Bajaj Pulsar F250 ownership: Multiple incidents, road trips & service

One of the incidents that happened included a Royal Enfield Continental GT 650, Classic 350 and a truck.

BHPian srkasbe recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I own a 2021 Pulsar 250F bought on Dec 16th 2021. I did not want to wait for the next year to consider the loss of value, etc on the bike registration. So went ahead and bought the bike as soon as the deliveries started.

Test Ride Experience

The bike response was decent, acceleration was linear and had plenty of low-end torque for an engine that makes its peak power and torque way up higher. The handling was a lot different than the Pulsar 220F due to its sheer size and riding position. This felt altogether a different bike than Pulsar 250 and was slightly more nimble and agile in curves. The main selling point was the slipper assist clutch which I intended to use as engine braking was how I had learnt to ride bikes and took me some time to get adjusted but after that, it was just smooth.

Delivery of the Bike

I took delivery on 16th December 2021. Took it to the nearest temple and got the necessary customs finished. Then took it to airlines in Bangalore. Next week went for a short ride of 20kms and everything was going good.

Mishap

All was well until 20th Dec, when disaster struck me from the back. Literally from the back, my friend and I went on a short ride to manchanabele dam near the outskirts of Bangalore and had a fun time riding the twists and turns. I was taking it slow as it had been just a few days from when I brought the bike. My friend owned a Pulsar 200NS which he had bought a few months ago. While on the way back riding downhill curves, as usual, the practise of engine braking and slipper assist clutch helped me maintain a much better pace and an attack angle. with plenty of low-end torque, I could easily accelerate and pickup mid rpms.

The NS on the other hand peaked and is meant to be ridden hard to the redlines to extract fun. It's a different breed of pulsar with its own advantages, but they do not include the slipper assist clutch or the low-end torque. While on a steep L curve I used engine braking, my friend who was on the NS was still learning to ride and held the clutch while he applied brakes, his rear end swung outside when he tried to tame the bike and he was slipping. I saw this and came to a halt at the white border line on the roadside.

He was so busy looking downwards and trying to control the bike, he accelerated hard and since his rear had swung out he was also on the edge of the road. I was looking back at him and honked multiple times in vain trying to get his attention but It did not work.

He rear-ended my bike with the last moment's effort to stop his bike. I held the clutch and released the brakes of my bike in order to absorb the momentum and convert it later so that my bike is not damaged. His front wheel hit my Exhaust and bent it a little. The rear tail tidy was cracked but not broken. Max Damages my bike suffered = Replacing Exhaust Seal. Rear Brake Pedal bent back into place.

The damages on NS200 - His front was a total scrap. All the wirings of the head unit had been exposed and some were even broken. His headlight front unit had to be replaced in its entirety under insurance. His Clutch pedal was jammed and had to be unjammed.

I honestly feel the build quality of the Pulsar 250 is much higher than that of the Pulsar 200NS. It hurt me more that my bike had suffered damages in spite of it not being my fault. But then over time I look back and realise that the lesson is that my safety is primary and once I am outside the danger zone, only then I can look back for others.

First Highway Experience

A few weeks after I requested the service manager of Bajaj Bannerghatta Road Mr. Anoop to get a new seal, the bike was ready. On the Dawn of Jan 23 2022, I was on my way to Mysore via the old expressway. We encountered a lot of fog and mist which was a first for me. I felt the need for gloves and the water-resistant coating on my helmet visor.

My friends were on a RE Bullet 500, GT 650 and we were joined by another friend in Mandya who was on the 2021 RE Classic 350. We were coasting down the highway and were near Srirangapattana when disaster struck for my friend.

Disaster

The GT650 was leading the pack followed closely by the Classic 500 and behind them was my pulsar and my friend. The GT had plenty of torque and could overtake easily at triple-digit speeds whereas the Cassic struggled at triple-digit speeds. There came a situation in which the right lane was occupied by a truck and we were approaching it with speeds of 80-90. The truck driver had turned his indicator left and was signalling his hand. The GT rider did not want to wait and overtook the truck. The Classic was following behind and also wanted to overtake but did not have the pickup at that speed. The truck driver was spooked by the GT overtake and applied his brakes. This caused the Classic to Rear end the Truck and caused a bend in the Mudguard. This was a life / Death situation as there was a truck just behind him which if had not seen the accident would have run over him.

Mysore

After bending the Mudgaurd which had jammed with the wheel, we continued at 80kmph and not dared to cross 100. We reached Mysore and headed towards Chamundi Hills. We were able to climb the hills easily and had our darshan and were returning. While returning I was almost hit head-on by a car that was not just in the wrong lane but at the end of the wrong lane with empty roads. I chased that person back and gave him a mouthful. He accepted his mistake and apologised so I left it and joined my friends at the foot of the hills.

We had mylari dos and went to RE spares who told us they do not have the stock and that we should search the market. We wasted 2 hours and finally found a person who had the spares. After getting the repairs done it was time for us to go visit the backwaters. My friend who was riding classic felt it was his good time and left to Bangalore. The three of us continued and arrived at a serene location. Spent some time relaxing under the coconut tree shades and then left Mysore at 3:00pm. Had lunch on the way and reached Bangalore by 7:00pm.

While coming back, my bike had already crossed the 1000km mark and I got the chance to test its limits. I rode at 120-130 speeds as and when I got the chance. I could feel the heat near my legs and felt that I had pushed the bike a bit too much. But realised that work hardening is going to take effect and so pushed it. It was a good experience but the riding posture was not that effective in long rides. My wrists had started aching and my lower back was also a bit aching. I felt the bike was stable at speeds of 130 and could easily handle the braking duties which was demanded.

Although the initial bite of the brake is not sharp, it is dull. The progressiveness is much better and gives a feeling of confidence, especially while trail braking or braking under heavy loads.

The first Mileage Test was done via the Full tank method and the bike delivered 41.6kmpl although it was ridden at a constant 100s the way back from Mysore. I felt a sense of pride ownership and was satisfied with my bike purchase. I have attached the picture of filling up after the entire trip. I do not have the picture of a full tank before I reset trip meter. But I can say with all my heart that this is the actual mileage.

Coimbatore Trip

This was in the month of April 2022 and was a last-moment plan, decided just a day prior and left the next morning early at 4:00 am. We took the kankapura road to chamrajnagar and via the tiger reserve forest, we descended the hills with almost 27 hairpin turns. The descent was enjoyable with the attack angles almost bottoming out my bike. The trip was a long exhausting 6 hours and we encountered some bad roads near the border of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. We halted at Attapady Hills forest. We took a beautiful homestay and stayed. Had our fun and some slippery slopes with bikes falling due to rain spoiling the already mud roads.

We enjoyed being there and the next afternoon we went to the adiyogi statue. The bike was not able to handle the extreme heat and the throttle felt a bit naggy due to it. After the rest, we left Coimbatore around 3:30 pm and had frequent stops. While coming back we took the Salem Highway and I blasted through with the roads being clear and low traffic and the visibility reducing with time. I was ripping the bike hard at a constant 120s and I did not feel any overheating nags or any throttle gaps. The pickup was so much smoother at the 100s range and felt the bike can be easily pushed past the speeds. The bike did give me a lower average with just a 37kmplon the whole trip. Maybe due to the extreme riding while coming back. Touched the top speeds easily at least 12 times on the way back. Got back in just about 4 hours 30 mins against the 6 hours including stops.

The seat comfort is what I felt lacking. It's not too soft but it's not too hard either so a maximum of 2 hours of riding should start giving the jeebs and pains. While I am looking for gel seats, want to give it another try soon.

Local Trips

Till June the bike was used as a daily driver and felt sufficient for Bengaluru and its traffic woes. My daily riding was for about 25-30kms on weekdays and weekend rides.

In Mid-June, I went with some of my college juniors to Metre Falls in Tamil Nadu. There were nice pictures but the way there was offroad. Yes, I took my bike offroad into the unknown. The Way till the reserve forest area was paved roads with beautiful curves to suit aggressive riding and I realised it once we reached the falls.

It is a very Secluded Place with almost no tourists and it is really dangerous that there is a route to the top of the falls, the bottom of the falls is off-limits as it is a reserve forest and animals are not to be disturbed. The top has no boundaries and no limits, so one always has to plan ahead and also take amazing footwear that is not worn out or has a decent grip on a dusty slippery rock. Here are some pictures of the trip. It was decent Trip took a day due to unnecessary breakdowns and replacements.

Gandikota Trip

The recent most trip was in 2023 february for the housewarming ceremony of my college senior, the trip was with a pillion rider and plenty of luggage. This is after I installed the accessories from hyperrider. Have installed Hyperrider Accessories on my F250, the weight has considerably increased with the front crash guards each weighing a heavy 3kg, so total of 6kg in the front and the top rack and saddle stay weighing 4kgs at the rear. The performance difference was in the acceleration and inertial pull. Although the efficiency with the pillion during the last trip with luggage was still 39kmpl with a constant 90s and 100s being maintained for first 150kms and 80s with bad-average state highways for rest 200 km.

We left early in the morning after breakfast at 4:30 am. Reached kodur and entered the unsuspecting state highways. The pillion was tall at 6'1" and was not comfortably sitting. At every turn and every hump, the pillion would have to hold on to me with his legs so that he did not fall on me. That was a bit upsetting and maybe the reason could have been the excessive luggage and gift which we were carrying on the bike. Nevertheless, I learnt all about Indian roads and their unpredictability while riding. It took me 6 hours to reach the destination and had some dosa on the way. The Gandikota ride was good, but the temperatures were so high, I could feel the heat from the engine with high-speed riding.

Have attached a few pics of Accessories and the latest trip to Gandikota.

Service and Details

I have serviced my bike at regular intervals with chain lubing at every 500kms with a mix of G-oil and 30w E-oil. Chain cleaning done at every 1-1.5k Kms and the first oil change done at 8K kms. Bike was serviced at Popular Bajaj and they have done the needful. The main problem I had was the lack of air filter for the 250 models in south India. I had to order the air filter from 99rpm store and provided the service people to replace it. Since my rides were usually in summer, the dusty conditions, the air filter was pretty badly clogged and could not be cleaned as others due to it being a Viscous Filter.

There was a problem with my battery which led to it getting replaced under warranty. Although the showroom did not provide a proper explanation or other reasons the battery store did assure it may have been a leaking current. There was a slight problem after I had bought the bike with respect to the fuel pump and the service manager informed me that the battery voltage was not sufficient and that it needs to be replaced soon.

My tires are pretty worn out and the bike is now at 10,268km mark. I am currently working on an aluminium 7570 T6 Rear wheel sprocket to test out the effects of a lightweight drivetrain as well as to improve the acceleration. I got the designs made online and manufactured in peenya, did the final polishing touches at home and smoothened the edges with a mini die grinder.

The suspension requires adjustment to weight and the sweet spot is 2 steps before the highest preload on the rear. The front suspension feels a bit lacking and not that assuring on bad roads, the rear soaks up bad roads, not as good as Himalayan but definitely better than most other competitors.

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