Jul 20, 2016 01:46 PM
2449 Views
Fast backward to 2012, when I was into the market in search of a best bike(in premium commuter segment) I was totally fixed onto Pulsar 180 because it ticked all the boxes for me like hassle free and cheap maintenance, good FE, usable Power for city rides and hi-way rides, comfortable yet stylish seating position coupled with rear-set foot pegs, 2 piece handle bars etc. As usual when I went to Bajaj Showroom they insisted me to take Pulsar 150 and tried to convince me that P150 is superior to P180 because it has a kick starter:p
But I was determined to take P180, in rare case P220 or P135 LS(Pulsar 135LS due to its funky looking style, refined engine and more FE). But couldn't buy a P180 because I was not given finance option. I came out of showroom disappointed but an idea of buying a used yet good P220 struck me. So headed straight to a used bike dealer, there I saw a shining new P220 with 4k odd kms on it with a third free service left. I was told that the owner wanted to leave to US of A and hence sold it. So I paid the money took the bike. From that day till today I'm very much happy with my choice.By the next few rides my bike became my best pal and it felt we were connected virtually. Its time I got to know more about my PAL. The real FE figures were coming out. For the first fill I got around 30 kmpl. Then I tested extensively for the correct riding pattern by trial and error method. I started shifting gears at different RPMs and settled at 3K RPM after many trials and errors. At 3000 RPM, the bike powerband feels linear till 6 to 7K RPM(theory may be subjective) and if one shifts gear at 3K RPM, the gear engages smoothly and one can feel the smoothness of engine. Got habituated to 3K shifts for the next few hundred Kms and when I checked the mileage I got a good 43-44 Kmpl.For the first 8000 kms, the bike ran on Bajaj Dts-i 10000 20W-50 oil. Then I shifted to Shell AX3 mineral oil for next 1500-2000 kms and from then on I've been using Shell AX7 10W-40. In between I tried Bajaj Dts-i 10000, Castrol Active, Motul 5100 but never found engine to be as smooth as when the bike ran on AX7.
The notable point here is Bajaj recommends 20W-50 grade oil. But I've been using 10W-40 oil, and till date I never faced any problems. In fact the bike feels smooth when 10W40 oil is used. However, when you use 20W50 oil, the initial acceleration is better than AX7 oil. But after the engine temperature reaches certain limit the AX7 works like charm. But never ever heat the engine too much as the oil being W40 viscosity is lesser compared to W50 and u feel the bike is running harsh. This is when Motul 5100 scores High.
On a scale of 10 I give 9/10 for AX7, 7/10 for 5100 and 6/10 for Bajaj Dts-i and Castrol oils.
