Quote:
Originally Posted by Bibhu
I test rode the baby pulsar today. So here is my impression on the bike.
On first look I understood something very important. The 135 ls is not a pulsar at all. It is xcd sprint with pulsar badge. The bike shares its chassis with xcd 135. on visual inspection it is clear that the gear box looks exactly like the one on the xcd. So much for the hype about new chassis .
Looks: well, the bike looks better than most of the sub 150 bikes in India. The red one infact looks like a 150. Sharp contours and well thought bits make the bike a treat to watch. The rear tire hugger doesn’t look as bad in real life as it seems much wider than pictures. The headlamp assy goes well with the over styling of the bike. The best feature I liked was the tank. Though inspired by Hunk and RTR it holds its own in looking different and the Pulsar badge looks good on it. The engine also adds to the looks as it seems tightly packed in to the bike.
Engine and gearbox: There was a surprise from Bajaj if I ever had one. After thumbing the starter, I had to carefully hear for the engine sound, no unrefined growl like the standard dtsi mill. Instead there was a sophisticated purr coming out of the engine. The clutch also felt very refined. It is not up to the Jap mark but Bajaj is definitely getting there. The gears engaged with fair ease with no sign of notch or false neutrals. Overall the 4 valve head made life really easy for the 135 ls.
Performance: Although I only did a short run around the Bajaj showroom, one thing was evident. The 135 ls had enough torque to put the P150 to shame. It picked up from as low as 1.5k rpm in the 4th and was happy to go around at 3k rpm in 5th without any fuss. Acceleration also felt very brisk. The 4 valve mill does its job very well. At no point of time did the engine felt stressed out. The bike touched 90 kph with two people on board, with fair ease. Handling wise, the weight and chassis configuration of the bike came in to play. The bike felt nimble as a feather in traffic leaving behind everything. That is what it was meant to do anyways. The brakes worked with the regular Bajaj confidence. Suspension was kind of stiff but I guess that can be adjusted.
Fit and finish: The bike is a very well put together. Every thing seemed very sturdy. One thing I did not like was the speedo console. It could have been a bit better as it seems really cheap on a bike that looks this good.
Overall: The bike is a as usual a good VFM deal from Bajaj, I’ll even say that it is a better deal than the P150. It comes loaded with split seats, clip ons, digi console, oodles of style and the most refined motor I have seen yet on a Bajaj. Like most 125 - 150 s today the bike is comfy to ride in traffic and does not feel small.
However, my point still stands. It has the chassis of the xcd 135, motor and body from the xcd sprint. So why call it a Pulsar?
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All good. It should not be named after pulsar....because this is a 4 valve wonder with a good mileage and a smooth gear........ pulsars are not like this. so bajaj should have considered that.
actually they are trying to improve the brand with some quality technology stuff.