When comparing so called 'BIG' japs to Bajaj one should remember that Japs have been in business for better part of the century where as Bajaj started tinkering merely 15 years ago. Also a point of fact is Bajaj started with scooters and three wheelers and not bikes. Since then they have made considerable improvements. Starting with the 4s champion they moved on to caliber boxer etc.then there is one word "ELIMINATOR". Each better than the last (Although the improvements remained marginal). It should also be remembered that it was bajaj who brought "4 stroke pro biking" to the masses. Bajaj gave indian customers things like disc brakes as standard, digi consoles and led tail lamps. Not taking away anything from the Japs, with all the technology at their disposal, for the past decade their contribution to Indian biking has been less than promising. Yes japs could have built a far superior bike to the Pulsar. However the fact remains that they did not.

Now to answer your direct question.

1.Bajaj R&d, while making headway, is also very VERY stubborn. For example, when asked why there are not any changes to the basic chassis or suspension in pulsars, a very esteemed engineer from Bajaj replied that "It was a proven set up. why do you want to change it?".

2. Cost factor: We do get Bajaj bikes cheaper than any other company. The cheaper the cost, the cheaper the internal quality of the engine.Also this affects the quality of Plastic and fastening parts.

3. Lack of experience: As many of the other people have pointed out (Including my good friend Mr. Tripathy) Bajaj lacks the metallurgical skills to create a silent engine. It also goes in to making the clutch smoother and making the internals stick together longer than 10,000 kms under actual road conditions.

4. Leaner running bikes: Bajaj bikes are generally very lean running which affects the life of the engine considerably.

Bajaj has improved its quality, at least for the Pulsar range of bikes, over the last decade. However they still have a long way to go. As Mr. Kashyap pointed out in the previous post, Bajaj's R&d could benefit from the racing scene, by their own admission, Bajaj's primary focus is on efficiency rather than speed. When it comes to quality Bajaj needs to work on it from every aspect down to their owner's manuals. It is actually disheartening to know that Bajaj is thinking about drawing the line at 250 cc singles as they will only be importing bigger bikes.