ok here is the thing...

The Easy Stuff

1. sit down in the lotus position on a mat, close your eyes, relax your body and focus your mind and soul. then BELIEVE the 220 is a very good handler.

2. increase the oil level in the fork by 10 ml each. that will increase preload slightly.

3. move the rear suspension setting to the hardest.

4. remove things like the saree guard, crashguard, mainstand to reduce weight. i have had too many crashes to realize that your leg will never get trapped under the bike. the crashguard will only save the bikes bodywork in a crash.

5. check that all axle bolts are tight, the swingarm and steering bearings are in good condition and the rims, forks and frame are not bent. your tyres should not have uneven wear and they should be correctly inflated. basically, you bike should at least perform like a stock bike.


The Moderate Mods

1. replace the springs of both suspension units with much more progressive ones. the tightest coils of the springs should have the same load factor of the stock springs but the loosest coils should have at least 30% more load capability over stock. along with this, its a good idea to use a more viscous oil in the forks. that will increase damping as well.

2. reduce weight at the extremities of the top half of the bike. (headlight unit and tail) thats the worst place to carry weight. making this area lighter will centralize weight distribution and make a world of a difference. that means chuck the fat head fairing or slim down its mounts.

3. lower the front suspensions, lower the seat lower the handlebars. low cg makes a massive difference.

4. bend the half-bars of the clipons down by 10 deg. that eases the wrist when you are hanging off.

5. move the move the seat forward or back according to your personal preference. one-size-fits-all does not work for bikes.

6. you can try a 30mm shorter swingarm as long as you dont usually carry a pillion.


The Hard Stuff

1. modify the forks to change damping rates and try separate slow and fast damping circuits. that also means you need to separate the flows of damping fluid going through the fast damping circuits of compression and rebound. this means you need to get a fancy gizmo to sit inside the forks.

2. you need to cross brace the frame in the rear suspension area to improve rigidity. this is something i will never actually recommend as that may warp the frame due to the welding. so if you get to this point, and are still are not happy with the bike, sell it and buy a ninja.


many of the things i have listed here are ideas if other members. a big thanks to them. consider this list as a compilation with my inputs as well. there is no way the things in this list are all that you can do. there may be many more ways to improve the bike but i am reasonably sure the points in this list are correct and imo, you will not go wrong trying them out. just use common sense if you want to try them out. for example, you cant focus on forks ignoring the rear suspensions.

cheers

exhaustive.. but yes i would agree bajaj would be very very happy with you.. ( or should i say unhappy.. )...

The tools and requirements to make the 220 a better handler are there.. only when bajaj realise that their flagship product needs to be a product of its own.. and not part of a family...

1 more

Remove the front fairing [like Ken did]
Option 1
Fix a FZ headlight [With HID :P] Replace the tank with a custom tank, lightweight and fatter probably placed lower, lower the handle bar, remove the clipon's and opt for a 200 handle bar, that will get rid of atleast 3-4 kgs of weight with loss of projectors
A good handler, more power, streetfighter look,
Option 2:
fix the two projectors side by side like the triumph setup (no loss of projectors)

The seat point is good and can be worked upon, it will definately lower the cog and will change the riging posture completely

i am no expert but i did a simple thing on my P180 n it really helped. I shaved arround 1 inch from the front seat. Low rider seat=low cog=high confidence=improved handling. n its so simple to do.

My take on it

I should've posted here earlier.

I totally disagree with this opinion that Pulsar 220 is not a good handler. I think its a great handler. As good handler as a R15, I do not know as I have never ridden the R15. However its better than any other Indian bike I have ridden. It includes (just looking at bikes still available in the market) my old Pulsar 180, FZ16, Bullet etc etc. Whoever is saying Splendour is a better handler let me ask him - Do you work for HH? And are you product manager of Splendour? If not so, stop the BS.

You see, its a bigger and more powerful bike than we have normally seen on Indian roads. It requires a little bit of skill. I shift my weight a little to the foot pegs, lossen up my arms and I can be pretty fast around a corner. Till now I have not come across a curve where the bike was the limit. It was me. Maybe I am not an excellent rider but that again proves the point that its a great handler. Even a novice can ride it fast. I have ridden my Ninja around a track. I know how it feels. Dynamics of Pulsar 220 are great.

The only issue while leaning is the low stand which hits the road. Even then, the bike does not leave the line and continues to go smoothly around the turn with stand hitting the road uiet often.

P220 is a stable bike i agree....but it isnt a great handler..my friends own pulsars and i ve ridden them extensively.the point i noted was pulsars dont lean well but if made to lean it keeps its line. i own a hunk and seriously it handles much better than a Ug4 P180.

what im wondering is why do pulsars need more effort or skill to attack a corner...

pulsars are not great handlers...they are good but not great...with an r15,one doesnt need the extra effort he puts in to corner a p220...pulars are known for their straight line power delivery than a race track tool...its not as flickable as the r15

IMO I've had enough ball-crushes, mid-corner wobbles, lost rears to know that even my 200 isn't any good a handler compared to the 220, i can't even think how scary as hell it would be on a even heavier 220!

and obviously harleys handle better than Ducatis.

do other bikes lena by themselves when they see a corner?

A better bike needs better skills. End of story.

I can see why people think that Pulsar 220 is nto a good handler. Its a fast bike, the approach speeds of a corner would be higher, as one exits from a corner and open up the throttle, the exit speed would be higher compared to Hunk and splendours, now that requires skill. You should keep the bike's speed constant. Choose a corner, take hunk around it at 60 kmph, then take a ZMA and then the Pulsar 220. you will see the difference. However I think R15 would be more confidence inspiring becos fo the more leaned sitting position. However then this bike will give you a sore back (compared to Pulsar 220) on a long ride.

Just improve your skills. End of story.

Good night folks.

My little tip and query......

In my humble opinion the three simple most improvements to improve any bikes handling while keeping stockish look and the rider skills constant would be

1] lowering the bikes handlebars

2] Shaving off a bit of padding under the blokes arse

3] Rear setting the foot pegs

Most of people tend to forget the rear set foot pegs being one of the most simplest, effective and design wise relatively minor change compared to radically altering any thing else say, headlight setup.

Don't believe me about the pegs being very important then try a little experiment: On any gear less scooter try cornering with
1] your feet on flat floorboard, just behind the front leg shield
2] your feet on flat floorboard, in a normal position
3] your feet on side pegs provided for pillion

By this little experiment you'll find out that by rear setting your feet as much as possible your legs and thighs will have a better grip on the scooter and voilla! You'll be able to have a better feel and grater input from the scooter during the cornering. Heck you can do some wicked leaning on a miserable TVS scooty with your feet on side pegs, putting all activa riders in shame!! I know coz I did that in school!

Now my question is has anyone ever experimented with rearset foot pegs on pulsar?

Making a bike any bike for that matter to take a corner firstly depends on the rider skill no doubt, but is that all that's needed? Rider can compensate only so much a bike's dynamics allows its rider to, a good rider can take a corner on a 200 or 220 and i've seen people do that (http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/motorspo...tml#post350063) and i'm also sure that such a rider will definitely take the same corner faster going in as well as coming out on a different bike. So how do you relate to the difference in time between two different bikes even though its ridden by the same rider?

Same way one explains different lap times for the same rider on the same bike in a single multi-lap run.

I recently came back from Chakrata where I hit some greast twisties, not even once did I feel that bike was loosing traction. even on a lean, if i tapped ont he brakes slightly to scrape off some speed, it kept its line.

I mean everyone has right to their own opinions but saying Pulsar 220 is not a nice handler is something I would not agree to.

If you think its not a nice handler, please do not ride it. Thank you.

^^By any chance have you ridden the RTR/R15 in the same twisties?

If you haven't I would really beg you to give it shot to know why exactly this thread is here. I am not saying the 220 handles bad, but it does not handle well either.

Eg: This is from about 2 years back. It was my 3rd time on the track and till that time I had only ridden my 220 around the track and was still pretty lousy with my lap times. On the same day after having a few rounds with my 220, I decided to take a Carb RTR 160 that had come with us. Within about 5 laps or so I was doing 5 sec faster lap times than what I did on the 220. That my friend is the power of handling!

^^ i agree... i went wide on a long sweeper in gurgaon and nearly trashed the bike on the kerb... it wont just hold its line.. and would keep wallowing all over the place...

never in my life had i done a wheel lock of both wheels, but on the 220, under hard braking, i managed to lock up both the front and the rear simultaneously!!