Bajaj Auto, one of the very oldest players in the Indian two-wheeler market, had fallen on hard times. Compared to where BAL was, two decades ago, the giant had taken a beating of sorts in the face of relentless Japanese assault, in spite of its tie-up with Kawasaki. Now, with the Pulsar 180, which has been developed completely in-house, BAL seems to have finally woken up to the reality of the need to keep with the times!
I tested the bike extensively, in the BAL test facility in Chakan, near Pune. The four-kilometre test track is nice and twisty, and is ideal for putting any small-bore bike through its paces. First of all, the Pulsar 180 looks very good and the fit-and-finish is certainly better than ALL other Indian bikes I've ever tested.
Swing a leg over it, and the first thing you find is that that the Pulsar comes with electric start as standard fitment. Way to go! For those of you subscribe to the “electric start is for wimps - real men use only kickstarters…” theory, please go back to your antiquated Yezdis and Rajdoots etc. I was happy to thumb the power button, and immediately the engine throbbed to life. The exhaust note is nice and throaty, but hard-core hooligans will probably want a louder thrum from the single-pot mill. Hey Akrapovich, maybe now is the time when you should enter the Indian market?! ;-)
The riding position felt comfy right away - neither too extreme, nor Eliminator-style ape-hanger - just right. Snicked the five-speed gearbox into first, and motored away
gently. The engine pulled without any fuss, and the close-ratio five-cog box was smooth. The tacho is redlined at 12000 revs, but anything above 9000, and you are in the red zone. Top speed, according to the tacho, is 140 kmph, but more on that later.
The bike comes with a stiff double-cradle chassis, which
makes you feel confident while chucking the bike around and brain-out speeds, and front forks are firm, with well chosen spring-rates, and tightly controlled rebound damping. In spite of disc-brakes at the front, the (non-adjustable) forks doesn't take a nose-dive at the first hint of brushing the brake-lever, which is the case with most Indian bikes. Nice job! The rear suspension is conventional twinshock type, which is adjustable for preload. Here, I think Bajaj could've been more adventurous. This bike deserves a contemporary rising-rate monoshock, combined with a box-section swingarm. Not that the twin-shock setup caused any problems, but a proper monoshock would help a rider push harder, and exploit the full performance potential of this bike.
Coming back from what could have been, to what is, things aren’t half bad. Accelerate hard, and the bike will do 0 - 60 in less about 5 seconds, which is only right for a bike of this category. The 15 odd horses that the Pulsar's 180cc mill kicks out are at least adequate, if not more.
Pushed hard, the Pulsar takes everything with aplomb. The MRF Nylogrip Zappers (2.75x18 at the front, 100/90x18 at the rear) stick to the tarmac like wet mud to your boots,
and are quite confidence-inspiring at the limit. However, one trait is that when they do let go, the transition from grip to slip is not smooth, and if the tyres do let go suddenly, you will be making friends with the tarmac, and that can hurt, so don't say I didn't warn you!
Strangely enough, the tyres say 2.75x18 at the front, and 100/90x18 at the rear! Wonder what prompted MRF to say 100/90x18 at the rear? This kind of figure does give the width as well as the aspect ratio, which is the international norm, but Indian users would expect the measurements the way they are given at the front. Purely on the basis of visual inspection, I would hazard a guess - 100/90x18 would probably equate to 3.25x18 at the rear,
but the figure could possibly be slightly off. Anyway, measurements notwithstanding, the tyres stick well, and aided by the capable chassis, allow you to hustle the bike around fast sweepers and bends at very high speeds.
Composure at high speeds is remarkable, and the rear brake is just perfect for trail-braking into corners. Sadly, the front disc-brakes are not up to scratch. The brakes lack bite, and braking hard from high speeds induces an inexplicable wobble, that is a bit scary. This latter is rather surprising, given the competent front suspension and the rigid chassis! Also, the front brakes are not powerful enough to do 'stoppies' - I tried very hard, sitting on the fuel tank and putting all my considerable weight on the front wheel, but the thing still wouldn't lift the rear wheel off the ground. Sorry, but no hooliganism allowed!
The ideal cruising speed - some might want to call it the ‘sweet spot’ - on this bike is around the 75 kmph mark, which comes up in fifth gear at 5500 revs. Though I did manage to see exactly 120 kmph on the speedo, you feel like you are really thrashing the bike hard at those speeds. Do 120 on a regular basis, and you’d risk facing terminal engine meltdown. No, 75 - 80 kmph is where it’s at.
And the bike is torquey enough to pull cleanly from as low as 1500 revs in third gear, so relaxed city riding wouldn’t be a hassle. Ultimately, this is not, of course, a had-core contemporary “sportbike”. The world has, since ages, moved on to multi-cylinder hi-strung racereps, and the Pulsar wouldn’t cut the mustard by world standards. However, this definitely is a step in the right direction. It is encouraging to see that Bajaj has at long last, started moving in the right direction. This is well-finished, well thought-out bike that’s a pleasure to ride. Throw in some lightweight mag-alloy wheels, monoshock rear suspension, and better brakes at the front, and we are talking. And hey, BAL, while you are at it, will ya throw in another cylinder as well………? I mean, c’mon, let’s give Japan Inc. (and soon, maybe China as well…) something to think about.....
;-D
