Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi


Have ridden 3000 kms on it in a months time. Two services done to the bike, 2 long distance trips done, Have taken it on Ghats during night times. Have kept the bike on low, midrange and top-end ( to a certain extent ). So its high time to speak on what this fellow called the 220 actually is. This review is my personal opinion and will differ from what others think of the 220



Here goes :-))


Overall Mind-State = Happy that i got this bike :-)

Every rider in India thinks of two things when buying a bike. One being the price tag and the other being the Mileage. There is this third thing called performance which keeps jumping in and out. This bike bundles all three and comes out as a neat package.

Comfort - I owned a Thunderbird before and yes it was damn comfy. The 220 with its clip-ons are quite comfortable but does not come close the Bird. Well different league of bikes altogather so i shouldnt be comparing. But when you think 220 alone, the bike is comfortable. Has got a slight crouching posture and brings in a slight bend on ur elbows to bring in the sports tourer stance. I took it to Yelagiri once and once to Bangalore. I stopped every 100 kms for a short break of 5 mins. I had doubts on its touring abilities w.r.t comfort but now that is gone. All the above is for the rider alone. The pillion ( if any ) is gonna have a bitch of a time.

Stability - Bike is very allergic to crosswinds and there is a visible wobble when you are on the highway but this happens on any bike that is light-weight. The rear 120 are a boon and it sticks to the ground on straights and on turns. Have ridden the bike on wet tarmac too and bike handles very well. I personally feel that the 220 does not enter or exit a corner like a Honda. Till date i have never felt confident in take this bike into a turn - ALL OUT. Correcting this will be a huge plus point and you would start seeing loads of 220s participating on track


The Power - Responds very well to throttle. The FI unit is a uper sexy addon to this bike. Bike always starts on a single crank. The Low and Midrange are the noticable parts on this bike. The bike is a well behaved beast between 4000 and 6000 rpm. I think the bike enters powerbang on the lower rpms and goes all the way. There is slight change in bike characteristics after 6000 rpm. The bike's vibration almost triples and the Exhaust note changes from the silent grunt into a growl and then goes on to become a howl :P~. I everytime wish that this bike had one more gear.There are quite a few reviews out there which explain the power delivered by this bike. They make loads of sense so am not gonna write much in this dept but yes bike is WOW when it comes to power delivery.


Braking - Super is the word. The front and reat brakes are quite good. The rear brakes are open and is quite notorious as dust often gets in. My break have been squeaking from day one. Even a lil bit of cutting oil on the discs will render the brakes useless for the next 10 or 15 kms. Remember both are disk brakes so dont brake like you would usually brake on your old bikes. While riding, I have to make sure that the leg does not rest on the brake lever. This heats up the rear disks because of constant action.

Lights - Good on straight roads and completely useless when it comes to bends. I almost shat my load taking it on ghats during the night. You just cannot see the trail when you go into a corner. High beam or Low, it just does not light up a turn. On straights the light's throw is amazing. Even the big ones dip their lights for it High Beam.

Mirrors - Bajaj seriously went wrong here. The mirrors are absolutely useless. Rear view mirrors as the name indicate are used to see whats coming from the behind. All I can see with these mirrors are me. So mirrors need a change here. The fold option on the mirrors are a good idea. Protects the faring when the impact is on the mirror.


Status till date - 2 indicator bulbs have fused out and the black grills on the faring have started to rattle. Apart from this the bike is running like a dream. The bike does not need high octane petrol so normal unleaded will do good but make sure that its not a local petrol mix cause the injector will go for a toss.

Overall - Lovely bike to buy. Good price tag. A Mileage of 40 - 43 and the feel of a small superbike :P~


Peace
Dosai