occasional short trips of 60-70 kms on weekends without any back pains (bcoz of its sports like riding position) as i heard from previous gen models.

Last edited by ramki067 : 28th September 2010 at 14:35.
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Old 28th September 2010, 15:29   #6
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I have a 2003 First Gen Pulsar 150.
Except normal servicing (Oil Change / Chain adjustment) It requir nothing.
Already covered around 65k. Used that bike in many rough roads / No roads in orissa.
Still going strong.
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Old 28th September 2010, 15:39   #7
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bro go for 180cc its hardly 2 or 2.5k more and you will not regrett your decision .
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Old 28th September 2010, 18:31   #8
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I got a 2006 version and used it for three years. That was one lovable bike! Here's my take on it: The old Pulsars - the first version, then the DTSi without dome, then UG2 with alloys and dome - were very good. They had good grunt and felt fun to ride. Especially the first version Pulsar.

However, the latest Pulsar is not to my taste. The rear set footpegs and the sporty handlebar feel good from a racing perspective, but I think that along with the tail light have taken Pulsar's character away from it and it now feels more like Apache (or any racing bike) than what I had in mind as a "Pulsar" character. Its just my perception. I did not get that characteristic "Pulsar" feel in the latest one. Probably because I am not a racer, so I am looking for more commuter-like characteristics combined with a fun factor. Also I may be mistaken, but the quality of fibre and other materials in the older Pulsars felt more solid than the current one.

But technically there is no denying that the current Pulsar is the best of the lot. I just want to warn you, don't buy today's Pulsar based on yesterday's Pulsar because it feels very, very different to ride. It happened to my friend, his dream for years and years has been to buy a Pulsar, and recently he realized his dream. Only, he was disappointed that it doesn't have the "feel" of old Pulsars. So all I am saying is, just test ride the latest one before deciding, especially think about whether you are comfortable with a sporty sitting position. To some people like me who ride on the slower side, it seems unsuitable.

Cons? I can't think of any except that I don't expect parts to last as long as say a Honda or a Yamaha. Its just a (baseless?) perception.

Totally off-topic, I think Yamaha FZ comes closest to the "feel" of old Pulsars, probably because of the loads of torque and somewhat upright sitting position. That's one of the reasons I ended up buying it :-)

Last edited by rajushank84 : 28th September 2010 at 18:36.
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Old 28th September 2010, 19:44   #9
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just to add to the inputs from others. I own a P150 (the UG2 with the dome+alloy -2005). Have crossed 40k and going good. periodic service is all that it has demanded so far.

The 1 "feature" which is a little irritating is the seating position for the pillion rider. On drives above 40-45 minutes, the pillion-rider will find the seating position pretty uncomfortable. In my experience this applies for the new generation models too. The reason obviously is because of the raised footrest + the seating posture (leaning forward).

This aside cant think of any other problems. It has the 2 crucial things required for city drive (from my point of view) loud (dual) horns and good brakes
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Old 28th September 2010, 23:38   #10
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Hey ramki, my 2 cents,

I bought P150 (digital) Jan 2007 and sold it 2 months back. The reason being valves bent and piston needed replacement. I serviced the bike regularly and never abused it even so.

Though I would say it was a real fun bike to ride, and fairly comfortable too. The engine was free revving. I would agree with others here, over longish ride you would feel pain in arms due to lean forward stance. But nitrox suspension takes the cake here. Best in class. Fuel efficiency was good too.

But I would like to mention here, quality of parts are nowhere near that of honda or yamaha. Plastic quality is also cheap. You will have to keep attending the bike in my opinion. Many of guys here have great experience with pulsar, mine was not so great.

Within 20K kms, I had to replace a battery, speedo sensor wire, clutch wire, gear lever and front disk brake pads. And at the end piston replacement. Then again it is possible my bike was lemon. I don't mean to scare you but if you intent to keep it for 10 years, bajaj bike is not recommended (Don't bash me guys, I am bajaj fan too).

cheers.
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Old 29th September 2010, 00:19   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ramki067 View Post
Thanks abhayshanu, Will consider 180 if it suits my finance.

Yes the new one is UG 4.5 . How about its negative/positive points. People here are telling to stay away from Pulsar. Any serious reason for it?

I ride for about 1 1/2 hours daily up and down to office and does Pulsar suit my daily commute? and occasional short trips of 60-70 kms on weekends without any back pains (bcoz of its sports like riding position) as i heard from previous gen models.
Yes, the pulsars still are very commuter friendly not as they were earlier but yes.
If you wouldn't mind, then I would suggest the Unicorn as an alternative to the P150 in everyway, but if you consider the P180 then the RTR 180 is also an racier alternative.

For the advantages/disadvantages, all I can say is, the biggest advantage of the P150 is that, its a real nice bike with almost all that you could dream and the biggest disadvantage is that it is EXTREMELY COMMON.
I would personally consider the Unicorn not the Dazzler than the P150 and the P180 and A180 have their own Territories. P180 is a commuter with a sporty side and the A180 is a city racer which can be used as a commuting ride.
Hope this helps you a little.
Also, my other friend has a 3 year old, 30k run Unicorn and we all agree that the unicorn is more comfortable, reliable and fun than the 8 month old P150.
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Old 29th September 2010, 07:51   #12
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@Ramki - There's nothing wrong with the Pulsars, but here're some reasons to stay away; if none of these suits you, then you can go ahead with your decision
1. Sighting a Pulsar variant is common, nothing outstanding, so when I take it out it becomes one among the crowd. May be the 220 with semi fairing an exception
2. Very low on quality
3. Bajaj A.S.S sucks; they can fix most of the common issues but anything new, they're well versed to keep away. But so does most other A.S.S too. Anyway, just my opinion.
4. There's a chance that the parts may become little rare after 3-4 years as Bajaj keeps changing the models & there're so many parts that needs to be made available. But this is just a remote chance; I often keep hearing that certain parts (not the common wear & tear stuff) are not available for UG2/3 variants these days.
5. Not sure if there's any fun riding a Pulsar as I haven't found any. But it depends on different people as there're even Rx haters.

Here're some positive side...
1. Excellent VFM product
2. You get best of all the world like economical w.r.t cost, maintenance, ownership & at the same time you get a decent speed & features.
3. If there's one 150 cc that has all good features like clip ons, digital console, air filled rear suspension, power, mileage & that would be Pulsar.

On a second thought, have you considered the new LS135? I heard it scores better than P150, but less than P180?

Last edited by aargee : 29th September 2010 at 07:55.
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Old 29th September 2010, 09:54   #13
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Thanks guys for your inputs. To be honest, I hate sports stance and i would like to have an upright stance while riding same as my Fiero F2 but will never ever consider TVS models as i had a horrid time with F2. It gave me many troubles with no fault of mine.

I might consider Unicorn(not dazzler and will have to convince my wify about this!) coz of engine parts wearing out late thank the Pulsar. Does Unicorn (not dazzler) have upright stance while riding? Any negatives/positives of this bike?
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Old 29th September 2010, 14:25   #14
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@ramki, if you prefer an upright stance then I suggest you shortlist these bikes:

1. Honda Unicorn
Pros: Everything! Can't go wrong with it, probably best of the lot!
Cons: Waiting period

2. Honda Dazzler (Unicorn wearing different clothes)
Pros: Everything! Can't go wrong with it, probably best of the lot!
Cons: Waiting period, maybe looks

3. Yamaha FZ / FZ-S / Fazer
Pros: Superb stance, riding dynamics, quality, looks, NO waiting period
Cons: Slowest of the lot, mileage (40-ish)

4. Hero Honda Karizma
Pros: Most comfortable to ride, eveything good about it
Cons: Waiting period, mileage around 35

All four bikes are excellent with a superb upright riding position. My suggestion is pick from these and you can't go wrong.

Last edited by rajushank84 : 29th September 2010 at 14:27.
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Old 29th September 2010, 14:26   #15
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Yes, the Unicorn has a upright stance and is extremely reliable, but the sales and after sales of Honda is dreaded, my friend did not even do his first service from the honda dealer he bought, thats how bad they are he says.
Also you could look at the GS150 from suzuki, its a nice 150cc, 4 valve, 6 speed bike.
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