Jun 27, 2006 12:51 PM
20215 Views
(Updated Jan 14, 2007 10:23 AM)
Well this is not about any of the policies concerning banning members...or the wholly commercial aspect of choosing and posting the review of the day....well that I will come to later...this is about the misnaming of the product...Its not Pulsar DTSi-Fi but its Pulsar DTS-Fi....
Well its here...the first paper ad appeared yesterday, booking starts in the first week of Jan '07...expect a one month waiting period for your bike. I have already booked my test ride and started the financial formalities for adding it to my stable...all bike lovers better start doing the same...the dealers dont know the on road price...could be expected to be around the 88,000 mark.
This is not a review about its performance abilities....as no one except the Bajaj test Drivers have driven this. This is meant to be just a curtain raiser on the main event. It is about whats new, whats hot...and whats not about this bike on first view.
The Engine
Finally it took an auto and scooter major to bring out the first fuel injected bike in India. Forget DTS or anything, what makes this bikes engine unique and historical is the presence of a fuel injection system. What does it mean for the bike and the rider...better acceleration...better power delivery and better mileage(not that it matters for a 100,000 bike anyway.).
225 CC, should have been a quarter liter bike but I guess we will have to wait for the real sport bike segment to start off in India.
~21 bhp, another first(if you not count the RD350). Allright....the second bike to cross the 20BHP mark in the indian bike history(dunno about the bullets, they are cruisers and not my style)
Oil cooled, another first for an Indian bike,the bike is full of firsts. What it does is provide better cooling thus facilitates a wider powerband.
The rest is all there...DTSi,Exhaustec etc.
Handling/Brakes/Gearbox/Suspension/Tyres
It should be a magical handler considering its pedigree.
Double discs, another first for an indian bike( I hear shouts of comets, but its an imported bike assembled in india) I dont really know if they are needed in this kind of a bike but I guess it adds value to money, and must increase the handling capabilities though rear discs may have to get a little used to by the rider. Bigger front discs is another feature of the brakes.
Gearbox, dont know as yet, but the brains of Bajaj would have improved upon the boxes of the twins to make it smoother and better.
Dual Nitrox Shocks, time for mono shocks of better quality at that...not those outdated monoshocks of the Unicorn, new prevalent technology has to be incorporated in the shocks, but I guess we will have to wait for the Karizma 300CC + for that.
Clip on handles for better comfort and handling...
Tubeless tyres for this bike, but I guess they should have been wider, I am definitely going for my fave pirelli the day I get the bike.
Looks
Hmmm....the front fairing looks...like a little brother of the Karizmas fairing when seen from the side-could have been more original with it. Projector lamps stand out, also the fairing mounted mirrors(like a true sports bike)but I feel that there is nothing much newer on the looks side when compared to the twins, maybe cost cutting to avoid new spares...inspite of this, the bike is a looker, the same muscular tank and side panels that made the original twins a huge hit. The instrumentation panel went digital with an addition of a digital speedo as well(absent in the Karizma). LED brake lights add to the glamour, the silencer looks out of place in this bike, needs a little work there. With oil cooling there should have been a engine cover to make it look more sportier, but I guess Bajaj knows best. Chain guard half gone-maybe dangerous for those monsoons, but the clang of the slack chain hitting the guard is gone.Also the clip on handles like the sport variety make a debut on a stock bike for the first time...the last of the firsts...
White(silver) larger alloys, black would have better, another on my buying list for this bike.
Cost
Predictions and speculations is all there is about the prices, even the big dealers have no idea of the price or are reluctant to give it. I think it should be priced at a premium level-Rs.100,000. Why??? because the Pulsar lost its charm on me when I saw everyone from the Sales rep to the milkman driving it. Exclusivity is what drew me to the Karizma. The bike should not oversell like the Pulsar twins...
Comparisions
Finally a bike on paper to beat the Karizma on figures atleast. Lookswise I still rate the Karizma higher, but I think atleast on paper it seems a better performer than the Zma...and besides the bikes technology like fuel injection and oil cooling will I think leave the Zma panting head to head. And its more modern(in terms of years), but I guess HH Motors have something up thier sleeves as well, maybe they are waiting to guage the performance and the sales of the DTS-Fi and then come with their answer and the prospect of a CC and BHP war between the two-HH and Bajaj will have us all bikers excited to the core and makes biking in india more performance driven rather than the mileage market that it has been for so long....
Overall
The bike will emerge out beating the Karizma both in performance and sales(thats what I am afraid of) but only till the HH comes out with the aptly and unimaginaryly named Karizma Plus...Looks could have been a little fresher, but the Bajaj policy maybe is not to change what has become the largest selling performance bike in India-The Pulsar.
Pulsar lovers, who have a lakh to spare and make no mind of mileage...dont wait to think,call the dealer and get your name on the list. Others...well if you have a lakh to spare...dont wait to think,call the......list. Is it worth the lakh, well add fuel injection, rear discs DTSi and oil cooled engine and not forgeting the additional 4 HP in power to the Karizma for another 20K. It makes sense to buy it even though its for a lakh.
