Utopia: Have you ever been on a Real, live and kicking Horse? If so, depending on whether the horse decided where it would go or YOU did, you would appreciate how difficult it is, to control ONE horse! Now, imagine 13 and a half horses beneath you, and what it would be like, if you KNEW how to ride them!!
History: I have been riding bikes (essentially the sub-Bullet category of 'em) for 16 years now. I would love to claim I'm kinda experty (!) when it comes to evaluating and comparing a large number of bikes from the old RX100, KB100, and so on, to today's sleeker and meaner machines (YBX, RXG, Victor, Libero....). Recently, I had the requirement to go mobile (the road type, not the tringg type!) at Mumbai. Being an avid enemy of crowded local trains, I rounded up all my chums to find who had a spare bike, bikes being the faster mode of road transport at aamchi Mumbai, ie, if you don't count bicycles! Thus it was that I ended up with a 4 year old Bajaj Pulsar 150 cc DTSI bike, courtesy a pal who had upgraded to 4 wheels as a way of current life!
Starting Off:I had ridden the Pulsar before, but in short patches, for small distances. This one gave me the Western Express Highway at 6am, from Kandivli to Colaba, to test out my new 'temporary acquisition'! The styling catches the eye, irrespective of whether the eye belongs to a male or female of the species! And, if they advertise it is "Definitely Male", you couldn't argue much against that! Except for those full, sensuous and stylish curves...If only...!
Essential Facts: Apart from killer looks (best in class), it has a powerhouse churning out 13.5 bhp of raw power. In simple words, it means, it is not for boys, but MEN! Else, bikey will take you for a ride, and not the other way round!
Comfortable seats and handle bar, with a bit of extra length beyond the grip (for those near grazes with bus and truck bodies!), powerful headlights, good control switches, aerodynamic design, a trip-meter, fuel gauge, tachometer and the usual works; suffices to state you are in awe and excitement even before you hit the main road!
Road Show: What I find lacking in most 100-150 cc bikes today is that they are powerful, but are light. The bottomline is, you feel you are playing with a toy. Further, your chances of a skid are high, on abrupt braking. When you ride a bike, it should give you the confidence that when you say STOP, you mean STOP, and not "TRY TO"! Weight, for a powerful bike, is a direct measure of its sturdiness and road-grip. Now, as I set out on the Highway, I was thrilled to see it wasn't starved for power, at any gear. To elaborate, it was like a horse which is well warmed up, at Trot (for non riders, think 30 kmph in your car!), and raring to go Canter (think 70 kmph!). When you bring the vehicle to a higher gear at a lower speed(you know, like when you are at 30 and decide to shift to 4th gear), if the vehicle goes 'Glug-Glug-Glug" before living up, that's a weakness. It's about that one weak moment, when you wish "If Only It Picked Up Faster HERE!". The Pulsar has none of that. It only is restrained by your rotation of the wrist on the accelerator. And, doing all this, it still gives you about a 50 km to the litre. Not bad at all!
Now about Banking (the road kind, not the Gimme Cash kind!). Well, the stretch was the decent slopy curve at Mahim, where the Express Highway takes you on to SV Road. If you have seen Valentino Rossi banking with knees scraping the ground at 150 mph and are holding that in your mind, let me put it this way! If that be HSBC Privileged Banking, what I did is simple plain Syndicate Banking!! The power, braking capacity, weight, centre of gravity and rider-skills - all come into play doing a banking. I would give it a straight 10 on that count, for reliability, stability and control.
Speed:I am not much given to rash and zippy driving on crowded roads, but then, a good highway with hardly any traffic, and a hot, powerful and sensuous curvy between your legs is too much temptation for the young male mind and body not to let go! I believe in this speed called Nirvana Speed of a vehicle. That is the speed when you feel you and the vehicle are one, cruising along, wishing for unending roads, and when the vehicle seems to be at its best. For the Pulsar 150 DTSI, Nirvana comes; rather, is attained, at about 80 kmph. I have taken it to 105 kmph and was delighted to see no extra jerks, vibrations or the kinda feel like "Ah, One Last Burst, and I'll Die". It just brought out more of what it had within, and just kept going, until I decided not to reduce the extent of my life, just 'cos the bike wasn't looking like it, anyway!
Epilogue:Shyam has reached Colaba in one piece, and I did the trip twice again, in the last 10 days. Even in city traffic, it is easily the first to leave the pack at any red-turn-green! Now, that's an exhilaration which only athletes can appreciate!! So if you are one, you'd know! For the rest, just believe us "It Feels Awesome and Essential!".
And, when you hit the highway - You and Pulsar together- you actually get to hear the wind singing in your ear. That's of course, provided you have your helmet on! If you hear it even sans the 'protection' then you are soon gonna have that appointment with a shrink, mate!!
Further, this babe easily takes you around awkardly stopped cars, in between buses (and out too), and stays on line even when you hit a pothole, looking at the doe-eye walking the other side of the road! Now, that's what I call Substance and Character!
There's More, and Better!: Whoever said Good Things don't last? With Rahul Bajaj and his ilk, they are not only conqueing world markets, but giving Indian Roads the most dashing and performance oriented bikes. The next time you are at a Red light, look around. You would find Pulsar domination all the way, and, for good reason. It is a delight for the roving eye too! Bajaj has brought out a 16.5 bhp version of the Pulsar, with a 180 cc engine too, which is priced much higher, but then, would easily be crowned the King Of the Roads, on 2 wheels!
I have now an option for a future upgrade. If Bullet doesn't get better, It's Pulsar time, folks! At least ride a friend's Pulsar once, to know the feel. And if riding bikes has been your grey area, or if you aren't sure enough, check out the pillion position! It is any day better than the Missionary one!! Yenjoy, you'll have your Nirvana soon!
PS: Es&Os may please be spewed in the comment section, pals!
Ciao n Safe Biking!
