2009 Bajaj Pulsar 220 Discussion Thread - First Ride Impression at Post No. 514

[Praful]

Had a TR of the 220 Dts-i...

I was in Chennai for the weekend, so I saturday morning I headed up there for a test ride of the spanking new 220. Before the TR had a close look at the bike from all possible quarters, even parked my 220 besides to have a complete visual comparo. This is what all I felt :-


- Black, Blue and Silver look awesome. I din't find the Red+Black combo too appealing.
- Paint quality is more or less the same as its predecessors.
- Starting operation did not feel any better or worse than its older siblings.
- At idling the bike sounds comparatively muted.
- Bike is definitely more confidence inspiring around corners, did not push it too much, but been the FI and Carb the Carb is more sure footed around corners.
- Lacks the low down torque of the 220Fi
- Has a more peaky power band compared to the 220Fi
- The rush of power is more wild once its past 7K RPM.
- The roaring of the 220Fi is missing, this is a lot more smoother and quieter.
- Has oodles of speedo error. (Pranay will elaborate more this!)
- Front suspension dive is a LOT lesser. This might prove to be slightly uncomfy on bad roads.
- Experience of the front braking is not too different from the 220Fi, I just felt a little more feedback comparatively.
- Fairing vibes have been elimnated completely, but seem to be a lot lesser.

Overall I feel, Bajaj really could have done better. I would not say I am dissapointed, but I seriously hoped that would be a next generation product for the existing 220 Fi.

Dynamics of the bike is improved, and thats one thing I am really thankfull to bajaj for!

Power delivery, well I am just waiting for a 220Dts-i owner to complete his running in and then we would know true figures. I am pretty sure this is not significantly faster than the 220 Fi, infact 0-60 it might even be a tad slower. There seems to be a large amount of speedo error introduced in this bike, and if the 1/2/3 gear ratios have not changed then definitely the speedo is showing over optimistic figures. With regards to topspeed claims, well on the Dyno the bike was just about hitting 134-135.

On the whole I am glad that Bajaj decided not to scrap the 220 Fi, coz IMHO the 220 Fi makes a better package when it comes to City and Touring purposes only coz it has a wider powerband, more low end grunt.

News: The 200 might not be scrapped after all. In the feedback form after the TR, the last question asked if I would like to see the 220 in the 200's avtaar. My answer was Hell Yeah!

EDIT: Hoping on hopes that the topspeed claims are not from the speedo reading, but true speed....else its a

[vipin_s]

Had a TR of the 220 Dts-i...

News: The 200 might not be scrapped after all. In the feedback form after the TR, the last question asked if I would like to see the 220 in the 200's avtaar. My answer was Hell Yeah!

@praful : That was very informative review covering many aspects of P220 DTSi. Keep it up.
They may or may not scrap P200, but having 4 models in difference range of Rs.10,000 will only cannibalize it's own siblings' market (may be P180).

[GP_freak]

Had a TR of the 220 Dts-i...

I was in Chennai for the weekend, so I saturday morning I headed up there for a test ride of the spanking new 220. Before the TR had a close look at the bike from all possible quarters, even parked my 220 besides to have a complete visual comparo. This is what all I felt :-


- Black, Blue and Silver look awesome. I din't find the Red+Black combo too appealing.
- Paint quality is more or less the same as its predecessors.
- Starting operation did not feel any better or worse than its older siblings.
- At idling the bike sounds comparatively muted.
- Bike is definitely more confidence inspiring around corners, did not push it too much, but been the FI and Carb the Carb is more sure footed around corners.
- Lacks the low down torque of the 220Fi
- Has a more peaky power band compared to the 220Fi
- The rush of power is more wild once its past 7K RPM.
- The roaring of the 220Fi is missing, this is a lot more smoother and quieter.
- Has oodles of speedo error. (Pranay will elaborate more this!)
- Front suspension dive is a LOT lesser. This might prove to be slightly uncomfy on bad roads.
- Experience of the front braking is not too different from the 220Fi, I just felt a little more feedback comparatively.
- Fairing vibes have been elimnated completely, but seem to be a lot lesser.

Overall I feel, Bajaj really could have done better. I would not say I am dissapointed, but I seriously hoped that would be a next generation product for the existing 220 Fi.

Dynamics of the bike is improved, and thats one thing I am really thankfull to bajaj for!

Power delivery, well I am just waiting for a 220Dts-i owner to complete his running in and then we would know true figures. I am pretty sure this is not significantly faster than the 220 Fi, infact 0-60 it might even be a tad slower. There seems to be a large amount of speedo error introduced in this bike, and if the 1/2/3 gear ratios have not changed then definitely the speedo is showing over optimistic figures. With regards to topspeed claims, well on the Dyno the bike was just about hitting 134-135.

On the whole I am glad that Bajaj decided not to scrap the 220 Fi, coz IMHO the 220 Fi makes a better package when it comes to City and Touring purposes only coz it has a wider powerband, more low end grunt.

News: The 200 might not be scrapped after all. In the feedback form after the TR, the last question asked if I would like to see the 220 in the 200's avtaar. My answer was Hell Yeah!

EDIT: Hoping on hopes that the topspeed claims are not from the speedo reading, but true speed....else its a

Hi praful, at what time u were there in the Probiking showroom ?? i was too present on saturday around 11~11.30, ripping the hell out of the bike...Though am not a 220 FI owner, the obervations and yours coincide with mine... Reg the 220 in 200 avator in the FB form, Hell, i have put a Big NO for that...

[insanebiker]

@Praful : My question is plain and simple.

Is it worth the HYPE?

[ken cool]

Mind your language, first. And second, DO NOT try to start any 'wars'.

Give him a freakin' infraction man. There have been enough of these!

[veryhiphop]

Here's the YouTube link for the AD

YouTube - The Fastest Indian

Huhhhh..not a nice AD...but surely thief's will inspired from this and will increase there Bike sales

[varun_r15]

iz it confirmd that yess P220 dtsi is the fastest, even faster thn R15...

coz some are saying on dyno it hits 135...

or there is something left wich cn say that R15 is more faster????

[insanebiker]

iz it confirmd that yess P220 dtsi is the fastest, even faster thn R15...

coz some are saying on dyno it hits 135...

or there is something left wich cn say that R15 is more faster????

The bike is just out. Let it hit the roads, let the run-ins complete and then we can have comparisons.

[rockinggokul]

Thanks. Still running her in nice and slowly. Revved it a little now and then. Rode this morning side by side with my R15 and tried comparing both. Couldnt lean much on the 220 as the main stand bottomed out. Once im done with the running in which should be in few days then will be able to compare properly.Till then, here are a few more pics.

plz show some pics of the console and handle bar-guess u said black ones wud like to see them

[Devilpulsarian]

Thats the only thing in the new P220 that I hate! Why does Bajaj have to do this weird thing!

Call it a P220 DTSI! and we all are happy!
FI-Fastest Indian... pteew!

Yups, they can do without that...
But then that's their way of doing things.....
Like all other's have thiers...

BI quoted 0-100 at 13.1s and ZW at 11.1s , 2 sec difference !!!!

Its probably because of the fact that P220 was tested by Bunny Punia for Bike India who is around 100 kgs in weight......

@praful : That was very informative review covering many aspects of P220 DTSi. Keep it up.
They may or may not scrap P200, but having 4 models in difference range of Rs.10,000 will only cannibalize it's own siblings' market (may be P180).

A few years back even I felt the same,but after Honda doing it with their 150cc counterparts and in turn benefitting from it, I feel Bajaj can also do that

Its like doing whatever possible not to let a customer out of the showroom by bombarding him with a plethora of choices...
I really would not want to see Bajaj discontinuing the p200...!

[vikas_r15]

plz show some pics of the console and handle bar-guess u said black ones wud like to see them

Here you go

[Devilpulsarian]

Looking at things...I doubt what exactly is in the minds of the top management of Bajaj


I just had a glimpse of bajajs website....


It has p200 dtsi listed in their new website..


but have dispensed of the p220 DTS-Fi...?

in fact, there is no trace of FI in the whole website....?

[Cabage]

funny...

Who said the others were clean?

Better Coverage or not, they did help in creating the hype

DId CBZ have any BAL bike in competition back then?

I totally agree & thats what people should do

I agree I am really excited by this move by Bajaj & would love to see the competitions reaction

I agree & this is my last post on this topic(of zigwheels)

Nicks how can All mags claim the same without hearing it from BAL guys?

i guess its just their [zigwheels] way of gettin hits on their website more than any bias for any particular bike company. they did the same for the FZ16 too.

http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/news/6157-zigwheels-rates-yamaha-fz-16-bike-year-3.html#post146904

maybe the R15 was kept too secretive by Yamaha so they couldnt do much about it.

after goin through the entire post and reviews of the bike from various media, i think il go for this bike. Would it be a good choice guys? I love cornering and stunting.

[Devilpulsarian]

i guess its just their [zigwheels] way of gettin hits on their website more than any bias for any particular bike company. they did the same for the FZ16 too.

http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/news/6157-zigwheels-rates-yamaha-fz-16-bike-year-3.html#post146904

maybe the R15 was kept too secretive by Yamaha so they couldnt do much about it.

after goin through the entire post and reviews of the bike from various media, i think il go for this bike. Would it be a good choice guys? I love cornering and stunting.

Nothing better than the world of R15, when it comes to Cornering and stunting....!
If you want to use it solely for cornering and stunting, R15 is the machine waiting for you...!

[silver_falcon_46]

Had a TR of the 220 Dts-i...

I was in Chennai for the weekend, so I saturday morning I headed up there for a test ride of the spanking new 220. Before the TR had a close look at the bike from all possible quarters, even parked my 220 besides to have a complete visual comparo. This is what all I felt :-


- Black, Blue and Silver look awesome. I din't find the Red+Black combo too appealing.
- Paint quality is more or less the same as its predecessors.
- Starting operation did not feel any better or worse than its older siblings.
- At idling the bike sounds comparatively muted.
- Bike is definitely more confidence inspiring around corners, did not push it too much, but been the FI and Carb the Carb is more sure footed around corners.
- Lacks the low down torque of the 220Fi
- Has a more peaky power band compared to the 220Fi
- The rush of power is more wild once its past 7K RPM.
- The roaring of the 220Fi is missing, this is a lot more smoother and quieter.
- Has oodles of speedo error. (Pranay will elaborate more this!)
- Front suspension dive is a LOT lesser. This might prove to be slightly uncomfy on bad roads.
- Experience of the front braking is not too different from the 220Fi, I just felt a little more feedback comparatively.
- Fairing vibes have been elimnated completely, but seem to be a lot lesser.

Overall I feel, Bajaj really could have done better. I would not say I am dissapointed, but I seriously hoped that would be a next generation product for the existing 220 Fi.

Dynamics of the bike is improved, and thats one thing I am really thankfull to bajaj for!

Power delivery, well I am just waiting for a 220Dts-i owner to complete his running in and then we would know true figures. I am pretty sure this is not significantly faster than the 220 Fi, infact 0-60 it might even be a tad slower. There seems to be a large amount of speedo error introduced in this bike, and if the 1/2/3 gear ratios have not changed then definitely the speedo is showing over optimistic figures. With regards to topspeed claims, well on the Dyno the bike was just about hitting 134-135.

On the whole I am glad that Bajaj decided not to scrap the 220 Fi, coz IMHO the 220 Fi makes a better package when it comes to City and Touring purposes only coz it has a wider powerband, more low end grunt.

News: The 200 might not be scrapped after all. In the feedback form after the TR, the last question asked if I would like to see the 220 in the 200's avtaar. My answer was Hell Yeah!

EDIT: Hoping on hopes that the topspeed claims are not from the speedo reading, but true speed....else its a

Come on Man, your opinions seem pretty biased. 0-60 figures have been proved with VBOX and they look way quicker than the Fi. You probably felt it much slower because of lesser vibes, lesser engine noise.

The speedo does have a huge error compared to the older bajaj speedos, but if you compare it to bikes like RTR and R15, they are the same. The RTR shows a 132 when it doing 122, the new P220 shows a 142 when it does a 132.5(BIke India info) , so I guess there is not much to complain there.

And why would you choose the Fi over the carb for touring? Are you sure that this is an unbiased opinion? In my view, better cruising ability is pretty important with Tourers, and the new 220 has it. Cruising at 100kmph , you would not really find so much of a difference b/w the Fi and the carb in terms of torque, moreover, even at lower speeds, is it all that much evident? Not to mention, the better engine components which would reduce wear and tear. In my opinion, the new engine with an Fi MAY probably make a better deal, but for now, i think the carb 220 is a better overall package after all - its called evolution.


And I dont understand why Bajaj could not fix that main stand. They have that beautiful test track and they couldn't figure out that the main stand played spoil sport all the time? I remember riding through the Chinnar WildLife sanctuary a few months back, all of us riding at crisp speeds and my main stand scraping all over the place. Time to remove it and learn to live without it.