I give up !!!

I can't take the tantrums of this white elephant anymore...

Got back the bike this Sunday after the bike was in the SVC centre for almost 3 months (Had the bike in between for 2 weeks for testing). There were 59 entries in the 5 page bill.

One major issue (and the first) and its all falling like dominoes ...

For the first time in almost 5 years (1 month short of completing 5 years) I can say I am frustrated and tired of being friends with my mechanic.

I am not selling the 220, but I just don't feel like riding it anymore.

^^^
Sorry to hear the above buddy...
BTW, so many problems???

I think this song perfectly fits to your bill!!!!
"I love you, like I hate you"

very sad to hear that.... the bike is not bad... these arsehole mechanics are & to certain extent, bajaj is responsible for it. The dealers don't invest anything on the learning of these mechanics, as soon as new bike being launched, all thier effort gets directed to the new one. I have written to Bajaj about this but standard answer from a call cenre guy was provided. The -ve part of our problem is that our's is Fi and can't even take to other local/reputed service centres!!

Agree to an extent. Most sub-dealers in my hometown employ very young guys with little mechanical knowledge.

I got to change my cone-set once and I happened to stay in PBK, more or less the whole day. I watched their every move.

Interestingly, I happened to chat with the guys working at service bay, just to keep any eye. And boy I was impressed with their work!

Many nitty-gritty parts, neither forgotten to put back inside or didn't know what they removed in the first place.
Second, not enough patience for them, as if they are on a pre set timed mode to finish the bike, which ever it maybe major or minor work (grave errors happen here) TAT pressure for each vehicle irrespective of the degree of the work needs to be done in each vehicle.
Third, not enough payment, I asked one of the guys, and he said, they give me 1500 for the first six months, now my payment is close to 2.5 max per month (sad, yes, it affects the work)
Fourth, the guy who worked on my bike told me, he's not at all interested in this work. He wanted to learn something relating to graphics, and he was always in the ask, what's my salary, what's your age, where do you work, where can I get into a good polytecnic college, etc. (became even more careful as to carefully balancing between our conversation and the work he does. Though he did it really well, maybe because I was there, I don't know, but...)

It made me sad and ponder at the same time. It's Bajaj's HR motto that's screwed up here. They don't take willing participants, rather, cheap, non-willing, ill knowledged labor, and what do you get? Employee downtime.

And all this is their best PBK in town, what do you expect from sub-dealers. Forget it! They never ever come into equation. It's PBK or never for me, at least the PBK doesn't screw as much as sub-dealers

Hope you're ride is in shape for the ISG2G, hopefully! At least you're one person I intend to meet

Cheers!
VJ

Bike is 88K kms on the odo, reality is close to 90K!

I have ripped, raped and abused the bike from Day 1. Its amazing to to see that the bike has held up for so long.

BUT, I have also spent a bomb in maintaining the bike. Despite everything done, the bike just refuses to come back from the dead now. Over the years I have spent more than what the bike worth just in servicing it. That would have been OK by me if it was in top shape, but over the last 2 years that is just not the case.

But honestly I can't expect any better from beta testing bike.

Yes you are partly right, the mech you get is wholly and solely responsible for the condition of your bike. But my bike has been going to the "best" Bajaj service centre in the country last 5 years. I don't blame them, its an old bike and it is very time consuming to figure out complex issues plus in that time they invest in servicing one bike they can service atleast 3-4 more bikes. It just does not make business sense, since its not their "passion" to work on the bike we can't expect anything more.

I would blame Bajaj 80% and the SVC centre 20% for the issues. Bajaj metallurgy is weak, and its time to accept it. I just hope the newer NS's and KTM's have much better metallurgy than was there on both the Dts-i and Fi's. Before anyone jumps to conclusions, I just want to add that the bike is not poorly built and definitely built to last... But not for very long!

I have no regrets that I have literally pushed my bike to its limits for all its life, I am paying for it now after almost 90K kms. BUT, its a mechanical device these SVC fellows SHOULD be able to fix it. That ain't happening!

Irrespective of my bike being in shape or not, I have already mentioned I will be missing this ISG2G due to personal constraints. I am just helping out the organizing folks to keep things rolling.

I do understand your point. Till now, before the dealer chose to close the operation of their Okhla PBK, I was quite satisfied because they would somehow solve the problem. Last week went to another PBK where the service was done by a novice guy who did absolutely nothing. My point is customer like us, who are in love with the product & are willing to pay a little extra too for a good quality service, why can't Bajaj provide that??? Bajaj must know that they are competing against well established Japanese who are superior in tech & where Bajaj can do better is providing that extra special something. Anyways, I am hugely dissapointed with latest developments & have decided to switch my loyalty. Now a Duke Pulsar 350/600 etc not going to attract me towards it. Only silver lining here is that I won't too sell my bike.

^^Customers like you and me are relics of the past.

It makes more business sense to concentrate energies on markets that offer larger/quicker returns i.e. KTM/NS.

Its just plain business my friend, nobody is in it for the passion of it. For that you need to find a dedicated mech.

Oh boy, there is always a next time then. Can you please PM me your number, that'd be great. Would love to call when if I happen to drop by Blore.

Cheers!
VJ

If you are in Bangalore why don't you try Arun or Zak? My experience tells Service Centre guys are more interested in number of bikes they service (wash, change oil, clean plug, clean filter, change some parts...done). They will try to solve minor issues, however for someone who loves riding and wants the machine to be in perfect shape everytime he or she rides, they are just not upto the mark.

I spent a lot of time and energy trying to search for good mechanics, and I think I found the right guys. Takes a lot of effort.

Arun & Zak are quite famous for their drag winning bikes. They take pride in their work and can spend an entire day trying to resolve your issues. They are bit expensive, but they are worth it.

You may want to give it a last shot before hanging your gloves. Let me know if you need their numbers.

Arun has his shop near JC Rd.

hi guys i have a pulsar 220 2008 model n d problem is dat my bike was left standing for quite some tym and without a cover....
and during rains i dont know how but water entered the fuel tank and since d bike was not going anywhere so it rusted d whole tank....
when i took it to a mechanic he thought it to b battery problem but he replaced the batteries but still to no avail...
he den opened up d tank n he found dat it was rusted from inside n d rust has clogged up d pipes too....
he opened up d tank drained d stuff out n washed it nicely dried it up but still d bike wont start....
he den opened up d tank n he found dat d motor which pushed d fuel frm d tank to d pipes was broke...
now d problem is dat d same motor is unavailable in almost all d dealers in n around my city....
so i just wanted to know whether it is available delhi and wat wud b d cost of d same

I'm pretty sure I'd be in Ootcamund before you're in BLR

Well get in touch over FB, once I'm back to FB that is.

I have never heard about Arun or Zak, but am interested to give them a shot.

I've been going to one service centre past 5 years and till date the bike has been in top shape, despite some of the most complex problems the bike has thrown at us.

My issue with dropping off the bike at a local service centre is I don't know how will I be able to trust them, since the service on my bike usually takes longer than a day.Between June 2011 and now I have spent more than 35K in part replacements and services, and have covered barely 20K kms so I'm sure hoping they aren't more expensive than this. LoL

Will PM you when I feel I'm ready to give up completely on my PBK folks.

The fuel pump costs around 3K and is usually unavailable most of the time. Ordering it from Bajaj can take anywhere from 1-6 weeks.

Would be glad to.

Oh boy! And, forgive me for the killjoy, but I always trust my instincts when it comes to PBK guys. For some reason I get some gyaan and I if I sense some discrepancy in the work they do, it's almost 98% right. I try my best to stay there in PBK for a day, till I get my work done, even if I get to bunk my office. Done that thrice!

Trust me, your instincts work well, with PBK guys, at least!

Cheers!
VJ

a bit of light on this please ?
Whom to consult for getting the road tax return ?
I bought my 220 to Mumbai from U.P. and for the cops that U.P. is like I'm have a THEIF STAMP on my Bike
So just running bike from last 3 months like I'm riding a stolen bike :-/ Always seeking here & there to check for the White Dress Men.

I went to Andheri RTO & theysaid I haveto pay life time Tax of some 8%-9% of the total Bike value.
That's gonna kill me :@

I'm here just for 9 more months from today !

I do remember reading that you don't need any special permission or NOC while travelling with any vehicle if its lesser than 6 months. If you have some proof stating that you haven't been in that state with that vehicle for more than 6 months , then i think no police officials can question you, if my memory states right.
Someone please conform this.


Cheers
Ride Safe
Krishna

Its actually 12 months. Cops can harass you for a number of reasons. In MH a UP guy will get harassed, if unlucky. You don't need to get anything done. All that you need is proof that you have just come from your home state.The best is a pollution certificate from UP. Which will have the date on it.