Excellent bike produced by an Indian company. Review on Bajaj Pulsar 180

I purchased my 1st Pulsar 180CC (Classic one) on 9th Sep 2002, Metallic blue colour, along with my GF. I still remember that day. Pick up was excellent (I had HH CD100 before this). I drove it few Kms and found that the back wheel rim is little bend, I felt that un evenness clearly.

I complained the showroom (Siddi Vinayaka Automobiles, Kachiguda – Hyderabad) guys immediately; they said they will solve it at first service. In fact I wanted to enjoy my new bike and I didn’t want to fight in my GFs presence. Next day I went to showroom and got it done, they changed complete rear wheel. I used to over take CBZs and RX100s effortlessly. Done 120s countless times. Once, only once chain link got broken. Other than that the bike was absolutely trouble free. It was 100% reliable.

I never even had a doubt about its reliability. Many were telling about its tank shape is a flaw and it causes serious injuries if you brake suddenly. But I never had any such problems with my bike. What I feel is, that time there was no powerful bike in India (Bullet doesn’t come in to picture..coz no one want to ride Bullet the way we ride Pulsar in city) like pulsar with big tank (18 Liters) and they couldn’t control the bike. A genuine example for this is When Reliance launched (CDMA) in Hyderabad (I think in 2003) they offered couple of months free local calls with LG RD2030(blue backlight one) model. People used to make calls for hours till their battery go down. Because of this heavy usage phones were getting hot, not that Iron box hot, but like any electrical/electronic equipment, because of heavy usage and people started complaining the same. Once the free calls offer period completed, there was not even a single complaint like that. I enjoyed the bike till 2005 Feb and sold.

I sold my old bike to buy new DTSI 180 and I did. But this time the colour is dark silver (or what ever you call it). Engine looks same but with 2 spark plugs. The main difference is alloys, front fairing and Tank size. Little increase in bhp. But I didn’t feel much difference in pickup or top speed. But it’s smoother than old Pulsar. DTSI is also very much reliable like classic one. I rode the bike 6 months without any problems till Jul 2005. I drove it in heavy rains and went long rides without having a second thought about its performance or reliability. But I always used to take care of my bike very well (on time servicing..changing engine oil etc..). I didn’t spend even a single penny on its maintenance except running costs (petrol). Fuel consuption was about 45 KM/Litre. I love the bike. Since 2005 till date, my cousin is using the bike happily as I left for Dubai on Job.

I'm writing this review/article or what ever because; I read few reviews here in mouthshut on pulsar. Some are complaining its front forks are weak, its gear shifting is a big joke, its engine is not reliable...etc...etc. I don’t think any of these statements are 100% true because, I never had any problem with my Pulsar or the friends who are using. There could be a problem/manufacturing defect specific to that bike; it’s not fair to blame all Pulsars, because many visitors/people read these reviews (Now I want to buy Tata Safari, I read many reviews here on Mouthshut, many of them are negative. I don’t know whether to believe or not…). Currently I'm in Dubai, even here I see many Pulsar 180s (Here pulsar is used mostly by delivery/courier boys). They are performing well in UAE's hot summer.

Over all it’s an excellent bike produced by an Indian company. I think its current price is about INR 67000/-. All above statements reflects my own experiences and personal openions, not intended to offend any one. The examples mentioned above are true and just for understanding/illustration perpose only. This is my 1st review, please ignore any mistakes. Thanks for reading.