The Pulsar Advantage

I am so fortunate that at least after a little over a year of having a PULSAR parked outside my room I'm enjoying every nanosecond with 'him' ... if u'v noticed I did't say a *she* coz it is a *he* ... its very common to give a feminine name to that which you love most ... after all we say "Mother India" ... all rivers go by feminine names ... and of course my little endearments (late Lilly, Dinku, Swarna ... :)


PULSAR was the order of the day when it came in ... I should curb my laziness which had me miss this fabulous vehicle for so long ... me not gonna get into the technical aspects but just the feel ... so let me cover some of the non-technical aspects ...

not too long ago in a city not too far away (kanchipuram where I studied) ... a then buddy of mine owned a CBZ ... the shear power and effortlessness of the vehicle was astounding ... thats when my penchant moved from sporty bikes to the ones on road ... I njoi'd being the pillion rider then ... it was su high that it gave an unobstructed view of whats upfront ... of course my buddy was mildly shorter than I ...

time passed ... n it was turn for BAJAJ ... "hamara Bajaj" - a name that inspires trust ... I read through some reviews on the vehicle as to its response and stuff ... the big news being the indigenous 150/180cc engines ... made the cost of such dreams plummet ... it was the perfect vehicle ... and the campaign "Definitely Male" was proly one of the most successful ad campaigns in recent times ... the test drivers feel of the vehicle fueled my interest many folds ... wish I'd get to a point where I can afford the time and resource to take the beasts on biking course's :) ...

what incited my penchant for the vehicle was their ads ... it was not an emotional ad ... unlike many which say its a family vehicle n all ... even CBZ for that matter ... with beautiful damsels taking the pillion rider seat (I'd have rather prefered one driving) ... one of pulsar's ad had just two audio tracks ... the roaring pulsar (with doppler effect) @ I presume the bombay-pune highway ... and then when the DTSi came in ... the stunt on the bridge where the guy @ high speed (doing a wheeling to begin with) steps on the disk brake ... lifts the rear wheels ... swings the vehicle and completes an about turn ... I'v done 180 and 360 spins on NFS Cars but on bikes :-o ... it was enchanting ... id u'd like to see what I mean check out some of thee pic's @ - BikePics - 2003 ... the stunt has since been what most pulsar'its have sought to do ...

thats when I lured dad into buying the macho vehicle ... he's got a stout gait and it beackoned he owned one ...

now to the best part of pulsar ... Weight Distribution ... it is proly the 1st vehicle to have an amazingly good vehicle distribution ... for even physicians prescribed the vehicled for folks with lower back problems (typical with kinetic owners) ... it supposed to give the drivers back perfect support n all ... that was my dads inclination ...

unfortunately I had not pick'd up riding bikes so ... I missed all the fun until now ... having to drive bout 20 kms a day kinetic was killing me ... so I moved in to tame pulsar ... ooops know to get used to *him* ... esp now that its been over 4 months think I can afford to be a bit more judgemental ...

handling is amazing ... the defacto disk brakes a must for this beast ... get a hang of it and you can do wonders ;) ... yeah folks the 180 degrees spin ;) ... 360 degrees to but thats for the pro's ...
the acceleration is very handy in city traffic ... if u'd got the guts ... the vehicle has earned it reputation and infamy (thnx to some addled drivers) on the roads ... tho a bit unwieldy it fun to sneak the vehicle through whatever gaps u can find ...

gears system ... one of the best I wud say ... best part u can easily move an still vehicle @ 2nd gear ... n with some deliberation @ 3rd too ... 2nd n 3rd gears just delivery the punch of power to get started ... once if 5th you feel like being in heaven ... I'v got a 150 and it goes amazingly smooth until 70kmph depending on usage ... after that the mild and high frequency vibration kicks in ... once this missing over head was the 6th gear ... 5th gear is so smooth that on long drives I often look for the 6th gear ... realizing this is it :( ... I'v know sports bike with upto 10 gears goin he smooth @ very low speeds ...

and then comes the biggest advangate ... the unwieldyness ... ironically even though I'm known for my frail gait I'v always handled some of the heaviest vehicles ... learned on kinetic (which is quite an unwieldy vehicle for a scooter) ... n learned biking on pulsar (which was one among the heaviest as well) ... I still remember even my dad struggles with pulsar dude many-a-times ... the vehicle being that heavy gains a lot'a momentum ... so on long stretched with signals I just got to cut the transmission and it just keeps goin ... on and on and on ... I just luv to do that ... ppl find it funny ... me driving pulsar ... not that I care ... just to mention ... being big is not all ... right techniques is all that matters ... but I am thinking of donning some flesh ... not for myself but pulsar ...

economy again is a good factor ... 500 bucks per month ... huge tank capacity (17 litres) ... fill in once and month through drive peacefully ... and the electronic start (which for some reason many call as auto start :-?) comes in handy during long waits @ the signals ...

now the downside ... being unwieldy the vehicle is hard to drive on marshy roads ... even esp driver's as my dad (who was a pro with KB100, until a fatal accident) says so ... the vehicle starts slipping n sliding on uneven roads owing to it weight ... n a lot ... driving into ambattur after rains is a nightmare ... and then the disk brakes - often a cause for fatal accidents ... esp the large tank as in my original pulsar is said to hit the groin ... and yes the vibrations which kick in a while ... I often touch 70 so its very noticeable ...

so why post from office all of a sudden ... 1st hand it was fun driving it down to office today ... amazing weather too ... and more than that a mallu folk who sits right next to me got a new "Royal Enfield Bullet" (and owns an electra back home) ... 350cc rock solid vehicle ... wah it was some sight and sound ... the signature sound knows as the "Bullet Thump" ... but I like "Thunderbird" more ... which is very striking ... these I'd say r the Harley equivalent out here ... its a pride to own one ... and on sunday morning I saw a groups of bikers take em out from tidel park away into ECR ... who call themselves Madras Bulls ... ha ha ... oh yeah they r ... R.Enfield patrons ... and then therz the pulsar club ...

my pulsar dude luks old and big tarnished ... so considering giving him a new look ... alloy wheels ... if some gud guys like DC are available for this dude then an artistic refurbishment too ... n I'd wudn't mind spending a fortune :) ...

adios ... b4 my boss starts eatin my head away ... more later ...